From the Archive - Sir Roy Fedden on interwar engines & the wartime German aircraft industry

“A giant among those pioneers who put our country in the forefront in the field of aero engines between the two World Wars”, he was the brain behind the Jupiter engine and set up Bristol Aeroplane Company’s engine division. In these reminiscences, Fedden discusses his early life and career, how he became involved in designing aero engines and gives insights into his time at Bristol. Fedden left Bristol in 1942 and became a consultant at the Ministry of Aviation. He discusses his mission to Germany in the early months after the war which did much to bring back to Britain the cutting edge technology being pioneered under the Nazi regime. He also reflects on a contrasting mission to learn lessons from American aircraft firms. The recording of Sir Roy Fedden HonFRAeS was made on 5 December 1969, it was digitised thanks to a grant from the RAeS Foundation and the podcast was edited by Mike Stanberry FRAeS. Please note, due to the age of this recording, there are periods of poor sound quality during the lecture.