Whittle W1

The Whittle W1 was designed by Frank Whittle and built by the company he established, Power Jets Ltd. They received a contract for the engine on the 7th July 1939. It would be used as the powerplant for the experimental E28/39 which was to be built by Gloster at Hucclecote. The E28/39 Pioneer flew for the first time on the 15th May 1941 piloted by Flight Lieutenant P. E. G. Sayer. The engine a reverse flow turbojet consisted of ten combustion chambers ringed around the double sided impeller and jet pipe.


The Whittle W1 was a very compact design


This preserved W1 is on display at the Lone Star flight museum in Texas.

The reverse flow design was adopted to minimise the length of the main shaft which connected the impeller to the turbine, the same design would be used on the Rover/ Rolls Royce W2B Welland.

7 Welland powered all the F. Mk1 Meteors and the first few F. Mk3's, the remaining F. Mk3's being powered by the 2,000 lb thrust Rolls Royce Derwent I, a straight through flow development of the W2B/23.