At the end of World War II, Packard replaced production of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines with automobiles, and the company’s aircraft engine interests focused on experimental work with gas turbines at a leased Army Air Forces-owned plant in Toledo, Ohio. Those facilities, which included a full-scale engine component wind tunnel, permitted detailed study of the aerodynamic and thermodynamic problems of jet engines.

Jet engine development began in 1945 under contract with the Air Materiel Command at Wright Field, and in two years became the sole activity of the Packard Aircraft Engine Division. The Packard XJ49-V-1 was the first turbofan engine developed in the U.S. In 1947, the engine ran once with apparently good results. However, the remaining work required for complete development of a successful flight engine was considerable, and the Air Force terminated the contract in January 1948. With that cancellation, Packard’s long association with the aircraft engine business ended.