Jet pioneers : Gloucestershire and the birth of the jet age

In April 1941 Britain's first jet left the ground at a grass airfield 4 miles from Gloucester Cathedral. It was the start of a revolution in air travel, military and civilian. During the 1940s Britain's first-ever jet aircraft, the world's first jet fighter in squadron service and the first jet to hold the world air-speed record were all designed, built and flown in the Gloucester and Cheltenham area. The story of Frank Whittle's invention and dogged development of the jet engine is well known. But the account of how his invention was put into the air has never been fully told. This book tells the story of how the men and women of north Gloucestershire made Whittle's engine fly. "During the 1940s Britain's first-ever jet aircraft, its first jet fighter and the first jet to hold the world air-speed record were designed, built and first flown in Gloucestershire. The story of Frank Whittle's invention and dogged development of the jet engine is well known. But the account of how his invention was put into the air has never been fully told. Jet Pioneers tells the story of how the men and women of the Gloster Aircraft Company made Whittle's engine fly." "With a foreword by Eric Brown CBE DSC AFC, the last man living of all those who flew the E28/39, Jet Pioneers is illustrated with many previously unpublished pictures, including secret photographs taken during construction, and the first cutaway drawing of Britain's first jet. Tim Kershaw has also produced the first biographical account of George Carter, the aircraft's designer, and has traced people who designed, built and first flew the aircraft. Many eyewitness accounts appear in this fascinating examination of the one of the twentieth century's most important inventions."--BOOK JACKET