Frank Whittle

Video from the Past [07] - Sir Stanley Hooker, Rolls-Royce & Bristol Engineer

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• published: 21 Feb 2015
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Video from the Past [07] - Sir Stanley Hooker, Rolls-Royce & Bristol Engineer Sir Stanley Hooker played a major part in Fighter Command’s success in the Battle of Britain. Hooker has remained in the shadows of Battle of Britain folklore and whereas many will automatically associate Sidney Camm with the Hawker Hurricane and Reginald Mitchell with the Supermarine Spitfire, few will know that Stanley Hooker played a major part in making these legendary aircraft what they were. Hooker also helped Sir Frank Whittle in his development of the jet engine. Whittle grew increasingly concerned about Rover’s inability to make the parts he needed for his project. Hooker persuaded the chairman of Rolls-Royce, Ernest Hives, to meet Whittle. He was so impressed with what Whittle planned that he got Rolls-Royce’s Derby factory to produce what Whittle needed. Rolls-Royce took over the Rover factory in Barnoldswick in an exchange with Rover that saw Rover take over the Rolls-Royce factory in Nottingham. Hooker was made chief engineer of the Barnoldswick factory working on the jet engine. Hooker worked on the successful ‘Nene’ jet engine, an unlicensed version was used on the Mig-15 during the height of the Cold War, and the ‘Olympus’ engine that was used on later versions of the Vulcan bomber – the mainstay of the ‘V Force’ during the Cold War. Hooker also played his part in the development of the ‘Pegasus’ engine that allowed the Hawker Harrier Jump Jet to take off vertically. Stanley Hooker was knighted in 1974. A modest man who underplayed his achievements, Hooker titled his autobiography “Not much of an engineer” – something that had been said to him at an earlier stage in his career.