Turbojet engine
Turborreactor
- Date
- 1937–1939 · confidence high
- Place
- Rugby, England
- Credited to
- Frank Whittle (patent 1930, test bench 1937); Hans von Ohain (Heinkel HeS 3, Rostock; first flight He 178, 27-8-1939)
- People
- 👤 Frank Whittle1907–1996👤 Hans von Ohain1911–1998
- Field
- Movement
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
Gas turbine engine that produces direct thrust from a jet of gases. It broke the propeller's speed limit and opened up jet aviation.
Whittle patented it first (1930) and bench-tested it in 1937; von Ohain achieved the first flight (1939) independently.
What it led to
- Military (Me 262, Gloster Meteor) and civil (Comet, 707) jet aviation
- Supersonic flight and the jet age
- Mass intercontinental tourism