William Peter Durtnall

William Peter Durtnall (1873–1947), M.I.Mar.E., M.I.Auto.E., M.I.Loco.E,[1] was a British electrical engineer and inventor, and a captain in the Royal Air Force.

Durtnall was apprenticed to Willans at Rugby, where he was involved in a junior position in work relating to the Heilmann steam locomotives.

[5] He resigned in 1899; by 1901 he had set up in business as an Electric Light and Power Engineer from premises at 85 Finsbury Pavement, E.C.

Notable installations included: Messrs Hurst & Co. Dye Works; The Guildhall Literary & Art School, Winchester Corporation; Anderton's Hotel, Fleet Street, London; Messrs Raphael Tuck & Sons, Moorfields City, London; Messrs A V Smeeton & Co., Sun Court, Golden Lane, City (Arthur Valentine Smeeton, costume & blouse manufacturer, bankrupt 1908).

Back in England, he continued work on 'hybrid' drives, namely coupling a high speed internal combustion engine to generators or alternators that produced electricity for variable speed electric traction motors that drove ship's propellers or wheels on automobiles and locomotives.

[10]In the Great War, he served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, transferring to the RAF when formed.

[citation needed] Durtnall was active in engineering affairs from 1919, writing some articles, attending conferences, and making comments on proceedings until c1925, after which he appears to have written little.

[14] In 1923, in association with Hawthorn Leslie and Company, he built a petrol/steam hybrid locomotive using the Cristiani compressed steam system.

Bowles R.N., had completed tests at Manchester on a new type of aeroplane engine that would be silent and from which the danger of fire in the air had been removed.