Och hello there… Sir Sidney McSprocket here! 

My parrot Polly is still in the Victory Vault.  It’s my latest invention, a totally tremendous time machine that can take us to explore incredible inventions. 

I’d set the parameters to explore the dark years of the 1940s when we were at war.  Come on, we better go and find her!

Scanning Location:

More to click...

• Jeeps
• Ball Point Pens and Super Glue
• Freeze Dried Coffee

• RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire. 
• Date – May 1941. 
• Invention Detected – the Jet Engine.

Jet engine

All manner of exciting inventions could be demonstrated at an RAF base at any time during the war.

And today’s no exception – it’s Frank Whittle’s prototype jet engine – the Gloster Whittle, no less. 

World War Two was when jet engines really took off for the first time – literally! Let’s listen in…

• Whittle One, this is Control. You are cleared for take-off. Confirm systems are green and proceed with caution. Report altitude and speed at intervals. Over.
• Control, this is Whittle One. Systems are green, throttle is set, and I am ready for roll. Beginning take-off now. Over.

And she’s off! Look at her go… much faster than an old propeller plane!  She flew for 17 minutes, getting to 350 mph at 25,000 ft.

Frank Whittle was a British RAF pilot who designed and patented the first turbo jet engine in 1930. His engine, with a single-stage centrifugal compressor coupled to a single-stage turbine, was successfully tested in April 1937.

How does it work?

Well, it’s all down to technology! 

Jet engine works by pulling in air, compressing it up to 10 times and mixing it with fuel, which is then all burned to create hot gases, which in turn spins a turbine pushing the gases out the back at high speed, creating thrust that moves the plane forward.

The Germans nearly had the edge on this technology. In 1939 they had already developed the Heinkel He 178 jet which could go at 400 miles an hour. But there wasn’t much interest in the technology until later in the war and even then, their Messerschmit jets were said to spend more time on the ground than in the sky!

That just goes to show that with engineering innovations, it doesn’t always matter who comes up with the idea first – it’s who puts it to work!

After its test flights, the Gloster Whittle was handed over to the RAF.  It was a reliable aircraft that paved the way for more advanced jets such as the Gloster Meteor, which was used for homeland defence.

Jet technology has soared since the war and today most military and civilian planes are powered by jet engines, some reaching speeds of over 1,300 miles per hour! New innovations include engines with multiple drive shafts so turbines can spin at different speeds making them more efficient, and sustainable aviation fuel to reduce emissions. Jet engines aren’t just for planes – they’re also used to generate electricity, pump water and gas, and even power ships.

Incredible innovation indeed!

Oh… Polly.  She’s still in the Victory Vault.  I better follow her… but maybe after a wee cuppa tee!  Tatty bye for now!

YOUR GO… Paper Plane Race

Take flight with your very own paper plane designs! Fold, decorate and fly three different paper planes and see which one travels the furthest. Jet engines changed the skies forever – now it’s your turn to engineer the next great aircraft. Which design soars the highest?

Get started here!

And why not listen to all of Sir Sidney’s programmes…

SIR SIDNEY MCSPROCKET AND THE VICTORY VAULT.

Created with support from The Royal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851.