Whittle jet engine, c 1930s. Sir Frank Whit

Whittle jet engine, c 1930s. Sir Frank Whittle (1907-1996), English engineer, who after joining the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aprentice, qualified as a pilot and was able to study at Cambridge whilst still in the RAF. In 1936 he set up Power Jets Ltd to develop what was to become the first British jet engine - the W1 engine.