Timeline of jet power

This article outlines some of the important developments in the early history of the development of the jet engine. Although certainly a 20th century invention, many of the needed advances in theory were made before this time.

It is worth noting that the gas turbine was clearly an idea who s time had come. In the mid-to-late 1930s there were six teams in the midst of developing their own independent ideas, three in Germany, two in the UK and one in Hungary. By 1942 they had been joined by another half dozen British companies, three more in the United States and early efforts in the Soviet Union and Japan. For some time after the war British designs dominated practically all efforts, but by the 1950s jet technology was already well understood and a robust industry.

=The leadup=

:1791: John Barber receives British patent #1833 for A Method for Rising Inflammable Air for the Purposes of Producing Motion and Facilitating Metallurgical Operations . In it he describes a turbine. :1884: Charles Algernon Parsons patents the steam turbine. In the patent application he notes that the turbine could be driven in reverse to act as a compressor. He suggests using a compressor to feed air into a furnace, and a turbine to extract power to run the compressor. Although intended for factory use, he is clearly describing the gas turbine. :1900: Sanford Moss publishes a paper on axial compressor. He builds and runs a testbed example in 1903. :1903: Aegidius Elling builds a gas turbine using a centrifugal compressor which runs under its own power. ::By most definitions, this is the first working gas turbine. :1903-06: The team or Armengaud and Lemale in -like arrangement. The engine is so inefficient, at about 3%, that the work is abandoned. :1908: Holzwarth starts work on extensive research on an explosive cycle gas turbine, based on the Otto cycle. This design burns fuel at a constant volume and is somewhat more efficient that the constant pressure combustion used on modern designs. By 1927, when the work ends, he has reached about 13% thermal efficiency. :1908: René Lorin patents a design for the ramjet engine. :1909: Marconnt proposes a modification of Lorin s design using a resonant compression chamber, creating the pulsejet :1910: Henri Coanda builds and flies the world s first jet powered aircraft, the Coanda-1910. It uses an engine-powered compressor mounted in a short duct. Efficiency is low and he abandons the concept, although studies of burning lead to the discovery of the Coanda effect. ::Although the first design to be powered by a jet of air, it does not get its power from a gas turbine and is thus not jet engine in the current meaning of the term. :1916: Auguste Rateau suggests using exhaust-powered compressors to improve high-altitude performance, the first example of the turbosupercharger. :1917: Stanford Moss starts work on turbosuperchargers at General Electric. GE goes on to be the world leader in this technology. :1917: J.S.Harris patents a Motor Jet design, similar to Coanda s :1920: W.J. Stern reports to the RAF that there is no future for the turbine engine in aircraft. He bases his argument on the extremely low efficiency of existing compressor designs ::Stern s paper is so convincing there is little official interest in gas turbine engines anywhere. This does not last long. :1921: Maxime Guillaume patents the axial-flow turbine engine :1923: Edgar Buckingham at the US National Bureau of Standards publishes a report on jets, coming to the same conclusion as Stern s. In particular he notes that a jet would use five times as much fuel as a piston engine. :1926 Alan Arnold Griffith publishes his groundbreaking paper Aerodynamic Theory of Turbine Design . In it he demonstrates that existing compressors are flying stalled , and that major improvements can be made by redesigning the blades from a flat profile into an airfoil, going on to mathematically demonstrate that a practical engine is definitely possible and showing how to build a turboprop. ::This paper changes everything. :1927: A testbed single-shaft turbocompressor based on Griffith’s blade design is tested at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, known as Anne . The tests are successful and plans are made to build a complete compressor-turbine assembly known as Betty , but nothing comes of this. :1929: Frank Whittle s thesis on future aircraft design is published. In it he is the first to describe a fully modern jet engine, one using the thrust of the exhaust for propulsion. The Air Ministry passes the paper onto Griffith, who says the idea is impracticable, pointing out a mathematical error, noting the low efficiency of his design, and stating that Whittle s use of a centrifugal compressor would make his proposal useless for aircraft applications. :1930: Whittle receives official notice that the Air Ministry is not interested in his concepts, and that they don t even feel that it is worthy of making secret. Whittle is crestfallen, but Johnny Johnson and others in the RAF convince him to patent the idea anyway. This turns out to be a major stroke of luck, if the Air Ministry had made the idea secret, they would become the official owners of the rights to the concept. :1930: Schmidt patents a pulsejet engine in Germany :1931: Secondo Campini patents his motorjet engine, referring to it as a thermojet

=First steps=

:1933: Hans von Ohain writes his thesis at the University of Goettingen, describing an engine almost identical to Whittle s. :1934: von Ohain and a local mechanic, Max Hahn. start to build a centrifugal engine powered by hydrogen gas in von Ohain s garage :1934: Campini starts work on the Campini Caproni CC.2, based on his thermojet engine. :1935: Whittle, unable to pay the £5 renewal fee, allows his jet patent to lapse. Soon afterward he is approached by several ex-RAF men with a proposal to set up a company to develop his design. Power Jets, Ltd is incorporated. :1936: von Ohain is introduced to Ernst Heinkel. After being grilled by Heinkel engineers for hours, they conclude von Ohain is genuine. Heinkel hires von Ohain and Hahn, setting them up at the Hirth Motoren plant, which he recently purchased. :1936: Junkers starts work on axial-flow turboprop designs, under the direction of Herbert Wagner and Adolf Mueller. :1936: Junkers Motoren (Jumo) is merged with Junkers, formerly separate companies. Jumo does not yet have a jet design. :1936: A stationary gas turbine is installed at the Sun Oil refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania :1937: March: The Heinkel HeS 1 hydrogen-fueled centrifugal engine is tested at Hirth. ::This is the first practical jet engine :1937: April: Whittle s WU experimental centrifugal engine is tested at the British Thomson-Houston plant in Rugby, Warwickshire ::The race begins :1937: September: Ohain s Heinkel HeS 2 runs, powered by kerosene. Heinkel gives the go-ahead to develop a flight-quality engine and a testbed aircraft to put it in. ::Ohain is now clearly in the lead over Whittle to develop the first flyable engine. :1937: Hayne Constant, Griffith s partner at the RAE, starts negotiations with Metropolitan-Vickers to develop a Griffith-style turboprop :1937: At Junkers, Wagner and Mueller decide to re-design their work as a pure jet :1938: Metrovick receives a contract from the Air Ministry to start work with Constant :1938: György Jendrassik starts work on a turboprop engine of his own design :1938: April: Hans Mauch takes over the RLM rocket development office. He expands the charter of his office and starts a massive jet development project, under Helmut Schelp. Mauch spurns Heinkel and Junkers, concentrating only on the big four engine companies, Daimler-Benz, BMW, Jumo and Bramo. :1938: A small team at BMW led by Hermann �strich builds and flies a simple thermojet. They turn to true jet engine design almost immediately. :1938: The Heinkel He 178 V1 jet testbed is completed, awaiting an engine :1938: Heinkel HeS 3 flight quality engine tested. The engine flies on a Heinkel He 118 later that year, eventually becoming the first aircraft to be powered by jet power alone. This engine is tested until it burns out after a few months, and a second, the 3B, is readied for flight. :1938: Wagner s axial-flow engine is tested at Junkers. :1938: Messerschmitt starts the preliminary design of a twin-engine jet fighter under the direction of Waldermar Voight. This work develops into the Messerschmitt Me 262.

=1939, Flight=

:A stationary gas turbine is installed in a new electrical generating plant in Neuchatel, Switzerland :BMW s team led by Ã?strich tests their axial-flow design : Bramo starts work on two axial flow designs, the P.3301 and P.3302 . The P.3301 is similar to Griffith s contrarotating designs, the P.3302 using a simpler compressor/stator system. Bramo is soon bought out by BMW, who abandon their own jet project under Ã?strich, placing him in charge of Bramo s efforts. : (summer) Jumo is awarded a contract to develop an axial-flow engine, starting work under Anselm Franz. Wagner s team at Junkers is upset, and Mueller decamps with half the team to Heinkel. : Whittle’s patent drawing for his engine is published in the German magazine Flugsport : August: Heinkel He 178 V1 flies for the first time, powered by the HeS 3B. ::This is the first jet powered aircraft. : September: A team from the Air Ministry visits Power Jets once again, but this time Whittle demonstrates the WU at close to full power for a continuous 20-minute run. The team leaves utterly convinced of the utility of the concept. They immediately offer contracts to Whittle to develop a flyable design, and production contracts are offered to practically every engine company in England. These companies also set up their own design efforts, making the possibility of financial rewards for Power Jets slim. :September: The Air Ministry also contracts Gloster to build an experimental airframe for testing Whittle s engines, the Gloster E.28/39 ::After years of disinterest, British efforts finally accelerate. : After hearing of Whittle s successful demonstration, Constant realizes that exhaust thrust is practical. The Metrovick efforts are immediately re-worked into a turbojet design, the Metrovick F.2. : November: Mueller s team re-starts work on their axial-flow design at Heinkel, now known as the Heinkel HeS 30. : A shakeup at the RLM s engine division places Schelp in control, and results in development contracts for all existing engine designs. The designs are also given consistent naming, the Heinkel HeS 8 becoming the 109-001, the HeS 30 the -006, BMW s efforts the -002 and -003, and Jumo s the -004. Porsche s project becomes the -005, although work never starts on it. Numbers starting in the 20s are saved for turboprops, and 500 and up for rockets.

=1940=

:Campini’s CC-2 flown for first time. The flights were highly publicized, and for many years the Italians were credited with having the first jet powered aircraft. :NACA starts work on a CC-2-like motorjet for assisted takeoffs, and later design an aircraft based on it. This work ends in 1943 when pure-jets start to mature, and rockets take over the RATO role. :Hirth s larger Heinkel HeS 8 (-001) centrifugal engine is tested. :BMW s P.3302 (-003) axial flow engine is tested :September: Glider testing of the Heinkel He 280 twin-jet fighter begins, while it waits for the HeS 8 to mature. :September: Henry Tizard visits the US. Among other details, Tizard first mentions their work on jet engines. :October: Rover (car) is selected to build the flight-quality Power Jets W.1. They set up shop at a disused mill in Barnoldswick, but also set up a parallel effort at another factory in Clitheroe staffed entirely by their own engineers. Whittle is incensed. :November: Junkers Jumo 004 axial-flow engine is tested :November: Gloster s proposal for a twin-engine jet fighter is accepted, becoming the Gloster Meteor :December: Whittle s flight-quality W.1X runs for the first time :Lockheed starts work on the Lockheed L-1000 axial-flow engine, the US s first jet design :Northrop starts work on the Northrop T-37 Turbodyne , the US s first turboprop design :After only two years of development, the Jendrassik Cs-1 turboprop engine is tested. Designed to produce 1,000 hp, combustion problems limit it to only 400 hp when it first runs.

=1941=

:February: The Air Ministry places an order for 12 Meteors. :February: NACA starts testing their Propulsive duct engine , a ramjet, unaware of earlier similar efforts. Since ramjets need to be moving in order to work, NACA engineers take the simple step of mounting it at the end of a long arm and spinning it. :April: The He 280 twin-engine fighter flies under its own power for first time, powered with He.S 8 (-001) engines. The HeS 8 s continue to have reliability issues. :May: The Gloster E.28/39 flies for the first time. Over the next few weeks, the top speed soon passes any existing propeller aircraft. :Heinkel HeS 30 (-006) axial-flow engine runs for first time :General Electric is awarded a USAAF contract to develop a turboprop engine, leading to the General Electric TG-100 / TG-31 / XT-31 series, and later the General Electric J35. :Work on the Jendrassik Cs-1 ends. Intended to power a twin-engine heavy fighter, the factory is selected to produce Daimler-Benz DB 605 engines under license for the Messerschmitt Me 210 instead. :October: A Power Jets W.2B is sent to General Electric to start production in the US. Sandford Moss is lured out of retirement to help on the project.

=1942=

:Whittle has largely given up on Rover as incompetent, and is making his views widely known. ::At one time only months apart in development, Rover delays the British efforts and they once again fall behind the Germans. :The Metrovick F.2 is tested :Work on the BMW 002 is stopped as it is proving too complex. Work continues on the 003. :Work on the HeS 8 (-001) and HeS 30 (-006) is stopped, although the later appears to be reaching production quality. Heinkel is ordered to continue on the much more advanced Heinkel HeS 011. :The Messerschmitt Me 262 flies for the first time, powered by a Junkers Jumo 211 piston engine in the nose. The BMW 003 has been selected to power the production versions, but is not yet ready for flight tests. The design, offering more internal fuel capacity than the He 280, is selected over its now 003-powered competitor for production. :A Jumo 004 flies, fitted to a Messerschmitt Me 110 :The Daimler-Benz 007 axial-flow engine is tested, similar to Griffith s contraflow design that uses two contra-rotating compressor stages for added efficiency. :The production-quality BMW 003 is first tested :July:Whittle visits the US to help with General Electric s efforts to build the W.1. The engine is running soon after, known as the General Electric Type 1, and later as the I-16, referring to the 1,600 lbf thrust. They also start work on an improved version, the I-40, with 4,000 lbf thrust. ::The majority of US jet engines from this time through the mid-1950s are licensed versions of British designs. :Whittle returns to Power Jets and starts development of the improved Power Jets W.2/500 and /700 centrifugal engines, so named for their thrust in kilogram-force (kgf). :Westinghouse starts work on an axial flow engine design, the Westinghouse J30 :October: The P-59 Airacomet flies, powered by a General Electric Type 1/W.1 :The Fieseler Fi 103 V-1 pulsejet-powered cruise missile flies for the first time :Armstrong Whitworth starts work on an axial-flow design, the Armstrong Whitworth ASX :December: After meeting held at a pub, Rover agrees to hand over the jet development to Rolls-Royce, in exchange for their Rolls-Royce Meteor tank engine factory.

=1943=

:January 1: Rolls takes over the Rover plants, although the official date is several months later. Stanley Hooker leads a team including Fred Morley, Arthur Rubbra, Harry Pearson. Several Rover engineers decide to stay on as well, including Adrian Lombard. They focus on making the W.2B production quality as soon as possible. :After only a few short months at Rolls, the W.2B/23, soon to be known as the Rolls-Royce Welland, starts production. :The parallel Rover design effort, the W.2B/26, is tested. It becomes the Rolls-Royce Derwent. :The de Havilland Goblin engine is tested, similar in most ways to the Derwent. :March: A licence for the Goblin is taken out in the US by Allis-Chalmers, later becoming the J36. Lockheed is awarded a contract to develop what would become the P-80 Shooting Star, powered by this engine. :Production of Jumo 004B starts :Production of BMW 003A starts ::Throughout 1943 the Jumo 004 and BMW 003 continue to destroy themselves at an alarming rate due to turbine failures. Efforts in the UK, at one point years behind due to official indifference, have now caught up due to their greatly advanced metallurgy which allowed for considerably more reliable high-heat sections of their designs. :Design work on the BMW 018 starts :The US decides to rename all existing jet projects with a single numbering scheme. The L-1000 becomes the J37, GE s Type I the J31, and Westinghouse s WE-19 the J30. Newer projects are fitted into the remaining 30 s . :September: Allis-Chalmers runs into difficulty on the J36, and the Shooting Star project is re-engined with the General Electric J33, a licensed version of the W.2B/26, or Rolls-Royce Derwent. GE later modifies the design to produce over twice the thrust, at 4,000 lbf. :Whittle s W.2B/700 centrifugal engine is tested, fitted to a Vickers Wellington Mk II bomber :March: Westinghouse s X19A axial flow engine is bench tested at 1,165 lbf :Miles Aircraft test an all-moving tailplane as part of the Miles M.52 supersonic research aircraft design effort. :A Welland-powered prototype Gloster Meteor flies. :The Goblin-powered de Havilland Vampire flies. ::After years of delays, the British have now caught up to the German efforts. :Lyul’ka VDR-2 axial-flow engine tested, the first Soviet jet design :GE s J31, their version of the W.2B/23, is tested. :November: The Metrovick F.2 is tested on a modified Meteor. Although more powerful, smaller and more fuel efficient than the Welland, the design is judged too complex and failure prone. In his quest for perfection, Griffith instead delivers an impractical design. Work continues on a larger version with an additional compressor stage that over doubles the power. :The Armstrong Whitworth ASX is tested.

=1944=

:BWM tests the 003R, a 003 with an additional rocket engine for boost on takeoff and combat :Hooker visits GE and is alarmed by the success of their team in improving the power of the Derwent as the I-40. He decides that their team at Rolls-Royce should beat them and produce an even more powerful engine. In a short 6-month period they design and build the Rolls-Royce Nene at 5,000 lbf, but it sees only limited use in the UK. :April: With design efforts underway at most engine companies, Power Jets has little possibility of profitability, and are nationalised, becoming a pure research lab as the National Gas Turbine Establishment . :June: A Derwent II engine is modified with an additional turbine stage powering a gearbox and five-bladed propeller. The RB.50, or Rolls-Royce Trent, is not further developed, but is test flown on a modified Meteor. :The Junkers Ju 287 jet bomber is tested :The BMW 018 engine is tested. Work ends soon after when the entire tooling and parts supply are destroyed in a bombing raid. :The Junkers Jumo 012 engine is tested, it stands as the most powerful engine in the world for some time, at 6,600 lbf. :The J35, a development of an earlier turboprop effort, runs for the first time :Ford builds a copy of the V-1 s engine, known as the PJ-31-1. :The Ishikawajima Ne-20 first runs in Japan. Originally intending to build a direct copy of the BMW 003, the plans never arrived and the Japanese engineers instead built an entirely new design based on a single cutaway image and several photographs. :The Doblhof WNF-4 flies, the first jet powered helicopter. :June: Me 262 s enter squadron service in Germany. :July: Meteors enter squadron service in the UK. :An effort starts in Germany to build a simple jet fighter, the Volksjager . The contract is eventually won by the Heinkel He 162, to be powered by the BMW 003. :December: Northrop s T-37 turboprop is tested. The design never matures and work is later stopped in the late 1940s.

=1945=

:Hooker scales the Nene down to Meteor-size, producing the RB.37, also referred to, confusingly, as the Derwent V. A Derwent V powered Meteor sets the world speed record at 606 mph at the end of the year. This performance is so outstanding that immediate development of more powerful engines is considered unimportant. :The Junkers 022 turboprop runs. :An afterburner-equipped Jumo 004 is tested. :Lyul’ka VDR-3 axial-flow engine tested. :Lyul’ka TR-1 axial-flow engine tested. :The RB.39 Rolls-Royce Clyde turboprop runs, combining axial and centrifugal stages in the compressor. It is considered too complex to bother with. :The Avia S92, a version of the Me 262, is built in Czechlosovakia.

=1946=

:January: a dispirited Frank Whittle resigns from that is left of Power Jets. Gradually the company is broken up, with only a small part remaining to administer its patents. :Development of the Rolls-Royce Dart starts. The Dart would go on to become one of the most popular turboprop engines made, with over 7,000 being produced before the production lines finally shut down in 1990.