James Collingwood Burdett Tinling (24 March 1900 – 1983) was an ex-

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer who joined with Rolf Dudley-Williams and

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 fo ...

in 1936 to set up Power Jets Ltd, which manufactured the world's first working jet engine. Tinling was born in

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

, the son of James Alexander Tinling, a chartered accountant. He was educated at St Cyprian's School and

Radley College Radley College, formally St Peter's College, Radley, is a public school (independent boarding school for boys) near Radley, Oxfordshire, England, which was founded in 1847. The school covers including playing fields, a golf course, a lake, an ...

. Tinling joined the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

, but was invalided out following a flying accident in the early 1930s. He joined Dudley-Williams and Whittle in 1936 to develop Whittle's expired patent for a jet engine. Tinling, Whittle and Dudley-Williams shared 49% of the new company, with 51% held by the investment bankers OT Falk and Partners, which also provided loan finance. The company,

Power Jets Power Jets was a British company set up by Frank Whittle for the purpose of designing and manufacturing jet engines. The company was nationalised in 1944, and evolved into the National Gas Turbine Establishment. History Founded on 27 Januar ...

, was based at a factory in

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

belonging to British Thomson-Houston, a steam turbine company. The prototype jet engine was first run on 12 April 1937. Tinling married Eileen Nancy Edols on 22 December 1939, at St George's, Hanover Square. He became chairman of Power Jets in 1941, replacing Lance Whyte, and its prototype Gloster E28/39 first flew on 15 May 1941. Power Jets Ltd. was later bought by the British government, and Tinling remained on the board. Tinling died in late 1983 in Kent, survived by his wife. They are both buried in

Benenden Benenden is a village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald, to the west of Tenterden. In addition to the main village, Iden Green, East End, Dingleden and Standen Street settle ...

. He was the brother of

Ted Tinling Cuthbert Collingwood "Ted" Tinling (23 June 1910 – 23 May 1990), sometimes known as Teddy Tinling, was a fashion designer, spy and author. He was a firm fixture on the professional tennis tour for over 60 years and is considered the foremost d ...

the sports fashion designer.

References

The Tinling Family of Liverpool
1900 births 1983 deaths People educated at Radley College People educated at St Cyprian's School People from Eastbourne Power Jets Royal Air Force officers {{RAF-bio-stub