Rolls-Royce Welland

The Welland was Britain’s first production jet engine — a centrifugal-flow turbojet of about 1,600 lbf thrust, developed by Rolls-Royce from Frank Whittle’s pioneering Power Jets W.2 design after Rolls took the work over from Rover in 1943. It powered the first Gloster Meteors into service in 1944 — the only Allied jet to see combat in the war, used to chase down V-1 flying bombs. Only 167 Wellands were built before the more powerful “straight-through” Derwent superseded it and the early Meteors were re-engined; the Derwent line would carry the Meteor on through the post-war years.