Frank Whittle was born in 1907.When he was young he grew up in Coventry in the West Midlands. He was educated at Leamington College and then went on to Cambridge University. He entered Cranwell Royal Air Force College in 1926 as a cadet. As he attended classes he became very keen and interested on jet propulsion. Then in 1930 he succeeded in developing the concept of a turbojet and he patented the design. Then in 1936 he founded a (financially) self-sufficient company known as ‘Power Jets Limited’. With this company he continued his jet development.

Then in May 1941 the first test flight of an aeroplane powered by Whittle’s turbojet took  place. This event happened during World War II. Towards the end of the war fighters that were powered by turbojets were used to shoot down German guided cruise missiles.

Frank Whittle became sir Frank Whittle in 1948 after he had been knighted. He also earned the USA Legion of Merit in 1946 and the Churchill Gold Medal of the Society of Engineers in 1952.He earned many other awards as well.
 

Side-view of a turbo-jet.         Front-view of turbo-jet.