THE JET ENGINE. Inventing The future. British pioneer Sir Frank Whittle. Restored Video

The development of the 'jet propulsion gas-turbine', otherwise known as the jet engine, transformed flying in the post war-era. This was both in military and commercial terms. Covering the story from the 1920s, The Wonder Jet follows Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle. Sir Frank plays himself in the film. It moves from his days as a young Royal Air Force (RAF) cadet struggling against all obstacles to realise his dream of the jet engine. Whittle did not produce the world's first jet plane. This honour goes to German Hans von Ohain with the Heinkel He 178 on 27 August 1939. However, Whittle greatly contributed to the advancement of the jet engine, an invention that has proved vital to the modern age. Whittle's first engine, the Power Jet W.1, was fitted to the British aircraft Gloster Meteor . The first test flight took place on 15 May 1941, although, it did not become operational until 1944. After the Second World War the jet engine gradually replaced the propeller in squ