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High Duty Alloys Redditch Heritage
The Future of Aircraft Engines
During the war there was a major advance in aviation which as to have a profound effect
on High Duty Alloys and world travel - the development of the jet engine. Before Redditch
was built, High Duty actually made the first impellers for Frank Whittle's pioneer
centrifugal engines in a top-secret project. Frank Whittle, who’s brainchild the new engine
was, also wanted blades for the turbine section of his engine made in a new nickel alloy
developed by Henry Wiggin called Nimonic, but this was such a tough material that
machining the final shape proved extremely difficult. The solution was to forge them on
a 20cwt drop hammer. The jet engine showed the future for the aircraft industry and High
Duty was in from the beginning. The company’s range of alloys and the temperatures for
which they were designed to operate made them ideal for jet engine parts. Even the
earliest engines needed components that could operate at 140°C.
Whittle W.1 Jet Engine.
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