The Jet Race and the Second World War

(Hardback)

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In the 1930s, as nations braced for war, the German military build up caught Britain and the United States off-guard, particularly in aviation technology. The unending quest for speed resulted in the need for radical alternatives to piston engines. In Germany, Dr. Hans von Ohain was the first to complete a flight-worthy turbojet engine for aircraft. It was installed in a Heinkel-designed aircraft, and the Germans began the jet age on August 27, 1939. The Germans led the jet race throughout the war and were the first to produce jet aircraft for combat operations. In England, the doggedly determined Frank Whittle also developed a turbojet engine, but without the support enjoyed by his German counterpart. The British came second in the jet race when Whittle's engine powered the Gloster Pioneer on May 15, 1941. The Whittle-Gloster relationship continued and produced the only Allied combat jet aircraft during the war, the Meteor, which was relegated to Home Defense in Britain. In America, General Electric copied the Whittle designs, and Bell Aircraft contracted to build the first American jet plane. On October 1, 1942, a lackluster performance from the Bell Airacomet, ushered in the American jet age. The Yanks forged ahead, and had numerous engine and airframe programs in development by the end of the war. But, the Germans did it right and did it first, while the Allies lagged throughout the war, only rising to technological prominence on the ashes of the German defeat. Pavelec's analysis of the jet race uncovers all the excitement in the high-stakes race to develop effective jet engines for warfare and transport.

Reviews

[C]omplements the definitive history of the technology, The Origins of the Turbojet Revolution, by Edward Constant II (CH, Jun'81). Pavelec adds the history of the German, British, and American efforts to implement the technology just before and during WW II. This reviewer notes that the seeming backwardness of the US might be attributed to the influence of a 1923 NACA Technical Report that correctly noted that jet propulsion of aircraft would not be efficient before velocities greater than 400 mph were achieved. This velocity was not achieved, except for a few specially designed racing planes, until the 1940s. From that point, the race was on when the German technological advantages were negated by the inability of the German economy to have access to the raw materials required to make durable jet engines. Again, this book complements but does not supersede Constant's definitive volume. Libraries that aspire to, and can afford the cost, of a complete aviation collection should acquire Pavelec's contribution. Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty. * Choice *
The Jet Race is a solid study of jet engines, detailed and well documented. * The Journal of Military History *
Pavelec describes the efforts to develop turbojet airplanes as an effective weapon of war from the beginnings of World War II through its aftermath. His focus is on the technological achievements of the various national government programs and he pays particular attention to the German programs, which produced the most successful aircraft for most of the period until they were eclipsed by the Americans towards the end of the war and into the post-war era. * SciTech Book News *

Author Bio

Sterling Michael Pavelec is Assistant Professor of History at Hawaii Pacific University.