Ark Models 72022 Gloster Whittle E 28/39 British experimental plane

The Gloster E.28 / 39 Whittle was a British low-wing experimental jet aircraft with a retractable in-flight triple-support landing gear from the Second World War. The prototype's flight took place in 1941, but the machine never entered mass production. The plane was 7.74 meters long with a wingspan of 8.84 meters. The propulsion was provided by a single Power Jets W.1 turbojet engine with a thrust of 3.8 kN. The maximum speed of the aircraft was 544 km / h. The machine did not have a permanent on-board armament.

The Gloster E.28 / 39 Whittle was commissioned by the RAF to test the newly developed Power Jets W.1 engine in flight and to test the possibilities and problems associated with the use of a jet propulsion. The Gloster Whittle was the first British jet to take off, and the third of its kind in the world. In total, two copies of this aircraft were built, the first of which was tested in 1941-1944, and the second only in 1943. In addition, the second copy of this plane crashed in the year of its flight (1943). It is fairly commonly accepted that the experiences and lessons learned from flying Gloster Whittle were the cornerstone of the Gloster Meteor design.