677

HJGHT
International,
13 May
1971

Britain's first jet aeroplane

' BY JOHN GRIERSON
T h i r t y years ago next S a t u r d a y the Gloster-Whittle E.28/39
Pioneer, Britain's first jet-propelled aeroplane, m a d e its
initial flight. A s a " f i r s t " it had been pre-empted by Germany's
H e i n k e l 178 in 1939 and Italy's piston-engined ducted-fan
C a m p i n i Caproni N.I a year later. But it w a s the beginning
of the longest continuous line of turbine d e v e l o p m e n t , w h i c h
has virtually t a k e n over t h e propulsion field f r o m the piston
engine. J o h n Grierson was one of the four Gloster test pilots
concerned w i t h the E.28/39 project. H e recalls here s o m e of
his impressions of t h e revolutionary aeroplane and its trials
programme, w h i c h w a s naturally geared entirely to the need
for rapid d e v e l o p m e n t of a turbine engine for use w i t h the
first production fighter, t h e Meteor.

N SEPTEMBER 1939 the Gloster Aircraft Company received

a contract for an aeroplane designated the E.28/39.
George Carter, the company's chief designer, was
thereby instructed to create an aeroplane capable of
proving the principle of jet propulsion, and although space
was originally provided for four Browning guns these were
never fitted. By mutual agreement the aeroplane was to be
called "The Gloster-Whittle" E.28, in token of the important
design contributions made by Frank Whittle and his
company, Power Jets. Only two prototypes were ordered,
the idea being that once these had proved themselves
successful in flight, the go-ahead could be given for a
more elaborate twin-engined version incorporating all the
equipment necessary to give it true fighter capability.
The round fuselage of the E.28 low-wing monoplane had
a slightly tubby appearance, perhaps because there was no
problem of damaging the propeller tips, which allowed the
machine to have an unusually short undercarriage. Notable
features of the design were as follows:
(1) A nose air-intake led the air through bifurcated ducts
around the cockpit.
(2) The nosewheel was steerable by the rudder, an unusual
feature in those days and one which proved very handy
for manoeuvre after a forced landing.
(3) A single fuel tank of 82 Imp gal capacity'was located
directly behind the pilot. Its design incorporated an

inverted-flying compartment because of the fear that,

in the case of negative g, the flame might be put out
and be followed by relighting difficulties.
(4) The Whittle W.l gas turbine (the first engine to be
fitted) was installed behind the pilot and the fuel tank.
Its exhaust was led through the centre of the fuselage
and the jetpipe terminated about two feet behind the
rudder.
(5) The original engine was started by an Austin Seven
car engine connected by a flexible drive. After the
early flights, later engines had electric starting from a
ground booster battery.
(6) The cockpit was enclosed by a sliding canopy, but no
pressurization or heating of any kind was provided.
We were supposed to have electrically heated clothing
but because there was no generator on the engine and
all the battery capacity was needed to work the automatic observerthis being of great importance in
recording the results of our testswe had to remain
pretty cool.
(7) Retraction of the undercarriage was
by a hydraulic
accumulator, working at l,5001b/in2, backed up by the
pilot's hand-pump. In addition there was an emergency
compressed-air system. The flaps were also hydraulic,
but worked direct from the hand-pump.
(8) We had no radio and the all-up weight of the original
E.28, with its Power Jets W.l engine of 8601b thrust,
was 3,6901b.
After preliminary taxying tests at Brockworth (Gloster's
home aerodrome) in April 1941 the E.28 was moved by
continued overleaf

Cranwell, 7.40 p.m.. May IS, 1941. "Jerry" Sayer, the Power Jets
W.l engine and the Gloster E.28/39 airborne for the first time (heading
picture). The aeroplane had previously made three hops, each of about
200 yards, on May 7 during taxi trials at Gloster's Airfield at Brockworth
while temporarily fitted with the non-flightworthy WAX
engine.
It was at Cranwell that much of Whittle's theoretical work on the
turbine engine was developed