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Sir Frank Whittle






  Hales St, Coventry CV1 1JD

 

Description

Sir Frank Whittle | British inventor and aviator | Britannica

Sir Frank Whittle, (born June 1, 1907, Coventry, Warwickshire, England—died August 8, 1996, Columbia, Maryland, U.S.), English aviation engineer and pilot who invented the jet engine. The son of a mechanic, Whittle entered the Royal Air Force (RAF) as a boy apprentice and soon qualified as a pilot at the RAF College in Cranwell. He was posted to a fighter squadron in 1928 and served as a test pilot in 1931–32. He then pursued further studies at the RAF engineering school and at the University of Cambridge (1934–37). Early in his career Whittle recognized the potential demand for an aircraft