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Use your Back button on your browser to return to the last site. History of General Electric Aircraft Engines General Electric was created in 1892 by the consolidation of the Thomson-Houston Company and Edison General Electric. The company started out at the River Works plant in Lynn, Massachusetts. By 1917 GE was producing centrifugal compressors for blast furnaces and pneumatic conveyors requiring low-pressure compressed air in large quantities. With the entry of the United States into World War I, GE competed in its first bid for a government contract for aircraft turbine power, against the French designed turbo supercharger. Turbo superchargers allowed high altitude flight at full power by compressing the thin air at altitude to feed the combustion chambers of piston engines with adequate fuel air mixture. GE won the competition but the war came to an end and in November of 1918 all government contracts were cancelled. During the 1930’s the Army Air Corps contracted GE to advance the development of high temperature turbine nozzle and blade combinations, primarily for use in turbo superchargers. This was the true beginnings of gas turbines as a primary power source for aircraft. The Thomson laboratory performed all of the turbo supercharger work done at GE to this point. In 1937 GE officially created the Supercharger Department to handle the large orders coming in from the Army Air Corps. Two of the early aircraft equipped with GE turbo superchargers were the Le Pere P-59 Bi-plane (with GE turbo supercharger above the propeller) and the Curtis XP23 (with an external GE turbo supercharger). In 1939 GE was studying the use of jet propulsion gas turbines while in England and Germany, progress was rapid due to military requirements. Frank Whittle, a British Royal Air Force officer, had patented a jet design in 1930. In 1935, Power Jet LTD was formed and a design contract was let to the British Thomson-Houston Company (a spin off of the American Company). It was during this time that Dr. Moss, a jet pioneer from GE’s Thomson Laboratory and a member of the Supercharger Department, got to see Whittles’ engine, the W-1 work. Germany had been working on its own jet and unbeknownst to the allies, managed to win the race for the first flight of a jet-powered aircraft. The Heinkel HE178, the world’s first jet aircraft, first flew August 27, 1939 from Heinkel Airfield at Marienche near the north coast of Germany. Five days later, Hitler invaded Poland starting World War II. Germany's first operational jet would be the infamous Messerschmidt Me262.
During the early 1940’s General Electric experienced a "tooling up" at the Lynn River Works to support the contracts for turbo superchargers that were installed on many of the U.S. fighters and bombers. Some of the famous WWII GE turbo supercharged aircraft were: The Boeing B-29 Super Fortress The Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress In May of 1941, while General Electric was busy building turbo superchargers, General Hap Arnold of the U. S. Army Air Corps was invited to watch a flight of the English Gloster E28/39. Hap Arnold had already pushed for a jet propulsion study in February of 1941. After seeing the Gloster fly, Arnold returned to the U.S. of A. more determined than ever to expedite the U.S. of A’s entry into the jet age. General Arnold chose GE to develop the jet because of their long history of turbine technology and turbo supercharger experience. Official negotiations gave the U.S. the rights to build the Whittle engine in the United States. Hap Arnold oversaw the contracting of GE to build 15 Whittle engines at the River Works in Lynn, Massachusetts. On April 18, 1942 the first successful jet engine test in America was performed at Lynn River Works. The engine was an improved version of the Whittle engine, America’s first jet engine, the I-A. It initially produced 1250 pounds of thrust and was later increased to 1650 pound of thrust. Bell was chosen to build the first jet powered aircraft. On October 2, 1942 the Bell XP-59A made it’s first flight. America had officially entered the jet age. In 1943, intelligence reports confirmed the existence of the German Messerschmidt Me262. The United States Army Air Corp needed a 4000 pound thrust class engine. GE began working on the I-40 (later know as the J33). Concurrently, Lockheed began work on the XP-80 Shooting Star. The first flight powered by the GE I-40 occurred on June 10, 1944. It was the fastest, highest flying, most powerful flight to date, in the world. In 1947 it broke the world speed record at 620 MPH. GE produced approximately 300 J33s. Thousands more were built by Allison (a division of General Motors) under licence from GE due to GE's lack of manufacturing capability. This got Allison started in the jet engine business. In the early 1940's GE designed the world's first turbo prop engine, the TG100. This Engine was later designated the T31. It was GE's submittal to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for Jet Propulsion for Aircraft, which was pushed for by General Hap Arnold. During the mid 1940's, GE made a major decision that would help secure their place as the premier jet engine manufacturer in the world. It was decided that GE would build two different engines, the I-40/J-33 (a centrifugal flow engine) and the TG-180/J-35 (an axial flow engine). {See Types of Engines along the left boarder at the top of the page} The J-35 was first tested on April 21, 1944. It was first flight tested in February, 1946 in the Republic XP-84. The J-35 also powered the Martin XB-48, the XB-49 Flying Wing, and the Hughes XH-17 Crane Helicopter. GE produced approximately 140 J35s. The majority were once again built by Allison under licence from GE. On July 31, 1945, in Lynn, Massachusetts, GE created Aircraft Gas Turbine Division to replace the Supercharger Department. The new division was charged with designing a 5000 pound thrust class axial flow engine to compete with the J33s and J35s being built by Allison. GE's answer was the TG-190/J-47. Production began in the summer of 1948, and by 1950, GE Aircraft Gas Turbine Division was a 350 million dollar business. By 1953/54 the J-47 production rate was 975 engines per month. GE desperately needed more production space. The government owned a large facility in Lockland, Ohio. It was used during WWII to build Wright Piston Engines. On February 28, 1949 the GE Lockland Plant formally opened and the production of J-47 was carried out there as well. In the early 1950's Lockland was incorporated into the newly formed township of Evendale. In 1949, the J-47 became the first turbojet certified for commercial operation by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. The J-47 was also the first anti-iced engine. Anti-icing is the process of using compressed (compressed air is naturally heated)from the engine compressor and piping it to the inlet of the engine to prevent the formation of ice. The system was tested at 6,288 ft above sea level, on top of Mt. Washington, NH. Some of the J-47 powered Aircraft are: Consolidated Vultee B-36 (Boost Power) GE's growth version of the successful J-47 was the J-47-21 which became the J-73. It was the first engine to have a two stage turbine. It was the first engine to have a cannular or single combustion chamber. It was the first engine to use titanium. And, it was also the first engine to come equipped with Variable Inlet Guide Vanes (VIGVs) . VIGVs rotate on their axis to adjust the quantity and speed of air flowing into the compressor, greatly reducing the possibility of compressor stalls. A compressor stall happens when the volume of air ingested is too much for the compressor to handle efficiently. The air then bounces off the rotating compressor blades and travels forward out the front of the engine. This disturbance in the airflow can cause an engine to shutdown in flight. The advent of the VIGVs and later VGVs located between the first few stages of rotating compressor blades, created a much more desirable air flow through the compressor. The J-73 was flight tested on a B-29. A single engine mounted on the belly, powered the entire aircraft. In all, 870 J-73's were built, all to power the Northrop F-86H model. In 1952, GE had been exploring the development of more efficient compressors. GE was working on a Dual Rotor design but chose the VGV Stator equipped design for development and built the GOL1590 Demonstrator engine. It was rated at 13,200 pounds of thrust and weighed 2,935 pounds. This engine was the predecessor to the J-79. The J-79 was the first production engine to utilize the VGV stators in it's compressor. It was also the first Mach 2 powerplant. It's production run spanned three decades and by the end of the 1970s nearly 17,000 J-79s had been produced. The J-79 powered the Convair B-28 and all F104s for several countries. It also powered the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom and the Phantom II. (click HERE for a picture of the 5000th Phantom II going vertical) There are still several countries that use F-4s as their primary fighter. The engines are overhauled at Cherry Point MCAS, North Carolina, by two former Marines with about 80 years experience on the J-79 between them. In October, 1953, General Electric formed the Small Engine Department at the Riverworks facility in Lynn, Massachusetts. One of the first assignments for the new department was to develop the XT-58, designed to power helicopters. The first production T-58 put out 1050 Horse Power and weighed only 250 pounds. In the 1960s it grew to 1800HP. (click HERE for a picture of the T-58production line) The T-58 powered the Sikorsky HSS-1 (S-58) which made its first flight in February, 1957. It also powered the multi-service Sikorsky HSS-2 (S-61), the Sikorsky S-62, and the Sikorsky H-3s(including the VH-3s that still carry the President). The Kaman SH-2s and the Boeing Vertol CH-46s were also powered by it. CH-46s are still in service with the Navy and Marine Corps. The T-58 also powered an interesting looking developmental Tri-service Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicle, the Bell X-22A. The J-85 became GE's second small engine in 1954. It was originally designed for a missle and was originally a dry (non afterburning) engine with a thrust to weight ratio of 10 to 1. At the time, Northrop was developing the T-38 (a small, light weight fighter) around the J-79, but chose the twin engine concept and opted for two Afterburning J-85's. The T-38 lead to the T-38 Trainer and the F-5 Freedom Fighter. The F-5 first flew on July 30, 1959. It was powered by two J85-21s rated at 5000 pounds of thrust each. By the end of the 1970s, 12,000 J-85s had been produced. J-85s powered: the GE Lift Fan used on the experimental VTOL craft the XV-5A, the Saab 105XT, the Rockwell T-2C Trainer, the Cessna A-37 Attack Aircraft, the Lockheed XV-4B VTOL Craft, the Fiat G.91Y Fighter and the Teledyne Ryan MQM-34D MOD II Firebee Drone. There was also a dry J-85 on the C-123 Cargo Plane, used as a jet assist for take-off. Design work began in 1954 to develop an engine with more than twice the horse power of the T-58, lower Specific Fuel Consumption (SFC) and a higher compressor ratio. By 1957, GE had developed the T-64, a 2500 horse power class engine, for the Navy, with no specific airframe application. The T-64 ended up powering: the Sikorsky H-53, the DeHavilland DHC-5 Buffalo Transport, theFiat G.222 Transport, the Shin Meiwa PS-1 Flying Boat, the Chance Vought XC-142 VTOL, the Hughes XV-9A and the Kawasaki P2J ASW. At the time of this writing, the T-64 production line is still active at the GE Riverworks plant in Lynn, Massachusetts. The J93 was developed in the late 1950's. It was a Mach 3 engine producing 27,200 pounds of thrust with a weight of 4,770 pounds. The first test was in September, 1958. It powered the North American F-108 Inteceptor and the XB-70 Bomber. It was the first engine to have electrolytically drilled longitudinal air cooling holes in the turbine blades. (click HERE to see a comparison of the J93 to the GE-4) The X211 was a developmental project that ran from 1955 to 1961. It was a nuclear powered jet engine twin pack sharing one reactor. It measured 41 feet long and produced 34,600 pounds of thrust. When government funding for nuclear power was pulled, GE abandoned the project. The MF-295 was GE's proposed design for the F-111. It lost the competition but it was the first dual rotor engine with a front fan. The GE-1 (GE-one) (click HERE to see a comparison of the GE-1 to the J47) Demonstrator engine was a new concept. It was to be a building block for advancement of jet technology. It was used as a foundation to economically spawn off derivatives. It was a basic core engine design that led to the development of other designs. One growth of the GE-1 was the GE-1/6 which led to the TF-39 engine used to power the giant Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport plane. The basic core design of the GE-1 was used to develop the GE-4 for supersonic transport, the GE-9 which became the F101 powering the B1 bomber, the GE-15 which becamethe F404 powering the F-18, and the TF-34 which powered the S-3 Viking and the A-10 Thunderbolt. All of these designs trace their roots to the GE-1. The GE-4 was a 69,000 pound thrust engine! It was designed for supersonic transport. It was the first engine to have hollow compressor blades. Unfortunately, it was cancelled by the senate, bowing to pressure from tree huggers. Regardless of the environmental concerns, it was a truly impressive power plant. Design work on the TF-39 began in 1964. In August, 1965 a contract was awarded prior to an airframe award. GE designed a demonstator engine based on the core design of the GE-1/6. It had an 8 to 1 fan bypass ratio with a thrust of 15,830 pounds and an SFC of .336. The demonstrator was 1/2 the size of the TF-39. The final design had a 25 to 1 compressor ratio, a 2500 degree turbine, and a GE designed thrust reverser. It powers the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, the largest airplane in the United States Airforce inventory. At the end of production in 1971, 464 TF-39s were produced. (click HERE for another picture of "FRED") The TF-34 was developed in 1967-1968. Originally selected by Navy to power the S-3 Viking, it was also selected to power the Fairchild Republic A-10 for the Airforce. It is a 9000 pound thrust class engine, based on the core of the T-64, with a high bypass fan, based on the technology of TF-39. A very successful commercial spin-off, the CF-34 is still in active participation today. The T700 was based on the basic core design GE-12. Design work began in 1967 for a small turboshaft engine. The GE-12 was designed to produce 1500 horse power with 20-30% improved SFC and 40% weight reduction compared to other engines of the day. The Design was targeted for military helicopter requirements. It contained a radical compressor design called "Blisks", a one piece blade and disk with each stage milled from a single piece of metal. The primary reason for this design was to reduce the number of parts but it resulted in a more robust FOD resistent design. The T700 was the first U. S. Army competition and first U. S. Army contract awarded to GE. The T700 powers multiple helicopter designs across all branches of the military and also powers commercial helicopters and airplanes. It is still in production at the GE Riverworks facility in Lynn, Massachusetts. The F404 was based on the technology of the GE-1, and subsequently, the GE-15 which was concieved in 1967. (click HERE to see a picture of a GE-15 in the test cell) It was designed for light weight fighters. It is a 14,300 to 16,000 pound thrust engine. It has a low bypass fan, a split spool design and a afterburner. It powers the McDonnell Douglas F-18 fighter for the Navy. It's production run came to an end in 1999, replaced by the F414 engine which will power the F-18E & F, an increased capability fighter for the U. S. Navy. (click HERE to see a picture of a F404 on test) The F100/F400 engines were built on GE-1 technology. They were derived from the GE-9 and GE-1/10, designed for the next generation bomber. The F100 powers the Airforce F-15. The F400 powers the Navy F-14. The F101 powered the XB-70 and the B-1 Bomber. It is a 30,000 pound thrust class Mach 2 engine. It is a Turbofan with a 2.2 to 1 bypass ratio. It was the first Afterburning Turbo Fan. It was fitted with a new AB & Fan for the F-14B, the Vought A-7, and the F-16. It was the core for the CFM-56 which powers the KC-135 re-fueler for the Air Force. (click HERE for another picture of a F101 - click HERE & HERE for two more of the B1)
The majority of the information and pictures on this page were borrowed from the book "Seven Decades of Progress". It was published for GE somewhere around 1979. As far as I know, it is no longer in print.
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