Frank Whittle Memorials

Sir Frank Whittle was born in Coventry, England, in 1907. From an early age, Whittle wanted to fly, but he was originally turned down by the Royal Air Force. He found another way in, studying aircraft engineering. This track would prove fortuitous. 

Years later, in the late 1930s, Whittle developed the world's first turbojet engine, produced in the nearby towns of Lutterworth and Rugby. Today, the region that gave birth to the jet plane boasts more than one site memorializing Whittle and his historic invention. 

After his technical training and research, Whittle's academic and engineering abilities were recognised and he was offered a place on the officer training course. He excelled in his studies and became a qualified pilot. While writing his thesis as part of the course, he formulated the ideas that led to the creation of the turbojet engine. He took out a patent on the design in 1930. 

Here Whittle faced another hurdle, unable to get support from the British government to develop his jet engine idea. So he and two retired RAF servicemen formed a company to build the engine with assistance from the British Thomson–Houston company. Despite limited funding, a prototype jet engine was created. It first ran in 1937.

The engine for the U.K.'s first jet aeroplane, the Gloster E 28/39, was produced in Lutterworth, where a large (one-third size) silver statue of the plane stands in the middle of a roundabout just south of town.

In nearby Coventry, a statue of Whittle himself stands under an impressive arch which bears his name, next to the Coventry Transport Museum. 

In 1948, Whittle retired from the RAF and to work as a technical advisor and engineering specialist, eventually emigrating to the U.S. in 1976 to become a Professor at the Naval Academy. He lived there until his death in 1996 at his home in Columbia, Maryland.