Jet Man : The Making and Breaking of Frank Whittle, Genius of the Jet Revolution

Author: Campbell-Smith, Duncan

United Kingdom, Great Britain

Published on 5 August 2021 by Head of Zeus (Apollo) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback / softback | 560 pages, 25 integrated b&w, 2 x 8pp b&w
130 x 198 x 42 | 478g

The story of Frank Whittle - RAF pilot, mathematician of genius, inventor of the jet engine and British hero. 'Wonderful' David Edgerton, TLS 'A fascinating account' Aeroplane Monthly 'Casts new light on the intense, heroic character of Frank Whittle' Leo McKinstry '[A] thorough dissection of the evolution of the jet engine... I recommend this mighty tome unreservedly' Journal of Aeronautical History 'A long overdue corrective of an extraordinary man' James Hamilton-Paterson 'A fine, deeply researched book' Military History MonthlyIn 1938, a thirty-one-year-old RAF pilot and engineer named Frank Whittle - given special leave to pursue his own startlingly original concept of flight - presented the Air Ministry with a written proposal for a revolutionary jet-powered fighter aircraft. A ready response might have changed the course of history, but Whittle got no reply.

In this gripping and insightful biography, Duncan Campbell-Smith charts Whittle's success at building a pre-war jet engine against all the odds - and tracks his desperate struggle to have it launched into active service against Hitler's Luftwaffe. It arrived too late - but nonetheless transformed the future of aviation.