The Junkers Jumo 004 was the world's first production turbojet engine in operational use, and the first successful axial compressor turbojet engine. Some 8,000 units were manufactured by Junkers in Germany late in World War II, powering the Messerschmitt Me 262 fighter and the Arado Ar 234 reconnaissance/bomber, along with prototypes, including the Horten Ho 229. Variants and copies of the engine were produced in Eastern Europe and the USSR for several years following the end of WWII.
Junkers Jumo 004
Frontal view of a Jumo 004 engine mounted in a nacelle on an Me 262 fighter, showing the starter pull-start handle in the center of the intake nose cone.
Riedel starter, with pull-start handle & cable
Sectioned Jumo 004 exhaust nozzle, showing the Zwiebel centrebody or plug
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. The compressed air from the compressor is heated by burning fuel in the combustion chamber and then allowed to expand through the turbine. The turbine exhaust is then expanded in the propelling nozzle where it is accelerated to high speed to provide thrust. Two engineers, Frank Whittle in the United Kingdom and Hans von Ohain in Germany, developed the concept independently into practical engines during the late 1930s.
Junkers Jumo 004, the first production turbojet in operational use
Frank Whittle
Hans von Ohain
Heinkel He 178, the world's first aircraft to fly purely on turbojet power, using an HeS 3 engine