Rare lost interviews with German Engineer Hans Von Ohain, part 1.
➤PART 1: • Inventing The Jet Engine: Hans Von Oh...
➤PART 2: • Inventing The Turbojet Hans Von Oha...
➤PART 3: • Inventing The Turbojet Hans Von Oha...
This series explores the different approaches of the German inventor compared to Frank Whittle, the British inventor who created the first working turbojet in April 1937.
Through a Q&A, you can spot the different philosophical approaches and marked differences in the means and support of the two inventors.
On one side, Von Ohain is being encouraged, funded, and supported; on the other side, Whittle is being ostracized, penniless, and often wholly blocked in his quest.
The British inventor had no patron of the stature of Heinkel, not a professor who introduced him to aircraft manufacturers, yet he managed to accomplish his goal before anyone else.
For reference, here is Whittle's documentary: • Genius Of The Jet | The Invention Of ...
Von Ohain and Heinkel had the first flight of an aircraft powered by a turbojet in 1939.
that engine was mixpowered, centrifugal (Whittle), and axial.
Later in his life, Von Ohain finally admitted to having had access to Whittle's early work, something he initially denied or dismissed.
As a matter of fact, Whittle's work, which had not been shamefully secreted by his own government, had been copied and distributed across German universities and, therefore, accessible by Von Ohain.
Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain (14 December 1911 – 13 March 1998) was a German physicist, engineer, and the designer of the first turbojet engine to power an aircraft. Together with Frank Whittle, he has been described as the coinventor of the turbojet engine. However, the historical timelines show that von Ohain was still a university student when, in January 1930, Whittle filed his first patent for a turbojet engine. Whittle successfully ran his first engine in April 1937, some 6 months before von Ohain. Additionally, before designing the engine and filing his patent in 1935, von Ohain had read and critiqued Whittle's patents. Von Ohain stated in his biography, "My interest in jet propulsion began in the fall of 1933 when I was in my seventh semester at Göttingen University. I didn't know that many people before me had the same thought.". Unlike Whittle, von Ohain had the significant advantage of being supported by an aircraft manufacturer, Heinkel, who funded his work.
In 1935, von Ohain designed his overall engine layout. He based it for compactness on a centrifugal impeller (centrifugal or radial compressor) and a radial inflow turbine.
Ultimately, this configuration had too many shortcomings to be put into production; however, aided by the enormous resources of the Heinkel Aircraft Company, a developed version was sufficient to power the He178, and on 27 August 1939, von Ohain entered history as the designer of the world's first gas turbine to power an aircraft.
Von Ohain stayed with centrifugal designs, contributing his research to Heinkel's other projects, such as the combined centrifugal/axial HeS8 and 011, but ultimately, none of his designs were put into production, and other competing German designers at Junkers and BMW, following the axial design layout saw their engines in production. However, they never solved some of the basic power and durability problems. Von Ohain, nevertheless, started the world's first jet engine industry in his homeland of Germany, with many prototypes and a series of productions built till 1945.
Von Ohain, having entered turbojet design sometime later than Whittle, began working on his first turbojet engine designs during the same period that Whittle was building his WU engine in Britain. Some have said that their turbojet designs are examples of simultaneous invention. However, von Ohain explains in his biography that in 1935, while his own patent was being prepared (and before he had begun construction of an engine), his lawyer gave him a copy of Whittle's patent, which he read and critiqued. As a result, he was forced to modify his own application so as not to infringe on Whittle's design.
The interviews will also settle some disputes and ignite others.
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