Frank Whittle worked on his famous jet without pause during W.W. II. Once the war ended, he took a long overdue vacation.
While most of Europe had been ravaged by the conflict, there were small, untouched enclaves. That's how Mr. Whittle found himself in the micro-nation of the Monochrome Republic.
Seeing things only in black and white, the Monochrome Republic felt threatened on all sides. First and foremost, the tiny country needed a robust, modern air defense.
Fortunately, Frank Whittle soon tired of the usual tourist traps. He was itching to get back to work after only a few weeks of taking in the sights and the local Monochrome color (black and white, mostly). While enjoying an evening of wine, women & song hosted by the government air bureau, he was easily convinced to bring the Monochrome Republic's air force into the jet age.
Within six months, a sleek, new jet-powered prototype emerged for flight trials and went on to exceed all expectations, which admittedly weren't high as the current fighter defense consisted of re-built Messerschmitts and Yaks that crashed in the tiny country during the war.
Officially designated the Monochrome One Whittle Jet, this nomenclature would be shortened to what history barely recorded as the Mono-1 WJ. Unfortunately this was mis-reported in the west as an outbreak of infectious mononucleosis which may have caused the revolutionary aircraft to be forgotten. Powered by the Whittle W.1 & 1/3rd jet engine and heavily armed with two .303 guns mounted ahead of the cockpit and two 27 mm cannon housed in aerodynamic under-wing fairings, the aircraft also featured the latest in streamlining in the form of a low, perspex bubble canopy that offered excellent all-around vision for the pilot.
In that fateful year of 1947, the Russian Bear began dominating eastern Europe under Stalin's steely gaze. Large countries such as Poland and Ruritania soon were engulfed by the red tide. Fending off this Soviet surge seemed impossible but the Monochromians pinned their hopes on the new jet fighter.
Due to the urgent situation, the prototype was pressed into service immediately after flight trials and given the fuselage code 2833 in an attempt to deceive Stalin's agents into reporting that there were over 2,000 of the things defending the small country.
Strangely enough, this kept the Red Menace at bay and ushered in an era of peace and prosperity for the Monochrome Republic. It became one of the first countries to have a nation-wide television network in 1948.
Unfortunately, since the Monochrome Republic has a tendency to view things only in black and white, to this day none of the programming is broadcast in color.
Which can lead to great disappointment for those visitors who find themselves a captive audience.
The Mono-1 WJ served for almost a half-decade until replaced by more modern types under the aegis of the U.S. M.A.P. or Military Assistance Program.
While over 19 of the Mono-1 WJs were eventually built, none survive today and the aircraft is perennially over-looked by even the most obsessive airplane geeks. The only remnant of this once-proud defender of Monochrome air-space is a short-run Guessaguess kit which was available only at IPMS regional swap meets in the early 1980's.
While Frank Whittle's time in the Monochrome Republic has been ignored by each and every one of his biographers, it seems rather fitting that his only foreign design has also sunk into the mists of ignominy.
Brian da Basher
