When the First Edition of this book was written in 1951, the gas turbine was just becoming established as a powerplant for military aircraft. It took another decade before the gas turbine was introduced to civil aircraft, and this market developed so rapidly that the passenger liner was rendered obsolete. Other markets like naval propulsion, pipeline compression and electrical power applications grew steadily. In recent years the gas turbine, in combination with the steam turbine, has played an ever-increasing role in power generation.

Despite the rapid advances in both output...