How did Hans von Ohain develop a jet engine independently of Frank Whittle?

Hans von Ohain developed his jet engine independently of Frank Whittle through a parallel process of innovation in Germany during the 1930s. While Whittle conceived the turbojet in 1928, von Ohain arrived at the same concept independently in 1933, without knowledge of Whittle’s work.1

Following his doctoral studies at the University of Göttingen, von Ohain was recommended to the German aircraft manufacturer Ernst Heinkel in 1936. Unlike Whittle, who initially faced significant skepticism and a lack of government or industrial support in Britain, von Ohain secured the backing of Heinkel’s firm. This industrial partnership allowed him to conduct secret experiments at Heinkel’s factory, leading to a successful bench test by 1937.231

Von Ohain’s design featured a centrifugal compressor and a radial-inflow turbine. His work culminated in the He 178, which achieved the world’s first jet-powered flight on August 27, 1939—nearly two years before the first flight of a British jet-powered aircraft. While both pioneers utilized centrifugal-flow designs, their efforts represented distinct, concurrent paths toward the realization of the jet engine.421