Whittle, Sir Frank

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Whittle, Sir Frank (1907–96) British aeronautical engineer, who pioneered the development of the turbojet engine. He entered the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an apprentice and later studied at the RAF engineering school and at Cambridge University. In 1930 he patented his first turbojet engine but received little official support. In 1936 he founded a company called Power Jets and was later given special permission to carry out development work on jet propulsion. A plane powered by the Whittle engine had its first flight in May 1941 and entered service with the RAF in 1944. He was knighted in 1948.

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