British Aviation Pioneer Officer and Inventor. He is credited with the invention of the turbojet engine. The oldest son of a mechanical engineer, in January 1923 he joined the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraft apprentice and three years later he entered officer training, graduating in 1928 as a commissioned pilot. In the early 1930s he began working on the design of a turbojet engine. Despite the lack of British Air Ministry support, he and two retired RAF servicemen formed Power Jets Ltd and created a prototype engine that was first tested in 1937 and put into production in 1941, following the advent of World War II. In 1946 he received the Commander of the Legion of Merit for his efforts. Other honors and awards soon followed, including the Companion of the Order of the Bath (1947), the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1948), the Rumford Medal (1950), the Louis E. Levy Medal (1956), the Tony Janus Award (1969), the French Order of Merit (1986), the Charles Stark Draper Prize (1991), the Prince Philip Medal (Royal Academy of Engineering), and three honorary doctorate degrees. He retired from the RAF as a air commodore in 1948 and became a technical advisor with British Overseas Airways Corporation, followed by engineering positions at Royal Dutch Shell and Bristol Aero Engines. In 1976 he emigrated to the US and served as a professor on the staff of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland for two years. He died at the age of 89. He was cremated and his ashes were sent to England to be placed in a memorial at the St. Andrew Parish Church in Cranwell.
British Aviation Pioneer Officer and Inventor. He is credited with the invention of the turbojet engine. The oldest son of a mechanical engineer, in January 1923 he joined the British Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraft apprentice and three years later he entered officer training, graduating in 1928 as a commissioned pilot. In the early 1930s he began working on the design of a turbojet engine. Despite the lack of British Air Ministry support, he and two retired RAF servicemen formed Power Jets Ltd and created a prototype engine that was first tested in 1937 and put into production in 1941, following the advent of World War II. In 1946 he received the Commander of the Legion of Merit for his efforts. Other honors and awards soon followed, including the Companion of the Order of the Bath (1947), the Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1948), the Rumford Medal (1950), the Louis E. Levy Medal (1956), the Tony Janus Award (1969), the French Order of Merit (1986), the Charles Stark Draper Prize (1991), the Prince Philip Medal (Royal Academy of Engineering), and three honorary doctorate degrees. He retired from the RAF as a air commodore in 1948 and became a technical advisor with British Overseas Airways Corporation, followed by engineering positions at Royal Dutch Shell and Bristol Aero Engines. In 1976 he emigrated to the US and served as a professor on the staff of the US Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland for two years. He died at the age of 89. He was cremated and his ashes were sent to England to be placed in a memorial at the St. Andrew Parish Church in Cranwell.
Bio by: William Bjornstad
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