
Why Did It Take So Long to Invent X? - jasoncrawford
https://rootsofprogress.org/why-did-it-take-so-long
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simonblack
Usually it's economics and/or need.

The first jet engines were invented in the late 20s to early 30s, almost
simultaneously in Britain and Germany.

But it was easier, and cheaper, to continue building propellor-driven planes
until the extreme pressures of WW2 nearly 20 years later pushed people into a
change-over from ICE+propellor to the more expensive jet.

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jasoncrawford
Thanks Simon, any good articles on this point about jet engines? I'm
collecting analyses of specific inventions.

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simonblack
This one tells about how the Germans and British were almost simultaneously
inventing the jet: [https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-jet-
engine-4067905](https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-jet-engine-4067905)

This one tells of Whittle's difficulties in Air Force resistance, also the new
jets were extremely costly and required whole new areas of metallurgy and
turbine design:
[https://frankwhittle.co.uk/challenges/](https://frankwhittle.co.uk/challenges/)

