A turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine that compresses incoming air, burns fuel with it in a combustion chamber, and expands the hot gases through a turbine and propelling nozzle to produce thrust for aircraft. The British engineer Frank Whittle filed his first patent for a centrifugal-compressor turbojet in England in 1930, while the German physicist Hans von Ohain independently developed an axial-flow turbojet design in the same decade; von Ohain's engine powered the Heinkel He 178 to the first turbojet-powered flight on August 27, 1939, and Whittle's own design entered operational service in the Gloster Meteor in 1944, alongside the German Messerschmitt Me 262. An earlier patent for a similar concept had been filed by the French engineer Maxime Guillaume in 1921 but was never built. Turbojets went on to power early supersonic fighters and the Concorde, and their simple, high-exhaust-speed design remains common in cruise missiles.
Facts
SignificanceThe turbojet's first operational combat aircraft, the Messerschmitt Me 262 and the Gloster Meteor, entered service in 1944, near the end of World War Two, marking the type's move from experimental engine to combat proven propulsion. 1 Partially Attested
Patent or First-Use DateDate is Whittle's patent submission date; the article gives only the year, 1932, for the patent's grant, with no exact grant date. Connections
Associated With
Inconel, Materials Nickel-based Inconel superalloys resist the high temperatures of turbojet combustors and turbine sections.
Titanium alloys are used in turbojet compressor sections for their strength-to-weight ratio.
In Field
Source Turbojet, Wikipedia
Invented By
Source Turbojet, Wikipedia
Source Turbojet, Wikipedia
Predecessor Of
Afterburner, Inventions The afterburner is an additional combustion component fitted to a jet engine such as the turbojet, injecting extra fuel downstream of the turbine for a temporary thrust boost.
Source Afterburner (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Turbojet, Wikipedia
History section
On 27 August 1939 the Heinkel He 178, powered by von Ohain's design, became the world's first aircraft to fly using the thrust from a turbojet engine.
History section, Whittle patent sentence
On 16 January 1930 in England, Whittle submitted his first patent (granted in 1932).
History section, Me 262 and Gloster Meteor sentence
The first two operational turbojet aircraft, the Messerschmitt Me 262 and then the Gloster Meteor, entered service in 1944, towards the end of World War II, the Me 262 in April and the Gloster Meteor in July.
- In Group: Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines, lead: airbreathing jet engine consisting of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle
Invented By: Frank Whittle, Lead section
Two engineers, Frank Whittle in the United Kingdom and Hans von Ohain in Germany, developed the concept independently into practical engines during the late 1930s.
Invented By: Hans von Ohain, Lead section
Two engineers, Frank Whittle in the United Kingdom and Hans von Ohain in Germany, developed the concept independently into practical engines during the late 1930s.
In Field: Aerospace Engineering, Categories
Jet engines
View the SourceAfterburner (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationPredecessor Of: Afterburner, Lead sectionQuote, Predecessor Of: Afterburner, Lead section
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who invented the turbojet: Frank Whittle or Hans von Ohain?
Both did: Whittle patented his design in 1930 and von Ohain's engine made the first turbojet flight in 1939.
Both are credited, because they worked independently. Frank Whittle filed his first patent for a centrifugal-compressor turbojet in England in 1930. Hans von Ohain separately developed an axial-flow design in the same decade, and his engine powered the Heinkel He 178 on the first turbojet-powered flight on August 27, 1939. Whittle's own design reached operational service in the Gloster Meteor in 1944.
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