Tell that to the Americans. They couldn't make a rocket or jet engine until Wernher von Braun came along.
"
Ninety years ago today, on March 16, 1926, Robert H. Goddard (1882-1945) launched the world’s first liquid-propellant rocket. His rickety contraption, with its combustion chamber and nozzle on top, burned for 20 seconds before consuming enough liquid oxygen and gasoline to lift itself off the launch rack. The rocket took off from a snowy field outside Worcester, Massachusetts, reaching a height of about 12.5 meters (41 feet) and a distance of 56 meters (184 feet). "
https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/robert-goddard-and-first-liquid-propellant-rocket
"
Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle OMKBE CB FRSFRAeS[1] (1 June 1907 – 9 August 1996) was a British
Royal Air Force air officer. He is credited with single-handedly inventing the
turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by
Maxime Guillaume in 1921 for a similar invention; however, this was technically unfeasible at the time. Whittle's
jet engines were developed some years earlier than those of Germany's
Hans von Ohain who was the designer of the first
operationalturbojet engine.
[2]
From an early age, Whittle demonstrated an aptitude for engineering and an interest in flying. At first he was turned down by the RAF but, determined to join the Royal Air Force, he overcame his physical limitations and was accepted and sent to No. 2 School of Technical Training to join No 1 Squadron of Cranwell Aircraft Apprentices. He was taught the theory of aircraft engines and gained practical experience in the engineering workshops. His academic and practical abilities as an Aircraft Apprentice earned him a place on the officer training course at
Cranwell. He excelled in his studies and became an accomplished pilot. While writing his thesis there he formulated the fundamental concepts that led to the creation of the turbojet engine, taking out a patent on his design in 1930. His performance on an officers' engineering course earned him a place on a further course at
Peterhouse,
Cambridge, where he graduated with a First.
[3][4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Whittle
Russian copy Klimov VK-1
The Rolls Royce Nene .
The Rolls Royce Nene was the third and last model of a series of centrifugal-flow turbojets following the Wellend and Derwent turbojet engines developed by Rolls Royce. It was supplanted by the Avon axial-flow turbojet which was the next generation of turbojet engines to follow. It utilized a double-sided centrifugal compressor and doubled the thrust of previous turbojets to 5,000 lbf (22.2 kN).
The engine was flight tested in an Avro Lancastrian in 1946 with the two outboard Rolls-Royce Merlins replaced by Nenes. The airplane to be fitted solely with the Nene was a modified
Lockheed XP-80 Shooting Star.
Twenty-five engines were given to the Soviet Union as a gesture of goodwill for non-military use purposes, but it was reverse engineered and developed as the Klimov RD-45, and a larger version, the Klimov VK-1. These engines soon appeared in various Soviet fighters that included the
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15.
The Taylor Turbine Corporation had first applied to build the Nene under license, but the Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was concerned that the new company would not able to produce enough engines fast enough. The license was transferred to Pratt and Whitney in 1947 and produced the J42 which powered the
Grumman F9F Panther. The J42 was a centrifugal-flow turbojet with a thrust rating of 5,000 pounds. The J42 engine was active during the Korean Conflict in the early 1950s. It was also briefly built under license in Australia for use in the RAAF de Havilland Vampire fighters and by Orenda in Canada for use in 656 Canadair CT-133 Silver Star aircraft. 1
http://www.aviation-history.com/engines/nene.html