Isaac Lubbock - Unsung Inventor of the Jet Engine and Rocket Pioneer

This is the untold story of Isaac Lubbock (1891-1961), an unsung hero, who during World War II was the only scientist working at the cutting edge of both jet propulsion and liquid fuel rocketry, two world-changing technologies. In 1940 he invented the combustion chamber for Frank Whittle’s jet, without which it couldn’t fly. Whittle later said, ‘All subsequent engines stems from Mr. Lubbock’s work’. This remains true. In 1942 he invented the first British liquid fuel rocket. This enabled him to convince Churchill that the V2 threat was real, in the face of acrimonious scorn from the scientific establishment including Lord Cherwell, Churchill’s scientific adviser. He received no public recognition. This book aims to rectify the injustice done to one of the great British inventors and engineers.

About the author

Jules Lubbock was born in 1943 while his father Isaac was inventing his rocket. He was named after Jules Verne whose novels of space exploration inspired his father. He is now Professor Emeritus of Art History at Essex University. His books range from Italian Renaissance Art to Modern Architecture, Design and Town Planning. In the 1980s he was architecture critic for the New Statesman and wrote speeches on architecture for HRH Prince, now King Charles. He was a founding member of the Prince’s Architecture and Planning Group and established the Prince’s Summer School in Civil Architecture in 1990. His next book is On Ornament.

Product details

• Authors: Lubbock Jules
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 01.06.2026
• EAN: 9781917458849
• ISBN: 978-1-917458-84-9
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Subjects: Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Technology > General, dictionaries; TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / General, Biography: general, Air forces and warfare, Engines & power transmission, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Aircraft and aviation, Aerospace and aviation technology, Engines and power transmission, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes