Frank Whittle

Frank Whittle was a British aeronautical engineer and Royal Air Force officer whose pioneering work made the turbojet practical. He patented a gas-turbine propulsion design in 1930, founded Power Jets Ltd. in 1936, and oversaw development of the engine that powered Britain’s first jet aircraft flight in 1941. He retired from the RAF as an air commodore in 1948 and was knighted that year.