On 12 April 1937 Frank Whittle started the world's first turbojet aircraft engine, developed from his original ideas and produced by a company known as Power Jets Ltd. In March of the following year the Air Ministry issued a contract for a single engine and subsequently awarded Gloster a contract to produce the necessary airframe and further develop the aircraft under the specification E.28/39. Although the contract was seen as representing the operational requirements of a high-altitude interceptor, this aspect was not stressed, the main concern being to give special attention to the many new features associated with the installation of the turbojet engine.

The E.29/39 was a cantilever low-wing monoplane of all-metal construction with the single engine located in the fuselage aft of the pilot's cockpit. Air that passed through the nose orifice was channelled to pass each side of the cockpit to the engine. The aircraft flew for the first time on 15 May 1941 at Cranwell, piloted by Fit Lieut P. E. G. Sayer. Subsequent development saw modifications made to the engine and airframe. The E.28/39 programme resulted in the development of the twin-engined Meteor fighter.