IN the early part of the twentieth century, aricraft wre power by internal combustion engines. These engines became increasingly heavy and complex as efforts were made to create speedier planes, Aircraft engine designers realized the capabilities of the engines were limited. Attainable altitude and speed was capped because thin air reduced propeller and engine efficiency. As a heavier engine would only weigh down the craft, engineers turned to other ways to power aircraft.

Frank Whittle, a British engineer, worked on one possible solution: the jet engine. In 1930, Whittle patented a variation on a gas turbine engine already in commercial use. The engine used a turbocompressor to compress incoming air, which was mixed with fuel and ignited. The high-pressure exhaust blew out the back, producing forward thrust. The machine, however, received little attention in Britain because it was too heavy and inefficient to be mounted in a...