In the Cause of Flight

TECHNOLOGISTS OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS

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_• _• HOWARD S. WOLKO

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SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE NUMBER 4 SERIES PUBLICATIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Emphasis upon publication as a means of "diffusing knowledge" was expressed by the first Secretary of the Smithsonian. In his formal plan for the Institution, Joseph Henry outlined a program that included the following statement: "It is proposed to publish a series of reports, giving an account of the new discoveries in science, and of the changes made from year to year in all branches of knowledge." This theme of basic research has been adhered to through the years by thousands of titles issued in series publications under the Smithsonian imprint, commencing with Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge in 1848 and continuing with the following active series: Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology Smithsonian Contributions to Astrophysics Smithsonian Contributions to Botany Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology Smithsonian Studies in Air and Space Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology In these series, the Institution publishes small papers and full-scale monographs that report the research and collections of its various museums and bureaux or of professional colleagues in the world cf science and scholarship. The publications are distributed by mailing lists to libraries, universities, and similar institutions throughout the world. Papers or monographs submitted for series publication are received by the Smithsonian Institution Press, subject to its own review for format and style, only through departments of the various Smithsonian museums or bureaux, where the manuscripts are given substantive review. Press requirements for manuscript and art preparation are outlined on the inside back cover.

S. Dillon Ripley Secretary Smithsonian Institution SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE • NUMBER 4

In the Cause of Flight

TECHNOLOGISTS OF AERONAUTICS AND ASTRONAUTICS

Howard S. Wolko

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS City of Washington 1981 ABSTRACT Wolko, Howard S. In the Cause of Flight: Technologists of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Smithsonian Studies in Air and Space, number 4, 121 pages, 1981.— Many of the individuals who made prominent contributions to the technology of flight have attracted little historical attention; yet their accomplishments served to stimulate progress in aerospace development. This work represents an effort to foster interest in flight technologists and their contributions to vehicle performance. Information scattered throughout the literature is assem­ bled herein to provide students of flight history with a convenient source of biographical material on 129 technologists. The biographical sketches are arranged in chronological order of contribution following each topical discus­ sion. The topics include bouyant flight; aerodynamics; air-breathing propul­ sion; materials, structures, and design; vertical flight; and rocketry and space flight.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian Year. SERIES COVER DESIGN: Spiral galaxy in the constellation Triagulum.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Wolko, Howard S. In the cause of flight. (Smithsonian studies in air and space ; no. 4) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Aeronautics—Biography. 2. Rocketry—Biography. I. Title. II. Series. TL539.W67 629.13'0092'2 [B] 80-19749 Contents

Page Introduction 1 Engineers and Aeronautics 6 Acknowledgments 8 Buoyant Flight 8 Balloons 9 Airships 10 Biographic Sketches 12 Aerodynamics 16 The Formative Years, 1687-1915 16 The Years of Progressive Refinement, 1915-1935 18 The Years of Sonic Achievement, 1935- 23 Biographic Sketches 25 Air-Breathing Propulsion 50 Predecessors of the Aircraft Engine 50 Steam Engines 50 Automobile Engines 51 The Aircraft Engine 52 Exhaust Valves 54 Superchargers 55 Carburetors and Fuel-Injection Systems 55 Variable Pitch Propellers 57 Turbojet Engines 58 Biographic Sketches 61 Flight Structures 69 Materials, Structures, and Design 70 Biographic Sketches 76 Vertical Flight _ 93 Autogiros 94 Helicopters 94 Biographic Sketches 95 Rocketry and Space Flight 98 The Formative Years 98 The Transition to Space 102 Biographic Sketches 105 Literature Cited 117 Name Index 119 iii

In the Cause of Flight

Howard S. Wolko

Introduction Man's aspiration to fly can be traced to antiq­ united to form academies of science, which pro­ uity through early writings, conceptual sketches, vided an intellectural atmosphere and fostered and surviving accounts of tower jumpers; but exchange of information. These academies served such evidence merely serves to document the to focus effort on transforming vague and often persistent dream of flight in a mechanically un­ intractable concepts into idealized theories acces­ enlightened era. Little to advance the cause of sible to mathematical treatment. Academicians practical flight was accomplished by these activ­ of the caliber of Blaise Pascal, Robert Hooke, ities. True flight, with power and control, proved Gottfried von Leibnitz, and Issac Newton, to to be an endeaver totally dependent on the emer­ mention just a few, composed theories that were gence of engineering as a major creative force— instrumental in shaping the patterns of reason an event that did not occur until the latter half and understanding of physical phenomena that of the 19th century. For this reason, it is appro­ would guide future generations to superb techni­ priate to trace briefly the origins of contemporary cal achievements. engineering and the factors that influenced its With few exceptions, engineers of the period growth in the years prior to flight demonstration. were not involved with the mainstream of scien­ Society has always been influenced by a tech­ tific activity. At the time, engineers were trained nological age of sorts, but technology as practiced through apprenticeship to be skilled artisans en­ prior to the scientific revolution of the 17th cen­ gaged in military ventures related to roads, for­ tury differed markedly in philosophy and sub­ tifications, and machines of war. Most had no stance from that which was to follow. The 17th college training and little exposure to the sciences. century, more than any preceding it, was a time Theirs was an application-oriented occupation in which learned men questioned the established based principally on empirical rules-of-thumb de­ doctrines of reason and, finding them inadequate, veloped from practical work experience and fre­ began to search for more realistic means of de­ quently without sound physical or mathematical scribing observed phenomena. It was a time in justification. Engineering schools were nonexist­ which scientific curiosity rather than application ent and field experience was often gained from was the prevailing motive power, but the cause prolonged assignments in the colonies. at work was right for formulation of the prereq­ France was the first to recognize the need to uisites required for engineering accomplishment. provide engineers with systematic training. As a During this period a number of great thinkers major land power engaged in consolidation and

Howard S. Wolko, Aeronautics Department, National Air and Space defense of its colonial holdings, the French gov­ Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 20560. ernment founded the Corps des Ingenieurs du SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Genie Militaire (Corps of Military Engineers) in organize a type of engineering school to replace 1675 to provide the army with specialists in build­ all those of the ancien regime. Known as the Ecole ing fortifications. This was followed in 1720 with Polytechnique, the school was remarkably differ­ the Corps des Ingenieurs des Ponts et Chaussees ent from any of its predecessors (Timoschenko, (Corps of Engineers for Roads and Bridges) (Rae, 1953:67). Monge, who was given responsibility 1967:328). Five years later these organizations for organizing the school, was a fundamentalist were consolidated to form a Corps du Genie who believed that students well versed in the (Corps of Engineers), which required its members sciences of mechanics, mathematics, physics, and to have an elementary knowledge of mathemat­ chemistry would have little trouble acquiring the ics, drafting, and the principles of fortification. In specialized knowledge required of engineering ap­ 1747, the first professional engineering college to plication. Accordingly, he organized a three-year offer civil as well as military engineering, the program of study: the first two years were devoted Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees was founded as an entirely to the fundamental sciences, and engi­ offshoot of this corps. Two years later, a second neering courses were reserved for the third year. engineering school" at Mezieres was founded to Later, when the Ecole des Ponts et Chaussees and train engineers for fortification work (Rae, 1967: the other schools were reopened with improved 329). curricula, the Ecole Polytechnique became a two- While these schools represent a major step year school concentrating only on the fundamen­ toward systematic training of engineers, their mil­ tal sciences. Students interested in completing itary ties continued the French practice of train­ their engineering preparation could do so at one ing engineers principally for government service. of the schools offering training in engineering In addition, the teaching methods employed re­ applications (Timoschenko, 1953:68). tained an air of apprentice training since engi­ To implement his educational philosophies, neers with field experience were used to explain Monge introduced the lecture system of teaching to individual students how a given type of struc­ and recruited an outstanding faculty, which in­ ture should be designed and constructed. Neither cluded, among others, such distinguished scien­ group lectures nor training in the physical sci­ tists as Lagrange, Fourier, and Poisson. Admission ences or mathematics, beyond geometry, were to the Ecole Polytechnique was open to all can­ included in the course of instruction (Gilmor, didates but controlled by competitive examina­ 1971:9). tion. The prestige associated with selection served Throughout much of the 18th century, France to attract the most talented students in Paris, who was in a state of military and political unrest that sought exposure to the greatest mathematicians finally erupted into the French Revolution of and scientists of the time. 1787. Starting with formation of L'Assemblee During the 18th century, the scientific results Nationale (National Assembly), the privileges of of the preceding hundred years were closely scru­ nobility were progressively eliminated as many tinized by continental mathematicians who institutions of the ancien regime were abolished or sought to clarify concepts left lacking in sharp reorganized. Primarily of noble lineage, the stu­ definition by Leibnitz and Newton. As the com­ dents and professors at the engineering schools plementary disciplines of the calculus and me­ soon were regarded with suspicion and, in time, chanics were refined and united to provide a the schools were closed. But France was at war rational means for investigating physical prob­ with the European coalition and desperately in lems, scientific methods were gradually brought need of engineers to build fortifications, roads, into closer harmony with engineering needs. The and bridges. success of the Ecole Polytechnique and the superb In 1794, a distinguished mathematician, Gas- quality of its graduates was a pivotal factor in pard Monge persuaded the new government to raising the standards of engineering education on NUMBER 4 an international level. With the notable exception develop mechanics for engineering applications. of Great Britain, all the principal countries of This effort led to the introduction of a number of Europe modeled their methods of engineering books emphasizing methodology and what be­ education after those initiated in France (Timos­ came known as "engineering mechanics." Works chenko, 1953:70). such as Julius Weisbach's Mechanics of Machinery In Germany, the government sought to pro­ and Engineering, which was highly regarded in mote industry and rebuild its economic structure Europe and America (an English translation was following the Napoleonic wars by founding sev­ published in 1848), typify the German effort to eral engineering schools. These schools were given emphasize the utility of engineering mechanics in the status of universities and held responsible for practical situations. Introduction of the German educating engineers to academic standards com­ approach to mechanics permitted analysis to be parable with those of the recognized professions. presented in a way that could be understood by While basically patterned along the lines of the those unaccustomed to the concepts of higher Ecole Polytechnique, German schools introduced mathematics, a factor which proved to be of some interesting variations that resulted in sub­ immeasurable value in the development of self- stantial differences in orientation, organizational educated engineers (Timoschenko, 1953:131). structure, and administration. Organized around As mentioned previously, engineering schools four year curricula designed to cover the full patterned after the Ecole Polytechnique were es­ course of study, these schools concentrated on tablished in most European countries during the preparing engineers to meet the needs of industry first quarter of the 19th century. Great Britain, rather than those of the military. The French whose earlier success with industrialization re­ practice of devoting the first two years of instruc­ sulted in the so-called Industrial Revolution, was tion to the fundamental sciences was retained, the outstanding exception to this trend. Britain, but students could complete their training in with its established reputation as the world's most engineering without transferring to a satellite advanced industrial society, had little reason to school. This permitted the schools to retain con­ question its traditional practice of preparing en­ tinuity and provided for better regulation of the gineers through apprentice training, since tech­ balance between theory and application required nology was still largely a matter of innovation of sound engineering preparation. Administra­ derived from experience and intuitive reasoning. tively, the new schools were conducted in accord­ Men familiar with industrial equipment and pro­ ance with the principles of academic freedom cesses through such training were uniquely instead of the military regimen common to their equipped to function in the prevailing technical French counterparts. Among other things, the environment without resort to mathematical canons of academic freedom permitted the stu­ analysis or scientific training (Rae, 1967:329). dents to elect some of their courses (Timoschenko, Early in the 19th century, a number of British 1953:130). "mechanics institutes" were opened, but these Upon completion of their education, German schools were not comparable with the professional engineers entered the ranks of industry. Here they schools being developed on the continent. The were confronted with the practical considerations "mechanics institutes" were little more than trade of engineering, which included the analysis and schools offering after hours courses for those in­ sizing of machine parts. It was soon discovered terested in supplementing their apprentice train­ that the abstract mathematical treatment of me­ ing. Established British universities did not offer chanics popularized by the superb faculty of the engineering until the 1840's and, even then, it Ecole Polytechnique was ill-suited for use on such was not regarded as an accepted academic disci­ problems. To correct the situation, the German pline (Rae, 1967:329). community of engineers mounted an effort to Although Great Britian was slow to appreciate SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE the engineering advantages of systematic training the latter half of the century as technology con­ in science and mathematics, its community of tinued to develop along lines which emphasized engineers was more conscious of their need for the need for increased specialization in engineer­ professional recognition than their continental ing (Armytage, 1961:131). counterparts. It appears that British engineers Although the national situation in America were the first to recognize the promise of technical was far different from that in Europe, the early affiliation and to organize voluntary societies to 19th century proved to be a crucial time for the promote their professional identity. The Institute development of engineering on both continents. of Civil Engineers, with Thomas Telford as its In its broad outlines, the basic structuring of first president, began to meet on a regular basis American engineering conformed to the emerging in 1820. Telford, a proven apprentice-trained pattern in Europe, but the manner in which it engineer of Scottish lineage, stressed the impor­ was implemented combined the influence of tance of voluntary participation and initiated the French, German, and British experiences in a way practice of recording the substance of papers uniquely fitted to meet immediate American presented at the Society's weekly meetings. Char­ needs. The result was an interesting variant which tered in response to a petition submitted to the contained elements from each of the major Eu­ attorney-general in 1828, this society became the ropean approaches to engineering preparation. first of its type to acquire the status and perma­ As a new nation engaged in expanding its nence of a fully recognized professional engineer­ frontiers beyond the Alleghenies, the United ing society. Membership to the society was highly States began the 19th century with little industry selective and kept so by requiring prospective and a critical shortage of capital, labor, and members to present written evidence of both their trained engineers. There were few major popula­ practical and theoretical qualifications (Army- tion centers, no engineering schools, and insuffi­ tage, 1961:123). cient industrial shops to foster an apprenticeship As technological complexity increased and be­ system comparable to that in Great Britain. Un­ gan to assume the dimensions of a creative force, der these conditions, men were measured, not by a number of engineers limited their activities to their ancestry, breeding, or education, but by particular concerns and formed additional tech­ their ability to get things done with limited man­ nical societies to promote professional recognition power and funds. Such men, characterized in the of their engineering specialties. This first began 19th century as self-taught "Jacks-of-all-trades," in Great Britain through the efforts of George were at a premium. To an extent this image was Stephenson, an eminent railway engineer, who not overdrawn. America's engineering cadre was was denied admission to membership in the In­ recruited from three principal sources at this time. stitute of Civil Engineers because he failed to Men from each of these sources went on to achieve submit evidence of his engineering qualifications. distinction from engineering accomplishments Stephenson and his followers considered this re­ that profoundly influenced the American pat­ quirement a professional affront and resolved to terns of industrial growth and westward expan­ establish an independent society to represent their sion (Rae, 1967:330). specialized interests. The Institute of Mechanical The first and most obvious source was Europe, Engineers, with George Stephenson as president, where British apprentice-trained technologists was founded in 1847 to promote improvement in held a commanding industrial edge. British- the mechanical sciences. Formation of this society American relations, however, were abrasive to the established the precedent for extending profes­ extent that England had imposed stringent rules sional recognition to engineers engaged in a spe­ forbidding emigration of technically trained men. cialized branch of engineering. Other technical However, the engineering advantage of an un­ societies were organized in Great Britain during developed land, rich in natural resources, pre- NUMBER 4 vailed. Sizable numbers of trained European en­ century engineers rose from the ranks of the self- gineers, including a number from England, seized educated to become leading figures in the engi­ the opportunity to supervise the construction and neering community. Octave Chanute, for in­ operation of American canals, railroads, and stance, began his career as a chainman with a other industrial pursuits. Many, such as German- crew surveying the Hudson River Railroad and born John A. Roebling, English-born Samuel rose to the position of chief engineer of a number Slater, and French-born Elouthere Irenee DuPont of western railroads. In addition, he was respon­ remained to occupy prominent positions in Amer­ sible for a number of major engineering en­ ica's budding engineering community. This in­ deavors, including the Missouri River bridge at fusion of talent from each of Europe's dominant St. Charles, the Kansas City bridge, and the engineering powers led to a merging of ideologies Chicago stockyards, which was yet another fun­ which set the American pattern of engineering damental factor in America's plans for westward growth apart from that of its European origina­ expansion. Chanute later became a central figure tors (Rae, 1967:331). in the American aeronautical community. The second source was the United States Mil­ itary Academy at West Point. In 1802, Congress As technology continued to grow and become authorized the Corps of Engineers to train a increasingly more complex, the existing methods limited number of cadets at West Point. The of training engineers were inadequate to meet the Academy was intended to be the country's first needs of America's expanding economy. The re­ engineering school—a role not fulfilled until the quirement for formally educated engineers was superintendent's involvement with building har­ most acute in the northeastern states, which had bor defenses was eliminated after the war of 1812. developed into a major industrial center. In re­ Reopened in 1813 with Sylvanus Thayer as su­ sponse, a number of universities in the Northeast perintendent and remodeled after the Ecole introduced engineering curricula. These univer­ Polytechnique, the Academy proceeded to fill a sities included Harvard (1847), Yale (1850), the great national service by providing an urgently Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (1854), and needed body of trained engineers. For over a Cooper Union (1859). To further stimulate engi­ decade the Academy was the only institution in neering education, Congress passed the Morrill the United States where academic preparation in Land-Grant College Act of 1862. This act, grant­ engineering could be obtained. Rensselaer Poly­ ing land to the states for support of "colleges of technic Institute, founded in Troy, New York, in agriculture and the mechanic arts" was even­ 1824, became the country's first nonmilitary tually responsible for the founding of sixty-seven school to offer an engineering curriculum. Al­ land-grant colleges geographically disbursed though the number of engineering graduates from throughout the United States (Rae, 1967:332). R.P.I, remained small for some time, they were instrumental in establishing the country's rail­ While this enormous growth of interest in en­ road networks, which had a vital influence on gineering education was taking place, American America's westward expansion (Rae, 1967:332). engineers were attempting to acquire professional The third and by far the most common source recognition by organizing technical societies sim­ of American engineers during the first half of the ilar to those in Great Britain. As in Great Britain, century was the self-educated, who frequently the American Society of Civil Engineers, founded coupled their expertise with apprentice or on-the- in 1852, was the first of America's technical soci­ job training. While such methods would be in­ eties to gain recognition. This was followed in adequate in today's technologically oriented so­ 1871 with the American Institute of Mining En­ ciety, they were remarkably successful in their gineers and the American Society of Mechanical time. In fact, some of America's greatest 19th- Engineers founded in 1880 (Rae, 1967:333). SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Engineers and Aeronautics practical problem to be solved by application of engineering means. It remained, however, for By the latter half of the 19th century, engi­ engineers to progress beyond theoretical studies neering had acquired the dimensions of a creative through systematic experimentation to construc­ force with the capacity to shape the physical and tion of operating flight vehicles. Francis Herbert economic growth of nations. In the process, en­ Wenham, a founding member of the Aero­ gineers had gained confidence in their underlying nautical Society of Great Britain, was one of the philosophy of solving practical problems through first professional engineers to recognize the need application of a few well-understood principles. for generating experimental data under con­ In fact, it was precisely because of this nature of trolled test conditions. His use of the wind tunnel their training and employment that engineers for study of the lift characteristics of bird wings were so peculiarly suited for the study of aero­ led to important discoveries later incorporated in nautics. Most were trained to apply a broad construction of full scale vehicles. In many re­ general knowledge to a variety of situations and spects, Wenham was the prototype of a long line consequently were accustomed to working on new of experimentalists, including such influential fig­ problems, often in unrelated fields of endeavor ures as Alphonse Penaud, Hiram Maxim, Clem­ (Crouch, 1979:7). ent Ader, and others, who assembled the base of In England, a number of engineers had become empirical evidence which culminated in the suc­ sufficiently interested in aeronautics to found the cess of 1903 (Crouch, 1979:10). Aeronautical Society of Great Britain in 1866. Otto Lilienthal, a German engineer, had begun While the total membership of the Society was serious work on the problem of flight in 1879. In small, it consisted of some of the most successful addition to conducting and publishing a classical engineers in Europe, who took an active part in series of studies on lift and air resistance, Lilien­ directing the course of the organization. Their thal designed and built a series of successful Annual Report, aimed at an audience of scientists monoplane and biplane gliders. As a pioneer in and engineers, served the important function of flight testing, Lilienthal completed over 2,000 bringing a professional approach to aeronautical flights prior to his death in 1896 in a gliding studies. For years after publication of the first accident. Percy Sinclair Pilcher, a British engi­ volume in 1868, the Annual Report was the princi­ neer, continued in the Lilienthal tradition and ple English-language source for serious studies in like the German master also died in a glider crash aeronautics (Crouch, 1979:8). (Crouch, 1979:13). As in Britain, respected members of the French By 1898, European flight experimentation had and German engineering communities fostered suffered a number of serious setbacks. Lilienthal professional interest in flight through publication was dead and other experimentalists had either of engineering journals. L'Aeronaut, which first exhausted their funds or become discouraged. At appeared in Paris in 1869, and Revue de about this time, aeronautical leadership shifted L'Aeronautique, which followed in 1888, were both to the United States, where a unique community published with this idea in mind. The first Ger­ of experimentalists were working in the spirit of man aviation journal intended for a technical informed cooperation. Although not formally audience, Zeitschrift fur Luftschiffahrt und Physik der organized along lines of the European commu­ Atmosphase, did not appear until 1882, but articles nities, there were definite lines of communication on flight had appeared in other German engi­ and participation at conferences and other activ­ neering journals almost a decade earlier (Crouch, ities. 1979:8). Geographically disbursed centers of activity, Thus, by 1875, noted European engineers had located in Chicago, Washington, and Boston, openly expressed the opinion that flight was a were kept informed of each other's progress NUMBER 4 through Octave Chanute, who had developed an figure of this group was James Means, a retired interest in aeronautics in 1872 as a result of its shoe manufacturer, publisher of The Aeronautical relation to the problems of air resistance in bridge Annual, and a personal friend of both Chanute design. By 1890, Chanute's publication activities and Langley. Means established the Boston Aero­ and extensive correspondence with major aero­ nautical Society to sponsor seminars, contests, nautical figures had led to his recognition as one and experiments. While this society also provided of the world's best informed aeronautical author­ a means for disseminating aeronautical informa­ ities. His promotional efforts of aeronautics in­ tion, the main interest of the Boston center ap­ cluded organization in Chicago in 1893 of the pears to have been directed more toward model­ International Conference on Aerial Navigation, ing and gliding experiments than toward pow­ in which a number of prominent American en­ ered, manned flight (Crouch, 1979:15). gineers enthusiastically participated. Too old for Although lesser aeronautical groups were es­ active participation in gliding experiments, tablished in other regions of the country, their Chanute remained influential by hiring a group influence remained local and remote from the of young engineers to produce vehicles of his mainstream of American aeronautical activity in design while pursuing their own aeronautical the closing years of the 19th century. The loosely ideas. In 1896, the Chanute-sponsored glider organized community of American aeronautical trials held in Indiana were enthusiastically re­ enthusiasts had reached its high point in 1896, the ported by the press to gain national recognition very year in which Wilber and Orville Wright of America's involvement in aeronautical re­ began to take a serious interest in flight. Unlike search (Crouch, 1979:15). most of the men involved with aeronautics, Wil­ A second major aeronautical center developed ber and Orville Wright were not trained engi­ in Washington, D.C, when Samuel Pierpont neers. Both however, had completed high school Langley became Secretary of the Smithsonian and had sufficient knowledge of mathematics and Institution and hired trained engineers to assist physics to understand the primitive analyses con­ him with flight experiments involving both tained in contemporary aeronautical literature. models and a full-scale vehicle. As one of the Moreover, they had developed their manual skills country's most distinguished scholars and Secre­ through shop experience and were accustomed to tary of a revered institution, Langley's interest in solving mechanical problems (Crouch, 1979:19). flight and commitment to prove its feasibilty From the beginning, the Wrights approached made the subject a matter of public interest. flight in a more systematic way than others before Langley's visibility and 1896 successes with steam them. Aware of their need for self-education, the powered models provided the reading public with Wrights embarked on a detailed study of the convincing evidence that the airplane was indeed aeronautical literature. During this period, the a real possibility. In a sense, Langley's successful Wrights read critically, forming the value judg­ flights with steam powered models proved his ments which enabled them to derive maximum original thesis, but he was determined to press on benefit from the work of their predecessors. They toward the ultimate goal of manned, powered also contacted the leaders of America's aero­ flight. With funding from the Army Board of nautical communities and sought the advice of Ordinance and Fortification, Langley continued Langley and Chanute. Based on this research the his research, only to experience crushing defeat Wrights devised a successful demonstration of when his manned Aerodrome twice failed to fly in powered flight in December of 1903. While their the fall of 1903 (Crouch, 1979:15). approach encompassed certain ideas from earlier While aeronautical research centers were de­ researchers, their own talent and meticulous at­ veloping in Chicago and Washington, a third one tention to experimental detail enabled them to was being established in Boston. The central far surpass their predecessors. Most importantly, SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE the Wrights devised an intuitive solution to the to be expanded upon as time and resources basic problems of control which set their work permit. apart from all prior efforts (Crouch, 1979:19). The 129 biographical sketches are arranged in The success of Wilbur and Orville Wright at a topical format. Each topic is introduced with Kitty Hawk was not the product of chance or an overview of events of technical interest. Bio­ graphies of principal contributors are arranged in luck, as some would believe. It was the culmina­ the chronological order of their main contribu­ tion of two generations of engineering research in tion. aeronautics. By accumulating experiences, by A task as elusive as identifying individuals raising critical questions, by refining data, and responsible for specific developments in flight analyzing failure, the Wrights came to realize technology requires the assistance and coopera­ that the central issue of flight concerned control— tion of persons with specialized knowledge. The and the way to resolve it was research in the air. staff of the National Air and Space Museum, With penetrating clarity, Wilbur Wright com­ Smithsonian Institution, admirably fulfilled this pared their learn-by-doing approach with riding function. I especially want to acknowledge my a fractious horse. "If you are looking for perfect appreciation to Michael Collins and Melvin Zis- safety," he stated, "you will do well to sit on a fein, the former director and deputy director of fence and watch the birds, but if you really wish the Museum, respectively. I also wish to express to learn you must mount a machine and become my gratitude to the following individuals for their acquainted with its tricks by actual trial" (Mc- assistance in the preparation of this work: Donald Farland, 1953:99). Lopez and Frederick C. Durant III were constant sources of encouragement. Dr. Richard Hallion, In realizing what has been characterized as Dr. Thomas Crouch, and Dr. Roger Bilstein "one of civilization's greatest accomplishments," proved to be inexhaustible sources of suggestions the Wrights personified the emergence of engi­ and historical insights. Walter Boyne, Robert neering as a major creative force. Meyer, Jay Spencer, and Frank Winter were welcome advisors with specialized knowledge of Acknowledgments aeronautics and astronautics. Catherine Scott, Many of the individuals who made prominent Dominic Pisano, and Mimi Scharf of the mu­ contributions to the technology of flight have seum's library assisted in locating biographical information on a number of technologists refer­ attracted little historical attention, although their enced in little-known reports and publications. accomplishments stimulated progress in aero­ Particular recognition is extended Lillian Koz- space development. Writers interested in bio­ loski for her patience in typing the manuscript. graphical information on these technologists soon I am also grateful for the cooperation and discover that such material is scattered through­ assistance of the American Institute for Aero­ out the literature and remains to be assembled in nautics and Astronautics History Committee convenient form. This book is written to bring chaired by Dr. Eugene Emme. Finally, I take this together as much of this material as is likely to opportunity to thank Professor Charles H. Gibbs- prove useful. It is neither an encyclopedic treat­ Smith, first occupant of the Lindbergh Chair of ment of vital contributions to flight technology Aerospace History, who reviewed the manuscript nor a comprehensive source of those responsible at an early stage and suggested numerous addi­ for them. Instead, it represents a starting point, tions and corrections.

Buoyant Flight

Observation of ordinary phenomena such as prompted early scholars to entertain the notion cloud formations or rising smoke most probably of floating through air. Early concepts were based NUMBER 4 largely on conjecture and erroneous conclusions and provide a much lower amount of buoyant on the nature of the atmosphere, which precluded lift.) Correct in principle, the scheme was imprac­ a systematic approach to the problems of flight. tical since de Lana neglected to account for the This situation prevailed until it was discovered, effect of atmospheric pressure, which would have early in the 17th century, that air has weight. collapsed the fragile spheres. Only then did attention turn toward finding a The first recorded successful demonstration of substance lighter than air and a suitable means a lighter-than-air vehicle is attributed to another for its containment. clergyman, Father Laurenco de Gusmao. This The French author Savinien Cyrano de Ber- demonstration is reported to have taken place on gerac was among the first to set upon the right 8 August 1709 in the presence of the royal court track (Ege, 1974:6). In novels written around of Portugal. Gusmao's vehicle was a near-classic 1650, he described fictional journeys to the moon example of a hot air balloon. It consisted of a and sun made possible by a novel scheme con­ light wooden framework covered with a paper sisting of bottles of dew attached to a belt. As the skin. Hot air, generated by a small fire contained bottles were heated by the sun the wearer was in a basket suspended below the balloon, entered floated skyward ostensibly by the sun's attraction the balloon through an opening in its base. Later for dew. Of course, de Bergerac's scheme was rumors suggest that Gusmao made a balloon impractical and his reasoning suspect but his ascension but there is no evidence to confirm this premise was correct: moist air is less dense than (Ege, 1974:7). dry air and tends to rise. De Bergerac's scheme was based on a popular trick by which an eggshell Balloons reportedly can be made to momentarily levitate by adding a small amount of dew and placing During the 18th century much of the European the sealed shell in the hot sun (Hart, 1972:50, 51). scientific movement was motivated by the birth In principle, as the shell heats, the dew vaporizes of interest in the physical sciences. Henry Cav­ causing the shell to rise in bouyant flight. endish, an English chemist, discovered hydrogen Other concepts, dating to the 17th and early in 1766 and proved it was an element capable of 18th centuries, were based on more conventional quantity production. The discovery prompted ideas and serve as indicators of the rate at which other scientists to conduct experiments with hy­ the fundamentals of bouyant flight were assimi­ drogen-filled soap bubbles in an attempt to de­ lated. In 1670 the Jesuit Father Francesco de termine the lifting power of the gas. Lana-Terzi proposed an ingenious design for a Apparently inspired by observation of cloud flight vehicle; it was to be supported by four large formations, the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph and evacuated spheres made from very thin copper Etienne, experimented unsuccessfully with steam- sheet. Each sphere was to be 25 feet (7.62 m) in filled balloons. Abandoning their experiments diameter and was to be fabricated from 0.0044- with steam, they erroneously concluded, in 1782, inch (0.1118-mm) thick foil (Nayler and Ower, that smoke was a mysterious gas caused by com­ 1965:6). De Lana reasoned that by creating a bustion and unwittingly introduced hot air into vacuum in the spheres they could be made to their ballooning experiments (Gibbs-Smith, 1970: weigh less than the air they displaced which 17). The unmanned balloon rose obligingly. Ap­ would cause the vehicle to rise. (To the writer's parently unaware of Gusmao's earlier success, the knowledge de Lana's reasoning represents the first Montgolfiers independently arrived at the same attempt to apply Archimede's buoyancy principle conclusion. to lighter-than-air flight. Unfortunately his cal­ When news of the ascent reached Paris, it culations may have been in error, since each motivated J. A. C. Charles to begin development sphere would weigh approximately 400 pounds of a similar device. Charles, however, was un- 10 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE aware that the Montgolfiers had used hot air as ually driven airscrews, oars, and even sails, but the medium of displacement and decided to use absence of a suitable engine was to remain a hydrogen. From his experience as an experimen­ serious handicap to buoyant flight until the mid- talist, Charles knew hydrogen could be produced 19th century. from iron filings and sulfuric acid, but he was also aware that the subtle gas would escape Airships through the balloon fabric. To prevent this, he contacted the Robert brothers, who had dissolved The first step toward ultimately transforming rubber in turpentine and covered the fabric with the balloon into an airship was made as early as an impervious layer of the mixture. A small bal­ 1784 (Nayler and Ower, 1965:15). In that year loon was constructed and successfully launched J.B.M. Meusnier, an officer in the French army, from the Champ de Mars, Paris, on 17 August began design of an ellipsoidal-shaped balloon. 1783. Whether instinct or observation of some natural After centuries of dreams and speculation, shape led Meusnier to conclude an elongated manned flight in a Montgolfier balloon occurred shape would have less drag is unknown, but his in Paris on 21 November 1783. On 1 December judgment was later confirmed by the low drag of the same year, also at Paris, a similar feat was airship hulls of the 1930's. Meusnier's airship accomplished in a hydrogen balloon that was design showed considerable promise but was ren­ significantly more advanced than its hot-air coun­ dered impractical by the absence of a suitable terpart. Charles' hydrogen balloon incorporated engine. When calculations revealed that 80 men nearly all the features of modern balloon design, would be required to generate the speed necessary including a valve line to permit the aeronaut to for control effectiveness, the growth in required release gas and control the descent, an appendix size precluded success. Although his concept to allow the expanded gas to escape and prevent earned Meusnier a place in history as the one rupture of the balloon, and a nacelle that con­ responsible for the practical airship form, the sisted of a wicker basket suspended from a net­ vehicle was never built. work of ropes covering the balloon. These features Severely handicapped by the slow rate of de­ set the standards of construction until new ma­ velopment of the internal combustion engine, the terials made stratospheric balloons possible (Nay- airship nevertheless continued to be improved. ler and Ower, 1965:6). By 1897, three basic structural types of airship These pioneering ascents marked the beginning had already been developed: non-rigid, semi­ of a romantic chapter in the history of flight. The rigid, and rigid. The first two have much in appeal of ballooning rapidly attracted an enthu­ common, whereas the rigid airship is in a class by siastic following from scientists who viewed the itself. balloon as a means for extending their knowledge In the non-rigid and semi-rigid airship, the of the atmosphere. More adventurous souls shape of the envelope is maintained by keeping sought distance and altitude records, while those the internal gas pressure at a level slightly in with a military bent viewed the balloon as a excess of ambient pressure (Nayler and Ower, source of advantage. It did not take long, how­ 1965:17). The excess internal pressure is deter­ ever, to discover the main disadvantage with mined from anticipated operating loads and must ballooning. Once airborne in free flight, the bal­ be sufficient to prevent excessive distortion or loon floated passively, with the wind in command buckling due to either air loads caused by motion of direction and destination. A dream had been or forces resulting from externally carried loads. partially fulfilled, but the price had been control. The semi-rigid airship is characterized by a keel, Serious enthusiasts recognized this flaw almost which extends along much of the length of the immediately and began to experiment with man­ airship. The keel, of course, serves to stiffen the NUMBER 4 11 envelope and assists in carrying the applied loads. pioneered development of the rigid airship. Re­ Both external and internal keels were used. cognizing the advantages of large airships, Zep­ In the rigid airship, the shape of the envelope pelin's first airship had a volume of nearly is maintained by an internal structural skeleton 400,000 cubic feet (11,200 cubic meters) (Nayler (Nayler and Ower, 1965:24). Composed princi­ and Ower. 1965:24). First flown in 1900, the pally of lightweight longitudinal members con­ vessel was marginally satisfactory, but lacked nected by ring-stiffeners or transverse wire brac­ structural stiffness. Convinced of the future of ing, the internal structure is designed to carry all large rigid airships, Zeppelin founded his com­ externally applied loads. Rigid airships even­ pany at Friedrichshafen and proceeded to de­ tually came to be called Zeppelins, after Count velop a long series of rigid airships. In spite of Ferdinand von Zeppelin, who was almost entirely several early failures, he persevered and inaugu­ responsible for their development from 1898 until rated regular passenger service with a fleet of four his death in 1917. airships from 1910 to 1914. Historically, the technical development of the Zeppelin's company flourished, gained a repu­ airship closely centers on the activities and con­ tation as the leader in rigid airship manufacture tributions of three men: Alberto Santos-Dumont, and produced the great airships of the 1920's. A Henri Julliot, and Ferdinand von Zeppelin. stable of talented engineers, including such no­ Alberto Santos-Dumont, who later gained dis­ tables as Ludwig Diirr and Karl Arnstein, were tinction as a pioneer in aircraft development, was recruited. After Zeppelin's death in 1917, these unquestionably the most influential figure in the engineers continued to develop rigid airships in development of the non-rigid airship. During his the tradition established by Zeppelin at Fried­ brief enchantment with lighter-than-air flight, he richshafen. Diirr was responsible for the design built a total of fourteen airships. A colorful Bra­ and construction of over 100 rigid airships, in­ zilian who had relocated in Paris, Santos-Dumont cluding the ill-fated Hindenburg, which burned at did much to popularize the airship. On 13 No­ Lakehurst, New Jersey, after a trans-Atlantic vember 1899, Santos-Dumont circled the Eiffel flight. Tower in his highly successful No. 3 airship. Two Once regarded as a serious long-range compet­ years later, in October 1901, he won the Deutsch itor for the airplane, the airship declined in pop­ de la Meurthe prize offered for the first airship to ularity as successive generations of aircraft were fly a seven-mile course from St. Cloud around the remarkably improved. Extremely vulnerable, the Eiffel Tower and return in less than half an hour large airships of the 1930's experienced a series of (Nayler and Ower, 1965:17). disasters. One by one the leading countries in While Santos-Dumont was popularizing the airship manufacture began to abandon the air­ non-rigid airship, Henri Julliot, a French engi­ ship. After the loss of the Akron and the Macon, neer, was working at the design of a much larger the United States withdrew from further airship and more ambitious semi-rigid airship. Employed development. Great Britain had already done so by the wealthy Lebaudy brothers, Julliot's first after losing the R-101. The tragic loss of the airship, the Lebaudy, was of an advanced design, Hindenburg was the final blow. Since 1918, the which performed admirably (Nayler and Ower, history of rigid airships had been one long series 1965:18). Later responsible for design of a series of disasters. Even the non-rigids had ceased to of semi-rigid airships commissioned by various serve a useful function although a few small non- countries in Europe, Julliot significantly im­ rigids survive to serve a limited use in advertising. proved airship performance before immigrating Only the balloon remains to carry on the ro­ to the United States. mantic traditions of man's earliest form of human Another colorful figure in the history of airship flight. After creditable service as instruments of development, Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin war and science, ballooning has once again ap- 12 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE pealed to the fancy of the sportsman. The recent cluded its capacity for lift was derived from the revival in ballooning, with modern versions of the smoke. hot air balloon again attracting an enthusiastic At the request of the French Academie des following, has happily brought buoyant flight Sciences, the Montgolfiers made their first public "full circle." demonstration with a small hot air balloon at Annonay on 4 June 1783. Manned flight in a Montgolfier balloon was made in the same year Biographic Sketches by J. F. Pilatre de Rozier and the Marquis Michel Joseph Montgolfier d'Arlandes on 21 November. 1740-1810 REFERENCES: Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Charles Scribners Sons, 1974; Lennart Ege, Balloons and Airships, Etienne Jacques Montgolfier Macmillan, 1974; J. L. Nayler and E. Ower, Aviation: Its Technical Development, Vision Press, 1965. 1745-1777

Invention of .the practical hot air balloon Jacques-Alexandre-Cesar Charles 1746-1823 The Montgolfier brothers were two of sixteen children born of Pierre Montgolfier, a paper man­ Invention of the practical hydrogen balloon ufacturer near Annonay, France. Joseph was self- taught in mathematics and science, whereas Jacques-Alexandre-Cesar Charles was born in Etienne was schooled in mathematics and archi­ Beaugency, France, but little is known of his tecture. family or early life except that he received a The precise reasons that prompted Joseph, who liberal, nonscientific education. As a young man was the first to become interested in aeronautical he moved to Paris where, after a period of em­ matters, to become interested in lighter-than-air ployment with the bureau of finances, he ac­ flight are not known, but his activities soon at­ quired an interest in experimental physics. tracted his younger brother. Although popular The Montgolfiers' first public experiment with accounts would have one believe the Montgol- a hot air balloon took place at Annonay on 4 fiers' discovery of the hot air balloon was little June 1783. This demonstration naturally at­ more than a fortuitous accident, there is evidence tracted great attention and when news of the that their approach was far more systematic, even event reached Paris it motivated Charles to begin though they lacked an appreciation for the lifting development of a similar device. It appears that capability of hot air. Charles was not aware of the Montgolfiers' use of Familiar with Joseph Priestley's essay dealing hot air as a source of lift and decided to use with his observations of various gases, including hydrogen. Realizing the importance of prevent­ hydrogen, the brothers experimented with small ing hydrogen permeation he enlisted the aid of balloons filled with steam. They also appear to the Robert brothers, who had successfully dis­ have experimented with other gases before be­ solved rubber in turpentine, and developed a coming attracted to the possibility of trying a rubberized silk envelope to contain the gas. A mysterious gas that they believed was produced small balloon was constructed and successfully by combustion and made visible in the form of launched from the Champ de Mars, Paris, on 17 rising smoke. While this conclusion was erro­ August 1783. The first manned flight in a hydro­ neous, they conducted an experiment with a small gen balloon took place at Paris on I December balloon filled with smoke from a mixture of burn­ 1783, with Charles and the elder Robert as pas­ ing straw and moist wool. When the balloon rose sengers. obediently, the Montgolfiers erroneously con­ Charles developed nearly all the features of NUMBER 4 13 modern balloon design including the valve line than-air flight. On 23 October 1906, unaware of that permits the aeronaut to control the release the Wrights' success, he flew his 14-Bis, an awk­ of gas for descent, the appendix that prevents ward box-kite canard biplane. It was the first rupture of the balloon sack due to gas expansion, flight in Europe in a powered heavier-than-air and the nacelle that consists of a wicker basket vehicle. suspended from a network of ropes covering the By 1909, Santos-Dumont had modified his de­ balloon. sign and introduced the Demoiselle (Dragonfly), the forerunner of today's light general aviation REFERENCES: Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Charles Scribners Sons, 1974; Lennart Ege, Balloons and Airships, aircraft. He completed his last known flight as a Macmillan, 1974; J. L. Nayler and E. Ower, Aviation: Its pilot in November of the same year and aban­ Technical Development, Vision Press, 1965. doned aviation because of failing health. Dis­ heartened by the use of aircraft for military pur­ Alberto Santos-Dumont poses during World War I, he returned to Brazil in 1931. Further sickened by the bombing of his 1873-1932 countrymen during the 1932 Brazilian Revolu­ Pioneering work in air navigation and light general tion, he committed suicide at the age of 59. aviation aircraft REFERENCES: Fernando Hippolyto Da Costa, Alberto San­ tos-Dumont, VARIG Maintenance Base, 1973; Charles H. Alberto Santos-Dumont was born on Cabangu Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, Farm at Rocha Dias village in the District of Joao 1970; J. L. Nayler and E. Ower, Aviation: Its Technical Devel­ Ayres in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. At the opment, Vision Press, 1965. time of his birth his father, Henrique Dumont, was a railway construction engineer with the Henri Julliot Dom Pedroll Railway (Brazilian Railway). His 1856-1923 father later turned to agriculture, became a well- known farmer and the "coffee king" of his time. Notable contributions to the technology of non-rigid and At the age of 18, Santos-Dumont was sent to semi-rigid airships Paris, where he was tutored in physics, chemistry, electricity, and mechanics by a Frenchman, Mr. Henri Julliot was technical director of the sugar Garcia. While in Paris, he ordered from Maison refineries belonging to the wealthy Lebaudy Lachambre his first spherical balloon, Brazil. brothers, Pierre and Paul, when they commis­ After competing successfully in his second bal­ sioned him to design an airship. The Lebaudy, loon, America, he abandoned aerostation (i.e., free completed in 1902, was an advanced design of balloon flight) and devoted himself to solving the the semi-rigid type. When tested at Moisson on problem of steering a balloon. Developing the 13 November 1902, it proved to be superior to concept of the airship, he built the Santos-Dumont other airships. In 1905, the French government No. I, a cigar-shaped hydrogen-filled balloon purchased the airship for army use. The success powered by a 3.5 horsepower engine. His No. 2 of the Lebaudy established Julliot as a capable airship was destroyed in an accident on its maiden airship designer who later built several airships flight, but his No. 3 proved highly successful. On for the French army, Russia, Germany, and Great 13 November 1899 the No. 3 airship circled the Britain. Eiffel Tower, before proceeding to Bagatelle, A graduate in mechanical engineering from the where it landed without incident. The flight es­ Central School of Engineers at Paris, Julliot was tablished the reality of air navigation. born at Fontainebleau, France. During the early Santos-Dumont continued with lighter-than- years of World War I, Julliot was director of air flight for some time before turning to heavier- aeronautical work for France. In 1915, he emi- 14 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE grated to the United States where he was named the fleet of passenger airships run by the Deutsche general manager for the aircraft division of the Luftshiffahrt A.G., Deutschland crashed heavily Goodrich Company. While in this capacity, he only six days after her maiden flight. All thirty- designed and produced a variety of observation three passengers were saved but the ship was balloons and small non-rigid airships. seriously damaged and had to be dismantled. Undaunted by the disaster, the company oper­ REFERENCES: Obituary, New York Times, 22 March 1923; Lennart Ege, Balloons and Airships, MacMillan, 1974. ated regular passenger service with a fleet of four airships from 1910 to 1914. A total of more than 34,000 passengers were served by these airships, Ferdinand von Zeppelin which featured comfortable accommodations for 1838-1917 about twenty passengers with a buffet served aloft. The Zeppelin airliners marked the initial Development of the rigid airship approach of comfort in air travel. Although the idea of the rigid airship did not REFERENCES: Alfred Heim, "Ferdinand von Zeppelin," originate with von Zeppelin, its development be­ Country Life, 1937; J. L. Nayler and E. Ower, Aviation: lis tween 1898 and 1924 was so much the result of Technical Development, Vision Press, 1965. his work that the term "dirigible" became syn­ onymous with his name. Descended from nobil­ ity, von Zeppelin was born in Konstanz on the Ludwig Diirr Bodensee, Germany. After completing his studies 1878-1956 at the Polytechnic School in Stuttgart, the Uni­ versity of Tubingen, and the Military School at Significant contributions to the technology of rigid Ludwigsburg, he joined the staff of the Quarter­ airships master General of the Wiirtemburg army as a lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers. Rising to Ludwig Diirr joined Count von Zeppelin's or­ the rank of general, von Zeppelin retired from ganization at Friedrichshafen in 1899, after com­ service in 1891 after a brilliant career during pleting a year of service with the navy at Wil- which he repeatedly distinguished himself as a helmshaven. Born in Stuttgart, Germany, on 4 combat soldier. June 1878, Diirr completed Biirgerschule and Having witnessed the military use of balloons Realschule and although he attended the Mas- while a volunteer with the Union Army during chinenbauschule (engineering school) in Stutt­ the American Civil War, von Zeppelin turned to gart he apparently did not graduate. the design of rigid airships after retirement. His While with the Zeppelin organization, Diirr's first design of a dirigible was completed in 1894. grasp of theory and application earned the Unable to convince the German government of Count's respect. In 1902, while working on the the military potential of the rigid airship, von LZ-2, he proposed use of triangular section girders Zeppelin invested his own wealth to build the in order to resist bending forces in all planes. first Zeppelin, which flew successfully in 1900. Named technical director of the company in Working with funds raised by public subscription, 1904, Diirr introduced basic technical innova­ von Zeppelin so improved the performance of his tions into rigid airship design. third Zeppelin (completed in 1906) that the Ger­ Diirr was an able dirigible pilot and, beginning man government provided financial aid for fur­ with the LZ-3, participated in flights of all air­ ther development. ships made at Friedrichshafen. During his career The Deutschland, Zeppelin's ill-fated No. 7, is with the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH, he was recognized as the first airship specifically responsible for the design and construction of equipped for passenger transport. As the first of over 100 rigid airships, including the ill-fated NUMBER 4 15

Hindenburg, which burned at Lakehurst, New Jer­ REFERENCES: The Blue Book of Aviation, The Hoagland sey. Company, 1932; Who's Who (1942), The A. H. Marquis Company; Lennant Ege, Balloons and Airships, Macmillan, REFERENCES: D. H. Robinson, Giants in the Sky, University 1974. of Washington Press, 1973; Obituary, New York Times, 3 January 1956; Duncker and Humbolt, Neue Deutsche Biogra­ phic, Berlin 1959; Enciclopedia De Aviacion y Aslronaulica, Edi- Auguste Piccard cion Garriga, volume 2, 1972. 1884-1962

Karl Arnstein Development of the pressurized gondola used on stratospheric research 1887-1975 Auguste Piccard first attracted world-wide at­ Development of principles fundamental to the stress tention when, as a professor of physics at the analysis of rigid airship structures Polytechnic Institute of Belgium, he invented a pressurized gondola for stratospheric research. During his career, Karl Arnstein earned a repu­ The Piccard twins, Auguste and Jean Felix, were tation as the world's most noted authority on born to Jules and Helene Piccard in Basel, Switz­ airship structures. Born in Prague, Bohemia (now erland, where their father was a professor of Czechoslovakia), he attended the University of chemistry at the University of Basel. Both broth­ Prague, graduating with the degree of Doctor of ers had distinguished careers in aeronautics and Technical Sciences in 1912. Appointed an assist­ shared similar interests through much of their ant professor of bridge design at the University, lives. Reared in Basel, they attended the Obere he earned a reputation throughout Europe for his Realschule and, upon graduation in 1902, at­ expert knowledge of stress analysis. Accepting an tended the Swiss Institute of Technology in invitation to join the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin Zurich. Auguste earned his degree in mechanical GmbH at Friedrichshafen, Germany, in 1914, he engineering, whereas Jean took his in chemical directed his attention to the stress analysis of rigid engineering. The brothers then continued in airship structures. Arnstein stayed with the Zep­ graduate school and were awarded doctorates in pelin company as chief engineer until 1924 when natural science. Auguste remained at the Swiss he came to the United States and joined the Institute of Technology in Zurich until 1922 and Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation in Akron, Ohio, then moved to Brussels as a professor of physics as technical director of aircraft construction. at the Polytechnic Institute of Brussels. In 1940, when the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corpo­ In 1931 and the following year, Piccard estab­ ration abandoned interest in airship construction lished two world altitude records in a balloon and changed its name to the Goodyear Aircraft fitted with a stratospheric gondola that he had Company, Arnstein remained as vice-president invented. The gondola, named FNRS for Fonds and chief engineer. National de Recherche Scientifique, which fi­ Arnstein published numerous articles on the nanced it, was a spherical aluminum cabin with theory of structures (particularly on airships), oxygen equipment and apparatus for making and is credited with the design of over 70 military scientific observations at altitude. Piccard's flights and commercial airships including the American proved it was possible to survive in the strato­ airship Los Angeles. In addition to designing two sphere. military rigid airships of 6,500,000 cubic feet In 1946 Piccard announced his plans to explore (182,000 cubic meters) capacity for the U.S. the ocean depths in a bathyscaphe designed on Navy, Arnstein directed design and construction ballooning principles. He successfully accom­ of the U.S.S. Akron and U.S.S. Macon. plished his objectives in his bathyscaphe, which 16 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE reached a depth of more than 10,000 feet (3000 REFERENCES: Anna Rothe, editor, Current Biography, The m). He died in his home in Lausanne, Switzer­ H. W. Wilson Company, 1947; Lennart Ege, Balloons and Airships, MacMillan, 1974. land, on 24 March 1962.

Aerodynamics

In the popular mind the terms "science" and tions led to an impressive body of confirmed "technology" have acquired a vaguely synony­ theory. mous meaning, yet the motives of science differ As aircraft performance steadily improved, the markedly from those of technology. The former restriction of incompressible flow became increas­ is concerned with understanding man's environ­ ingly unrealistic. During September and October ment, the latter with controlling it to achieve a of 1935, leading aerodynamicists from around the specific objective. Throughout history there have world gathered for the Volta Conference on High been numerous occasions when this formal barrier Speeds in Aviation. Held in Campidoglio, Italy, of purpose has been crossed as scientists and the conference stimulated subsequent research in technologists united in a common cause of accom­ high speed aerodynamics, a topic which identifies plishment. Such is the case with aerodynamics. the main technological emphasis of the period When attempting to encapsulate the historical initated in 1935. development of aerodynamics from its inception to its present posture as a recognized branch of The Formative Years, 1687-1915 mathematical physics, it is convenient to recog­ nize three principle periods in which distinct In order to understand the historical develop­ changes in emphasis occurred. The earliest of ment of aerodynamics and to appreciate the dif­ these periods extends from Newton's publication ficulties experienced by its pioneers, it is necessary of the first rational theory of air resistance in to return to the era in which mechanics was 1687, to international acceptance of the need for founded. Long a topic for debate, the first rational systematic research of flight-related problems in theory of air resistance, derived from fundamen­ 1915. During much of this formative period, aero­ tal principles, is attributed to Isaac Newton dynamics was mainly an empirical endeavor with (1642-1727), who published his conclusions in little emphasis on rigorous mathematical devel­ the classical treatise Philosophae Naturalis Principia opment. As the advent of flight became apparent, Mathematica in 1687 (von Karman, 1954:9). In­ the long reluctant forces of science mustered in a troduced at a time when the calculus was in its sincere commitment to the activity. infancy, Newton's formulation of mechanics did The period 1915 through 1935 was one of not gain immediate acceptance; consequently, unprecedented cooperation between scientists early 18th century ballisticians continued to draw and engineers. While scientists accepted study of their conclusions from direct experiments. Their incompressible flow phenomena (i.e., the move­ data on air resistance were acquired either by ment of bodies through air at "low" speeds) as a means of a whirling arm or by observation of topic for rigorous mathematical scrutiny, engi­ falling bodies. None of this early work on air neers addressed the problems of progressive re­ resistance was in any way motivated by the will finement of aircraft. As low speed aerodynamics to fly. proved a subject amenable to mathematical de­ It appears that Sir George Cay ley (1773-1857) scription, the combined efforts of these two fac­ was the first to appreciate the aeronautical sig- NUMBER 4 17 nificance of the ballisticians data. His vision and brother's success in achieving manned flight in a understanding of the principles of heavier-than- controlled, powered, heavier-than-air vehicle air flight, first published in a three-part paper in must be attributed primarily to their meticulous 1809-1810, greatly influenced early aerodynamic experimentation and superb aeronautical judg­ pursuits (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:21-30). There fol­ ment. lowed a series of influential, but premature, at­ In common with most engineering subjects at tempts to directly apply Cayley's insight to model the turn of the century, aerodynamics was largely and full scale flight vehicles. Unfortunately, ill- an empirical venture. Judgment was guided and conceived configurations, coupled with structural conclusions reached by interpretation of experi­ or power plant deficiencies, resulted in a lengthy mental data rather than predictive mathematical series of failures. theories. As is so often the case with technology, Invention of the wind tunnel, first introduced practice preceded theory. in Great Britain by Francis Herbert Wenham Coincident with the Wright's success, other and John Browning in 1871, was a landmark in aeronautical researchers were becoming con­ the cause to render aerodynamics amenable to vinced that the empirical approach to aerody­ systematic study (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:39). Vastly namics was a major fault, which could be cor­ superior to the whirling arm, the wind tunnel was rected only through systematic research. This used to test a variety of shapes usually selected conviction was particularly prevalent in continen­ by intuition or observation of bird wing charac­ tal Europe where the traditions of engineering teristics. In time, the superiority of the wind tended to favor the classical approach of predict­ tunnel as an aerodynamic test device led to for­ ing behavior through mathematical analysis. In mation of the first laboratories devoted to the 1904, Dimitri Riabouchinsky founded the Aero­ study of aerodynamic phenomena. dynamic Institute at Koutchino, near Moscow, Not all aerodynamic investigations were con­ and immediately began construction of suitable ducted in ground test facilities. One of the most test facilities. The following year, Alexandre Gus­ influential men in the history of aviation, Otto tav Eiffel organized an aerodynamics laboratory Lilienthal, introduced flight testing as a means of in a suburb of Paris. Ludwig Prandtl, who had confirming empirically determined aerodynamic been actively engaged in aerodynamics research conclusions. After completing an extensive study since accepting a chair at the University of Got- on the aerodynamics of bird wings, particularly tingen in 1904, opened an aerodynamics labora­ with regard to wing area and lift, Lilienthal tory in the outskirts of town in 1908. The British began work on a series of gliders. Achieving suc­ government followed suit, in 1909, by forming an cess with his third vehicle, he continued to test Advisory Committee for Aeronautics as a sepa­ his aerodynamic conclusions in gliding experi­ rate department of the National Physical Labo­ ments until his tragic death in 1896 (Gibbs- ratory. By 1910, these laboratories, equipped with Smith, 1970:72-80). the most advanced wind tunnels of the time, were Lilienthal had approached flight in the spirit all engaged in systematic research of aerodynamic of a true airman. An appreciation of this spirit phenomena (Hallion, 1977:4). stimulated the Wright brothers to follow a similar European scientists were remarkably successful course of action. When flight experiments failed in their early attempts to compose mathemati­ to confirm their empirically determined expecta­ cally tractable theories of lift and drag. The tions, they returned to the laboratory to conduct German mathematician Martin Wilhelm Kutta more tests and refine their aerodynamic data. In became interested in aerodynamic theory as a a remarkably short period the Wright's confirmed consequence of Lilienthal's gliding experiments. their beliefs, particularly with regard to the effec­ Kutta addressed the problem of why a curved tiveness of wing warp for roll control. The Wright surface produces a positive lift. At the insistence 18 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE of his professor, S. Finsterwalder, Kutta pub­ The Years of Progressive Refinement, lished a paper on the subject in 1902 (Giacomelli 1915-1935 and Pistollesi, 1963:348). During this 20-year period, aerodynamics was In Russia, Nikolai Zhukovski became inter­ extensively developed and refined by the organ­ ested in the same problem. Between 1902 and ized research establishments in Europe and the 1909, he developed the mathematical foundations United States. Two factions, one motivated by for a theory of lift on a wing section in two the objectives of science and the other by the dimensional flow. Both Kutta and Zhukovski needs of technology, were particularly influential. independently had made the same fundamental assumption of smooth flow at the trailing edge. Responsive to the scientific appeal of Ludwig The assumption, now called the Kutta-Zhukovski Prandtl's mathematical idealization of incom­ condition, is the salient point in the theory of lift. pressible flow phenomena, the continental math­ With it, the whole problem of lift becomes purely ematicians concentrated on developing the math­ a matter of mathematics (von Karman, 1954:50- ematical foundations of theoretical aerody­ 54). namics. Although solutions of idealized problems are of considerable value to those involved with In Germany, Ludwig Prandtl addressed the applied research, they are seldom in a form usable problem of frictional drag. In 1904, at the Third by designers. In fact, a function of applied re­ International Congress of Mathematicians held in Heidelberg, Prandtl showed that for a fluid of search is to convert results obtained from theoret­ small viscosity, such as air, the effect of viscosity ical studies into a functional format. In the case is limited to a thin layer adjacent to the surface, of aerodynamics this function was admirably per­ the so-called boundary layer. This insight per­ formed by the engineering staff of the NACA. mitted essential simplifications that made fric­ During World War I, however, systematic re­ tional drag accessible to mathematical analysis search was relegated to a position of minor im­ (von Karman 1954:88). portance, as those technically trained in aero­ Meanwhile George Hartley Bryan, a mathe­ nautics concentrated on the rudimentary im­ matics professor in England, published, in coop­ provements needed to meet the needs of war. eration with W. S. Williams, an epoch making When hostilities ended, aviation had reached an paper on the longitudinal stability of gliders. In awkward adolescence. The airplane had proven the paper, Bryan introduced several completely its value as a combat weapon, but it had done so new concepts including the equation governing with an incomplete understanding of lift and stability. Too advanced for its time, the paper drag. In prewar years, Kutta and Zhukovski had was not immediately accepted, but he persevered. found that circulation was needed to eliminate Seven years later, in 1911, Bryan published his flow anomalies in their two-dimensional theory Stability in Aviation, a book regarded as a classic in of lift, while Prandtl's boundary layer theory had aviation history. greatly simplifed calculation of drag on a wing of While European scientists were successfully infinite span. As peace settled over Europe, de­ proving that aerodynamics was a subject amen­ velopment of the theory of circulatory motion able to mathematical treatment, little progress and extension of Prandtl's boundary layer theory had been made in the United States. However, became particularly attractive problems for the with the founding of the National Advisory Com­ mathematically inclined. mittee for Aeronautics (NACA) on 3 March 1915, Unknown to investigators on the continent, America entered the arena of systematic aero­ Frederick W. Lanchester, a well-known British nautical research. Founding of the NACA marks automative engineer, had composed a circulation the advent of the second period of aerodynamic theory of sustenation as early as 1894. Lanchester, development. who considered mathematics an unnecessary NUMBER 4 19 adornment, attempted to publish in 1897, but the Like the flap, the slotted wing greatly increased reviewers did not comprehend his work and re­ lift at low speeds and virtually eliminated the jected the paper (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:70). His stall-and-spin type of crash (Miller and Sawers, theory eventually appeared in two volumes, Aero- 1970:79-82). donetics (1908) and Aerodynamics (1907). Its signif­ Not all practical problems were related to flight icance, however, was obscured by the author's safety. Throughout the twenties, aerodynamicists writing style and, for all practical purposes, went continued to be concerned with induced drag in unnoticed until Ludwig Prandtl independently their attempts to improve aircraft performance. introduced a mathematical treatment of circula­ Bennett Melville Jones, a professor at Cambridge tion (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:124). Prandtl's analysis University, exerted a great influence on aircraft systematized circulation theory by including sev­ design by considering an aircraft to be more than eral simplifying assumptions, such as the Kutta- just the sum of its parts. In a classic paper, "The Zhukovski condition (von Karman, 1954:53). In Streamline Airplane," published in 1929, Jones time, the theory, which allowed assessment of the presented a comparative study of induced drag influence of wing geometry on performance, be­ and theoretical drag determined by assuming came known as the "Lanchester-Prandtl theory ideal streamlining. The comparison provided de­ of wings." signers with an idealized goal that served to While scientists on the continent enthusiasti­ indicate how much power was wasted in overcom­ cally pursued fundamental aerodynamic re­ ing drag. Following publication, streamlining re­ search, their British counterparts refused to be­ ceived considerable attention from aircraft de­ come involved. Organized under the protective signers (Miller and Sawers, 1970:60). A major umbrella of the National Physical Laboratory, fault with British aerodynamics was that it was the Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was so heavily "pilot oriented" and too closely tied to ineffective that aerodynamic research in Great development of particular aircraft to produce Britain became highly disoriented in the postwar results of general value. Although badly needed, years. Aeronautical initiative in Great Britain a systematic program in applied aerodynamics shifted to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at failed to materialize at either the National Phys­ Farnborough, where emphasis was given to prac­ ical Laboratory or the Royal Aircraft Establish­ tical problems in support of the Royal Aircraft ment. Factory. During the period in question, aerodynamic The number of fatalities resulting from loss of research in the United States was almost exclu­ control caused by impending stall was a problem sively performed by, or in cooperation with, the of paramount importance. Some, like Geoffrey NACA. When Congress had approved creation of T. R. Hill, a British engineer who flew as a test the NACA on 3 March 1915, it contained the pilot during the First World War, were deter­ provision, "that it shall be the duty of the Advi­ mined to design an aircraft that could not lose sory Committee for Aeronautics to supervise and control due to pilot error. Hill's pterodactyl, an direct the scientific problems of flight, with a unconventional tailless aircraft with sharply view to their practical solution, and to determine swept wings, was designed for inherent stability the problems which should be experimentally (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:190). Other investigators attacked, and to discuss their solution and their sought to improve low-speed stability and control application to practical questions" (NACA, 1915: by more conventional means. Frederick Handley 7). One interpretation of this provision is that of Page in Great Britain and Gustav Lachmann in a no-nonsense directive to pursue an applied re­ Germany independently developed the slotted search activity! wing as a way to postpone stall by reducing the President Woodrow Wilson named the 12-man turbulence over the wing at high angles of attack. Advisory Committee for Aeronautics on 2 April. 20 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

After the organizational formalities of the first a way that could be readily understood. In his meeting, the committee elected to survey current report, Hunsaker (1915) describes an experimen­ aeronautical research in the United States for the tal investigation of longitudinal stability con­ purpose of improving coordination of various ducted in a wind tunnel at MIT. Comparison of governmental, academic, and private research theory and experiment was accomplished by efforts. Survey results were less than encouraging. means of convenient graphs. Hunsaker's report Limited laboratory facilities capable of work in was a model example of the format to be followed aeronautics were available, but few were actually in subsequent NACA Technical Notes. It stressed engaged in aeronautical research. While aca­ applied research confirmed by experimental evi­ demic institutions had mechanical laboratories, dence that is presented so as to be useful to only two universities, the Massachusetts Institute designers. of Technology and the University of Michigan, In its initial report to the President, the com­ offered aeronautical courses or research (Hallion, mittee recommended gradual development of a 1977:24). To the committee, interest at most well-equipped laboratory as an element essential colleges was considered "more one of curiosity to its work (NACA, 1915:8). First steps to acquire than that of considering the problem as a true a suitable facility were taken in 1916 when Dr. engineering one, requiring development of engi­ Charles D. Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian neering resources and, therefore, as not yet of Institution and chairman of the committee, ap­ sufficient importance to engage their serious at­ proached Army and Navy authorities with a tention" (NACA, 1915: 13). Industry also proved proposal for a joint Army-Navy-NACA experi­ disappointing. Manufacturers were reluctant to mental field and proving ground for aircraft. become involved with any activity that could Walcott's reception is indicative of the coopera­ cause radical changes in their product line. tive spirit that prevailed among the agencies in­ Armed with a bleak appraisal that indicated volved. The War Department agreed to purchase the appalling state of American aeronautics, the the real estate, since the Army had funds for that committee moved to initiate corrective action at purpose. Part of the site was to be used by the a rate consistent with available funding. A list of Army for its aeronautical research studies, while specific problems and most immediate needs was separate allotments would be reserved for NACA compiled for inclusion in the committee's first and Navy use (Gray, 1948:13). annual report to the President. In a concise de­ After evaluating numerous sites, a tract of land scription of the lead-off problem, the committee near Hampton, Virginia, was chosen as most clearly established the tenor of future NACA appropriate to the needs of all involved. Follow­ research by noting: "The publication of many ing the Army's newly adopted policy of naming valuable treatises which have already been pre­ flying fields after Americans who had distin­ pared is not sufficient, as many of these treatises guished themselves in aeronautics, the location are not in a form to be comprehended by design­ was designated Langley Field. Optimistically ers and manufacturers who are otherwise fitted conceived, the well-laid plan for a joint military- for practical accomplishments in aeronautical civilian aeronautical research facility was not des­ work." Distrust of mathematical theories was iso­ tined to survive. On 6 April 1917, the United lated as a major factor to be overcome before real States entered the European conflict with a dec­ progress could be expected (NACA, 1915: 13). laration of war against Germany. The Army No time was wasted in clarifying precisely what transferred its aeronautical experimental work to the NACA had in mind. Jerome Hunsaker, a McCook Field in Ohio and made Langley Field brilliant engineer who later became chairman of an aviators' school. The Navy installed its test the NACA, prepared the agency's first report, facilities at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. which convincingly presented research results in Only NACA proceeded with the original plan NUMBER 4 21 and started work on its laboratory the following influence of design changes on aerodynamic per­ year (Gray, 1948:14). By 1918, the first building formance. When empirical correction factors de­ was completed and emphasis shifted to construc­ veloped for use with Tunnel No. 1 proved unre­ tion of a wind tunnel. Construction of the five- liable, the engineers decided to investigate alter­ foot tunnel, designed from studies of European nate ways to obtain realistic results from model facilities, was completed the following year but it testing (Gray, 1948:34). did not become operational until 1920. With Max Munk, a German immigrant, had joined justifiable pride, NACA dedicated its first major the research staff at Langley in 1921. Munk, who research center, the Langley Memorial Aero­ had studied under Prandtl and earned his doc­ nautical Laboratory, with appropriate ceremony torate from the University of Gottingen, was in June 1920 (Gray, 1948:15). aware of European studies that proposed testing Popular writers and historians have character­ wind tunnel models in a fluid other than air. The ized American aviation in the postwar years as fundamental idea of these studies was to test the an era of wild speculation. An era made romantic models in accordance with the laws of dynamic by an overdrawn image of pilots as a fatalistic lot similitude. In the case of fluids, the law of simi­ ready to risk life and limb in dilapidated crates. larity is expressed in terms of a nondimensional Much of what has been written accurately de­ parameter known as Reynolds number, normally scribes the conditions that prevailed during the pVL early twenties when air regulation had not yet written , where p is the fluid density, V the been enacted. The popular image, however, is not flow velocity, ju. the viscosity, and L is a repre­ without fault. Its preoccupation with flight con­ sentative length (usually the wing chord). To test ditions and irresponsible promoters belies the true the model at Reynolds numbers comparable to concerns of American aeronautics at that time. wthose encountered with a full-size vehicle, Eu­ While the barnstorming circuit continued to at­ ropean scientists had proposed using carbon diox­ tract skilled and unskilled pilots alike, govern­ ide as the working fluid, because this gas has the ment laboratories were quietly recruiting a cadre lowest viscosity at any given pressure. The pro­ of engineers and technicians to work on funda­ cedure, however, was considered impractical, be­ mental technical problems (Hallion, 1977:4-5). cause of the difficulty of handling large quantities In anticipation of an operational facility, the of carbon dioxide, and had been abandoned. NACA, in 1919 had asked George Lewis, a pro­ Munk reasoned that the same results could be fessor of mechanical engineering at Swarthmore obtained by compressing air to, say, 20 atmo­ College, to become its executive officer. Lewis, spheres while reducing the representative length who had an uncanny ability to recognize latent to one-twentieth full size. Model test results ob­ talent, carefully picked for key positions men tained at 20 atmospheres should then compare whose training and talents would be used to with the results obtained from testing a full-size mutual advantage (Gray, 1948:45). vehicle at normal atmospheric pressure (Gray, As Wind Tunnel No. 1 neared operational 1948:23). status, plans were finalized for its use in resolving The soundness of Munk's reasoning was proven critical aerodynamic problems. Principal among in 1923, when the variable density tunnel went these was the need to establish a reliable means on line. It soon proved to be a highly superior test for predicting the performance of full-size aircraft facility, which permitted lift and drag on wings from tests of wind tunnel models. NACA engi­ to be evaluated under conditions closely corre­ neers knew that conclusions based on model test sponding to full scale flight. NACA's first sub­ results did not apply to full-size aircraft, but they stantial contributions to wing improvement re­ also knew that the controlled test conditions of a sulted from tests conducted in the new facility wind tunnel were essential for evaluating the (Gray, 1948:36). 22 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

American aeronautical research in the early Convinced that aeronautical research was 1920's was a curious parable of opposites. While being limited by existing wind tunnels, George aerodynamic research flourished at NACA's Lewis boldly took the lead in planning and build­ popularly called "Langley Labs," most academic ing facilities of unprecedented size and perform­ institutions continued to regard aeronautics as a ance. When tunnels of conventional size proved curiosity. By 1922, only five universities, Massa­ inadequate for propeller research, Lewis proposed chusetts Institute of Technology, University of construction of a tunnel "large enough to take an Michigan, California Institute of Technology, actual fuselage with its engine installation and University of Washington, and Stanford Univer­ propeller of full size" (Gray, 1948:36). When sity, offered courses in aeronautics. Of these, only completed in 1927, the tunnel was an awesome two, namely MIT and the University of Michi­ sight. Its throat measured 20 feet (6 meters) in gan, offered programs leading to an aeronautical diameter, but it solved the propeller problem and degree (Hallion, 1977:27). established the limiting speed of propeller opera­ Although universities were reluctant to regard tion. Known as the propeller research tunnel, its aeronautics as a serious endeavor, the NACA, as unique size made the tunnel an important facility part of its responsibility, annually advised the for use on a number of critical problems. President and the Congress of the need for a One of these problems involved research on the national aviation policy. aerodynamics of engine cooling. The first step Recognizing that airfoil theory was in a frag­ toward improving the aerodynamics of engine mentary state, the NACA, in 1920, developed a cooling was taken as soon as the tunnel became uniform notation for describing the aerodynamic operational. At the time, most American aircraft characteristics of airfoils. Initially, airfoil data were equipped with air-cooled engines and it was from tests conducted in laboratories around the common practice to ignore the drag resulting world were collected and disseminated in reports from exposed cylinders in order to promote ade­ issued by the NACA. Each report ended with a quate cooling. Fred Weick, a young engineer who series of summary graphs indicating relative per­ had gained experience in propeller design while formance with regard to particular criteria. Al­ with the Bureau of Aeronautics, was placed in though testing under various flow conditions charge of the propeller research tunnel. When caused considerable scatter in the data points, the tests established that the drag from an exposed graphs were of great service to aircraft designers radial engine amounted to one-third that of the (Jones, 1977:1-11). Lacking an acceptable theory entire fuselage, Weick began an exhaustive series for predicting airfoil performance, NACA engi­ of tests, which finally led to the NACA cowling neers decided to exploit the variable density tun­ (Gray, 1948:37). The basic idea behind the cowl­ nel and systematically determine the influence of ing was to shape an engine enclosure such that airfoil shape on aerodynamic performance by a drag would be reduced without undue compro­ "trial and error" procedure. To accomplish this, mise of engine cooling. When completed, the an engineer would start with a given airfoil and NACA cowling not only reduced drag, it pro­ arbitrarily modify one particular characteristic of moted airflow and improved engine cooling. its shape. After wind-tunnel evaluation of its By 1929, the status of aerodynamic research in response, the selected characteristic was further the United States was far superior to that of any modified and the resulting shape again tested for other nation. Aircraft Engineering, a British publi­ comparative behavior. A tedious process at best, cation carried this tribute to the Langley engi­ it never-the-less permitted each characteristic to neers: "They were the first to establish, and in­ be evaluated independently (Gray, 1948:99). By deed to visualize a variable-density tunnel; they 1929, the NACA had published data on nearly have led again with the construction of the 1000 different airfoil shapes. twenty-foot propeller research tunnel; and steps NUMBER 4 23

are now being taken to provide a 'full-scale' tun­ Volta Congress on High Speeds in Aviation, the nel in which complete aeroplanes up to thirty- agenda was devoted to assessing the problems of five-foot span can be tested. The present-day supersonic flight. During the course of the meet­ American position in all branches of aeronautical ings it became penetratingly clear that progress knowledge can, without doubt, be attributed in supersonic aerodynamics was dependent on mainly to this far-seeing policy and expenditure development of transonic and supersonic wind on up-to-date laboratory equipment" (Gray, tunnels. Upon his return to the United States, 1948:16). Theodore von Karman, the recognized dean of From the beginning the NACA was determined American aerodynamics, contacted responsible to concentrate on its advisory responsibilities and government sources to convey the pressing need refrain from competition with industry. As mili­ for development of the necessary high-speed test tary and civilian users pressed for improved per­ facilities (Hallion, 1972:11). formance, industry discussed its need with NACA While von Karman's efforts met with compar­ engineers and found a receptive audience. As ative indifference, European scientists fared some­ rapidly as new information was found and con­ what better. Jakob Ackeret, who was then Direc­ firmed, it was disseminated to a broad spectrum tor of the Institute of Aerodynamics in Zurich, of the American aeronautical community. Indus­ had earlier developed a continuous flow Mach 2 try, the engineering profession, and military ci­ tunnel. As the world's first modern supersonic vilian agencies of the Federal government were wind tunnel, Ackeret's facility was the prototype kept informed of the latest findings in carefully for a Mach 2.7 tunnel that was under construc­ edited Technical Notes. Aircraft design was stead­ tion at the Guidonia Laboratory. German engi­ ily improved on an item by item basis as the neers were also engaged in developing high-speed information reported proved applicable to the test facilities in support of their weapons devel­ needs of industry. By 1935, American aircraft opment programs (Hallion, 1972:11). were so superior that foreign countries were buy­ By mid-1939, the European political situation ing their transport planes from American manu­ was deteriorating rapidly. American concern over facturers (Gray, 1948:16). the build-up of European high-speed research To aircraft designers the world over, the term facilities was approaching alarming proportions "applied aerodynamics" had become synony­ (Anderson, 1976:5). For years American leader­ mous with the results generated in a complex of ship in commercial aviation had gone unchal­ specialized wind tunnels located at the Langley lenged, but high-speed research could give Eu­ Labs. NACA's early recognition of the need to rope the edge in the military sector. Army Air present research results in a useful form and its Corps Chief, Major General Henry H. "Hap" bold commitment to develop unprecedented fa­ Arnold, established a special board to investigate cilities had been master strokes in the competition military aircraft development. Ezra Kotcher, for aeronautical leadership. Aerodynamics en­ then a senior instructor at the Air Corps Engi­ tered the third period in its historical develop­ neering School at Wright Field, was asked to ment with a proven portfolio of experimental and submit a report on future aeronautical research mathematical credentials. and development problems for review by the board. Submitted in August 1939, Kotcher's re­ The Years of Sonic Achievement, 1935- port was forwarded to Major General Arnold and In September and October 1935, distinguished the NACA (Hallion, 1972:12). aerodynamicists from the world's leading aero­ Kotcher's report stressed the importance of nautical powers assembled in Campidoglio, Italy, undertaking extensive research on transonic aero­ for what proved to be an influential conference dynamics to study aircraft behavior at, or near, on high-speed aerodynamics. Known as the Fifth the speed of sound. Research in existing tunnels 24 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE was limited to the subsonic or supersonic, because While one faction of the NACA sought to of the "choking phenomen." Kotcher advocated provide data to solve the immediate needs, other obtaining transonic data from a flight research factions of the agency and the military sought to program since no advance in wind-tunnel tech­ develop separate transonic research aircraft proj­ nology was apparent. Kotcher's call for a high­ ects. By the end of 1944, the military, the NACA, speed flight research program found a strong and the aircraft industry realized that designers supporter in John Stack, a highly qualified engi­ needed more reliable information to overcome neer at NACA's Langley Laboratory. Intrigued the effects of compressibility. Pending solution of with the idea of developing experimental aircraft the choking problem, the only solution was de­ for transonic research, Stack succeeded in con­ velopment of transonic research aircraft (Hallion, vincing the NACA to establish a small group to 1972:26). study possible configurations (Hallion, 1972:15). On 10 March 1945, the Army Air Technical The thrust of American aviation was drasti­ Services Command notified the NACA that it cally altered with the outbreak of World War II was awarding Bell Aircraft a contract for a tran­ on 1 September 1939. Further development of sonic research aircraft. Within a month the Bu­ commercial aviation was greatly reduced as air­ reau of Aeronautics approved a Douglas proposal craft companies directed their efforts toward pro­ to develop the D-558 for similar purposes. Neither ducing vehicles with the speeds, altitudes, and aircraft was completed in time to provide needed functions demanded of combat. For the NACA, wartime data. Both aircraft, however, proved the war meant a punishing workload. Long-range highly successful for investigation of transonic research plans were ruthlessly pruned to meet the and supersonic flight. On 14 October 1947 Air short-term exigenices of military aircraft already Corps Captain Charles Yeager successfully flew in production (Anderson, 1976:7). the Bell X-l faster than the speed of sound. Six By 1943, compressibility problems had as­ years later on 20 November 1953, NACA's Scott sumed critically important dimensions as opera­ Crossfield reached Mach 2 in the Douglas D-558- tional squadrons began to experience losses when 2 (Hallion, 1972:41-61). the effect was encountered in dives. The NACA's While flight research aircraft painstakingly ground-based facilities on which the country had probed the flight envelope for transonic and come to depend were still plagued with the chok­ supersonic flight, ground research teams strug­ ing phenomenon and were of no use for transonic gled with the elusive problems of developing a testing. Aerodynamicists desperately sought alter­ transonic wind tunnel. By late 1950 John Stack nate means for compiling usable data on com­ and his team had found the key: "the slotted pressibility. Robert Gilruth, a young engineer in throat." Prior to this discovery, wind tunnels were the Flight Research Division, realized that when of the closed throat type, which allowed shock diving a P-51 at Mach 0.75 the accelerated air­ waves from the test model to reflect off the tunnel flow over the wing approached Mach 1.2. Per­ walls. The reflection had caused the choking, haps flight research could provide the answer. which prevented accurate measurements at Mach Gilruth designed a small balance mechanism that numbers ranging from 0.75 to 1.3. The "slotted could be fitted in the gun compartment of a P- throat" eliminated this reflection and made the 51. It could be used to obtain data on test airfoils transonic tunnel a valuable research tool. Within mounted vertically above the wing. While the a year, Richard Whitcomb, a brilliant aerody- test method had definite limitations and certainly namicist, had used the tunnel to verify his lacked the controlled conditions of a wind tunnel, mathematical formulation of transonic area rule. it did provide useful transonic data on airfoil Whitcomb's area rule amounts to a sensitive bal­ shapes and the effects of aspect ratio, thickness, ancing of fuselage and wing volume, which min­ and section (Hallion, 1972:22). imizes drag at transonic speeds. Its application on NUMBER 4 25 postwar fighters resulted in operational military grandmother who raised him in his father's house aircraft capable of supersonic flight (Anderson, in Woolsthorpe, near Grantham in Lincolnshire, 1976:11). England. He was admitted to Trinity College, Robert T. Jones, who had developed into a Cambridge, in 1661, became Scholar in 1664 and gifted aerodynamicist and mathematician while Bachelor of Arts in 1665. with the NACA at Langley Field, mathematically Although Newton's formulation of the funda­ discovered the drag-reducing faculty of swept mental principles of mechanics cannot be classi­ wings. When wind tunnel tests confirmed his fied as flight technology, it did provide the basis discovery, Jones was able to account for the sub­ for development of engineering and its subse­ sonic behavior of sweptwings at supersonic quent application to flight. Announced in 1687, speeds. In 1946, Jones was appointed senior staff at a time in which scientific curiosity rather than scientist at the NACA Ames Research Center. application was the prevailing motivation to sci­ While in this capacity, Jones extended Whit- entific inquiry, Newton's formulation embodied comb's transonic area rule into the supersonic an approach to the subject of mechanics that was flight range. Jones' supersonic area rule makes it a marked departure from all earlier efforts. Intro­ possible to minimize drag at any preselected ducing force as an undefined concept, Newton supersonic Mach number. concentrated on characterizing its influence With ground based facilities capable of provid­ rather than attempting its definition. This iden­ ing reliable data over the full Mach number tifying characteristic of his formulation had a range of interest, NACA engineers and scientists powerful unifying influence on mechanics and its systematically cleared away the vagaries of flight subsequent applications and expansion. For en­ near, at, and beyond the speed of sound. Variable gineering applications, where velocities are small geometry configurations or "swing wings" are in compared with the velocity of light, Newton's the inventory. The supercritical wing, with its mechanics has yet to be disproved. It conse­ energy saving potential, is ready. The oblique quently survives as the basis of modern engineer­ wing is in advanced stages of development. Once ing science. thought to be beyond attainment, supersonic As the basis for most analyses, Newtonian me­ flight has been reduced to accepted routine. What chanics has exerted an enormous influence on the lies beyond the years of sonic achievement is a entire movement in aeronautics and astronautics. matter for conjecture, but one point is clear: REFERENCES: I. B. Cohen, ''''Isaac Newton'' in Dictionary of aerodynamics is no longer an empirical venture, Scientific Biography, volume 10, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970; it has become a fully matured science. Theodore von Karman, Aerodynamics, Cornell University Press, 1954. Biographic Sketches Daniel Bernoulli Sir Isaac Newton 1700-1782 1642-1727 Formulation of the principles of hydrodynamics Formulation of the fundamental principles of mechanics providing the basis for understanding lift which form the basis for modern aeronautical science As the son of a distinguished mathematician, Unquestionably one of the greatest scientists of Daniel Bernoulli continued in the family tradi­ all time, Sir Isaac Newton was born prematurely tion of scientific achievement. Born in Gronin- to a mother widowed some three months prior to gen, Netherlands, his imagination and fertile his birth. When his mother remarried, Newton mind dealt with a wide and varied range of was placed in the care of his aged maternal scientific interests. An able physicist and gifted 26 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE mathematician, he was the first to link Newton's familiar with the works of Newton and carefully promising new formulation of mechanics with read the publications of Robbins, Smeaton, and Leibnitz' ideas on the infinitesimal calculus. This other 18th-century ballisticians. Cayley appreci­ union was later extended by others and finally ated the aeronautical significance of their data on emerged as the recognized hallmark of 20th-cen­ air resistance and applied it to the problem of tury technology. flight. Bernoulli's early accomplishments brought him In 1804 he began work on his famous paper, considerable recognition in intellectual circles. In "Aerial Navigation," which was published in Ni- 1725 he accepted a chair at the St. Petersburg cholsonsJ Journal in 1809-1810. The three part Academy, Russia, and began what many consider paper presents Cayley's understanding of the to be his most creative period. While at St. principles of heavier-than-air flight. The work Petersburg, he outlined his famous book, Hydro- was a great advance over anything that had dynamica, in which all propositions are derived previously been written on the subject of aero­ from a single principle: conservation of energy. nautics. In 1912, Orville Wright praised Cayley One of the most brilliant applications of this by stating: principle is found in Bernoulli's deduction of the He knew more of the principles of aeronautics than any celebrated theorem (Bernoulli's Theorem), which of his predecessors and as much as any that followed him up establishes that fluid pressure is inversely propor­ to the end of the nineteenth century. His published work is tional to fluid velocity. This theorem eventually remarkedly free from error and was a most important con­ provided the connection between the lift of air­ tribution to the science. craft wings and the circulatory motion of the air Cayley's contributions to aeronautics were not around them. While Bernoulli's scientific interests confined to engineering speculation or abstract were not motivated by an interest in flight, his laboratory experiments. Convinced of the future theorem survives as a fundamental tenet of airfoil of heavier-than-air vehicles, he built and flew design. model and manned gliders in an attempt to REFERENCES: "Hans Straub," Dictionary of Scientific Biog­ demonstrate their promise. His work on aerody­ raphy, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970; Stephen P. Timos­ namics was widely read and directly inspired chenko, History of the Strength of Materials. McGraw-Hill Book others to investigate the problems of flight. Co, 1953. REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; Charles H. Gibbs- Sir George Cayley Smith, Sir George Cayley, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1773-1857 1968; J. Lawrence Pritchard, "The Dawn of Aerodynamics," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, volume 6 (March 1937). Creative contributions to the empirical foundations of aerodynamics and the conceptual configuration of Alphonse Penaud fixed wing aircraft 1850-1880 Destined to become regarded as the first to Creative contributions to the theory and practice of take a "serious step toward a successful airplane," aircraft stability Cayley was born on 27 December 1773. He lived and did most of his research at Brompton Hall, Alphonse Penaud was the son of a French near Scarborough, England. Although not insti­ admiral. Born in Paris, France, and equipped tutionally trained as a technologist, Cayley re­ with an excellent engineering education, he was ceived his education in this area from two able prevented from pursuing a naval career by a tutors, George Walker and George Cadogen Mor­ serious hip disease. Instead, he devoted himself gan. In the course of his studies Cayley became entirely to aeronautics and contributed many NUMBER 4 27 fruitful suggestions and inventions. His "plano- thrust. The outstanding design features of Hen- phore" of 1871 marked a milestone in aviation son's Arial included: (1) twin pusher airscrews history. A stable monoplane with tapered wings powered by a single steam engine mounted in the having tip dihedral and a diamond-shaped tail- fuselage; (2) wire braced monoplane configura­ plane, also with dihedral tips, the "planophore" tion with vertical and horizontal stabilizers; (3) was propelled by a pusher propeller driven by a cambered wing surface formed from spars and twisted band of rubber. Inherently stable with shaped ribs; and (4) tricycle landing gear with both lateral and longitudinal stability, the model tension braced wheels. was demonstrated in the Tuileries Gardens in These innovations were skillfully combined to Paris before the Societe de Navigation Aerienne. produce a design of such pleasing appearance In 1876, Penaud patented his design for a full- and proportion that the Arial gained immediate size amphibious tractor, two-seat monoplane, popularity. A steam powered model was built but with many highly advanced features that were never performed as anticipated and reportedly subsequently flight qualified. Lack of a suitable collapsed upon release from its launch ramp. Its engine as well as financial backing prevented the failure to fly appears to be attributable to defi­ design from materializing. ciencies in the wing structure, which resulted in Poverty, ill-health, and public ridicule of his inadequate wing stiffness. experimental efforts discouraged Penaud to the In 1848, shortly after the model's failures, Hen­ extent that he committed suicide at the age of 30. son abandoned further interest in the field and His efforts proved to be one of the principal emigrated to the United States. formative influences in aviation history. REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; A. M. Ballantyne esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. and J. L. Pritchard, "The Lives and Work of William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, June 1956. William Henson 1812-1888 John Stringfellow Engineering innovations which led to the propeller and 1799-1833 double-surfaced cambered wings Influential research on steam-powered models including Born 3 May 1812 in Nottingham, England, Henson's Arial Henson was apprenticed to the lace manufactur­ ing industry as a machinist. Although the moti­ Born in Attercliffe, England, on 6 December vating influence underlying his interest in flight 1799, Stringfellow served his engineering appren­ is unknown, Henson's design of the aerial steam ticeship in the lace trade at Nottingham, but carriage, patented in 1843, proved to be one of subsequently relocated in Chard. Excelling in the the most outstanding and influential designs in design and fabrication of steam engines, he col­ early aviation history. The Arial was never built laborated with Henson to build a model of the and the model of it would not fly, yet it was Arial for test purposes. Henson attended mainly widely publicized and captured the imagination to construction of the air frame while Stringfellow of flight enthusiasts the world over. took Henson's engine design, improved it sub­ Examination of the superb patent drawings stantially and produced an excellent little steam and design innovations establish Henson as an engine. The engine was installed in the unsuc­ accomplished draftsman and contemporary en­ cessful model tested at Bala Down from 1845 to gineer. His design was among the earliest in 1847. history to recommend use of an airscrew to obtain When Henson abandoned aeronautics in 1848, 28 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Stringfellow continued to build and test models were cambered with a thicker section along the that retained the basic design innovations of the leading edge. He then proceeded to show that Arial. In the mid-1860's, as an engine manufac­ such wings derive most of their lift from the turer, he built a tri-plane model, which was ex­ forward portion of the wing. These conclusions hibited at the Crystal Palace in 1868. Although prompted him to advocate high aspect ratio it was unsuccessful, this and his other works were wings. very influential in persuading Chanute—and Wenham conducted extensive studies of cam­ through him the Wrights—to adopt a biplane bered wings and aspect ratio. Dissatisfied with configuration in their designs. test results acquired from whirling arm studies, he collaborated with John Browning to produce REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; A. M. Ballantyne the world's first wind tunnel in 1871. Although and J. L. Pritchard, "The Lives and Work of William understandably primitive, it represents a great Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow," Journal of the Royal improvement in aerodynamic test facilities. Ac­ Aeronautical Society, June 1956. tive in the field until his death, Wenham corre­ sponded with Octave Chanute until 1908.

Francis Herbert Wenham REFERENCES: J. Lawrence Pitchard, "Francis Herbert 1824-1908 Wenham, 1824-1908," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, August 1958; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. Aerodynamic contributions which mark the practical beginnings of wing-shape theory Horatio Phillips One of the most influential figures in the pre- 1845-1924 Wright era of aeronautics, Francis Herbert Wen­ ham was born in Kensington, London. His father Experimental research on cambered two-surface wing was an Army surgeon. Although not particularly sections which provided the foundations for airfoil design adept in mathematics, the younger Wenham was endowed with a keen mechanical sense and the Horatio Phillips, the son of a sporting-gun questioning interest of a practical engineer. More­ maker was born in Streatham, a suburb of Lon­ over, he became a first-rate mechanic capable of don. An able experimentalist with a deep interest both designing and making what he wanted. At in aeronautics, he closely followed the wind tun­ 17, he was apprenticed to a firm in Bristol where nel and whirling arm research conducted under he completed training as a marine engineer. the auspices of the Aeronautical Society. Dissat­ A man of many dimensions, Wenham made isfied with the experimental results, Phillips de­ notable contributions in such diverse fields as cided to build his own tunnel to test flat plates steam engines, optics, and photography before and airfoils based on sections of a bird's wing. In turning to aeronautics. As a founding member of an attempt to circumvent the unsteady flow in a the Aeronautical Society of Great Britain, he fan-driven wind tunnel, Phillips introduced the delivered the first lecture to the Society on 27 steam injector as a method of wind tunnel drive. June 1866. Entitled "Aerial Locomotion," the This remarkable innovation anticipates the injec­ paper was recognized immediately as a milestone tor drives presently used in many supersonic wind in aeronautics. tunnels. An excellent shot, Wenham's prowess as an Based on data obtained in his tunnel, Phillips upland bird hunter provided numerous opportu­ took out his first, and most influential, patent in nities to study the structure of bird wings. Aware 1884 and his second in 1891. His data on double- of Cayley's preference for cambered wings, Wen­ surface airfoil sections proved conclusively that ham drew attention to the fact that bird wings on a thick cambered wing, curved more on the NUMBER 4 29 upper surface than on the lower, the greater part couragement and direct financial assistance to of the lift generated is due to reduced pressure gifted aeronautical experimenters, he strongly ad­ above the airfoil section. His results were widely vised them of their need to gain flight experience studied by aeronautical enthusiasts throughout in gliders. With the aid of several younger disci­ the world and exerted a powerful influence on ples, Chanute designed gliders and evolved a the cause for heavier-than-air flight. biplane version that was more advanced, stable, and easier to handle than the best of Lilienthal's. REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; S. Lawrence Prit- While Chanute's technical contributions to the chard, "The Dawn of Aerodynamics," Journal of the Royal Wright airplane were limited, his constant inter­ Aeronautical Society, volume 61 (March 1957). est, encouragement, and advice to them were certainly an important factor to their final suc­ Octave Chanute cess. 1832-1910 REFERENCE: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. Central role as a disseminator of aeronautical information on a world-wide scale Otto Lilienthal

Considered an elder statesman among aero­ 1848-1896 nautical enthusiasts, Octave Chanute was univer­ Pioneering glider experiments which laid the sally regarded as the world's most knowledgeable foundations for the design of the first successful flight flight proponent at the turn of the century. Born vehicles in Paris, France, he came to America in 1838 when his father accepted a position as vice-presi­ One of the greatest men in the history of flight, dent of Jefferson College (now Loyola University) Otto Lilienthal was born in the village of Anklam in New Orleans. Displaying an early flair for in Pomerania. He received an excellent education mathematics and physical science, Chanute in mechanical engineering at the Berlin Technical served his apprenticeship as a civil engineer. He Academy before entering the German army to subsequently entered and won design competi­ serve in the Franco-Prussian War. Demobilized tions for a number of major bridges and architec­ in 1871, Lilienthal began serious research in aero­ tural projects. nautics with a series of experiments designed to One of the most active and successful civil establish the physical principles of bird flight as engineers in America, Chanute became interested the foundation for design of flight vehicles. The in aviation about 1875, when he first began to test results, which included important studies of apply his professional knowledge of stress analysis the lift created by a curved surface, were pub­ and structures to problems in aerodynamics. By lished in 1889 in Der Vogelflug als Grundlage der 1890 he had written extensively on the subject of Fliegekunst (Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation). flight and had published numerous articles in the Considered the most important book on aero­ Railroad and Engineering Journal under the title nautics published in the 19th century, it influ­ "Progress in Flying Machines." Reprinted as a enced the Wright brothers and other flight enthu­ book in 1894, these articles encapsulate the state siasts. of contemporary aeronautical history and theory. In 1891, Lilienthal began work on a series of They represent a serious attempt to assess past gliders to demonstrate the practical applicability and current achievements in aeronautics. of his research. After two failures, he achieved For many years Chanute functioned as the success with the third vehicle, a hang glider in central disseminator of aeronautical develop­ which the pilot hung by his arms and relied on ments around the world. Frequently offering en­ shifting his body weight as the primary system of 30 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE control. Between 1891 and 1896, Lilienthal con­ the Press, and abandoned all further work in structed a total of eighteen glider types and com­ aviation. pleted 2000 glides. REFERENCES: J. Gordon, Vaeth, Langley: Man of Science and On Sunday, 9 August 1896, Lilienthal was Flight, Ronald Press Co., New York, 1966; Charles G. Ab­ flying one of his standard monoplane gliders bott, "Samuel Pierpont Langley," Smithsonian Miscellaneous when a sudden gust caused him to lose control Collection, volume 92, number 3281 (August 22, 1934); and stall. Unable to recover, the glider crashed, Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. breaking his back. Lilienthal died of his injury in a Berlin hospital the following day. Wilbur Wright REFERENCE: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ 1867-1912 esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. Orville Wright Samuel Pierpont Langley 1871-1948 1834-1906 Pioneering research culminating with invention of the practical airplane Construction and flight testing of large, powered, inherently stable model aircraft The Wright brothers were the sons of Milton Wright, a bishop of the Church of the United A prominent experimentalist and administra­ Brethen. Wilbur was born in Millville, Indiana. tor, Langley was born at Roxbury, a suburb of Two years later the Wright family moved to Boston, Massachusetts, and apprenticed in archi­ Dayton, Ohio, where Orville was born. Although tecture and civil engineering. Abandoning inter­ both brothers completed high school courses, nei­ est in these areas of specialization, he turned to ther graduated. In 1893 they opened a shop for astronomy and astrophysics. From 1887 until his the sale, repair, and manufacture of bicycles. death he served as Secretary of the Smithsonian Their active interest in aeronautical problems Institution. His interest in mechanical flight was dates to the death of Otto Lilienthal, the German aroused by a paper read at the Buffalo meeting engineer who advocated actual flying experi­ of the American Association for the Advancement ments as the way to accomplish practical flight. of Science. An avid reader, Wilbur wrote to the Smithsonian In 1891, he published his report "Experiments Institution in 1899 for a bibliography of source in Aerodynamics," in which he described his material on flight. Among the materials recom­ experimental research conducted to determine mended were Lilienthal's The Problem of Flying and the possibility of heavier-than-air flight. Two Practical Experiments in Soaring (1893) and Progress years later he again published on aerodynamics, in Flying Machines (1894) by Octave Chanute. and in 1896 he demonstrated over the Potomac Orville was soon as enthusiastic as his brother River sustained flight with a steam-engine driven and they began to develop their engineering tal­ model aircraft. Invited by the War Department ents. to build a manned vehicle, he accepted a $50,000 By 1900 they had completed their first man- contract in 1898. The full size Aerodrome was carrying glider and tested it at Kitty Hawk, North completed in 1903. Intended to be catapulted Carolina. The disappointing results caused them from a houseboat, the Aerodrome crashed on both to question the validity of available data. They of its tests. It is not known whether the vehicle returned to Dayton, determined to resolve the fouled the launching catapult or failed because problem with the gliders poor lift characteristics. of structural weakness. As a consequence, Langley They built a small wind tunnel and conducted came under attack by several Congressmen and exhaustive experiments on wing surfaces of var- NUMBER 4 31 ious configurations. When completed they had nationalized the Institute and placed it under learned how to compile reliable data from which control of a committee in order to protect it from to design a flight worthy vehicle. They returned destruction and insure the position of the staff. to Kitty Hawk in 1902 with a highly successful In 1922, he was awarded a Doctor of Science glider built from their own calculations. There, in Mathematics from the University of Paris; and they made numerous controlled glides while be­ in 1929, when the fluid mechanics laboratories at coming experienced pilots. the University of Paris were founded, he was Only the problems of fitting a suitable engine appointed their associate director. He simultane­ and questions relating to the propeller remained ously held the position of professor of theoretical to bar the route to powered flight. Failing to find mechanics in the Russian Superior Technical a satisfactory automotive engine, the Wrights School in France. designed and built their own 12 horsepower, wa­ Riabouchinsky's research activities in aerody­ ter-cooled engine. They also conducted research namics were exceptionally diverse and he pub­ on propellers and developed a satisfactory one to lished extensively. Under his direction, the Insti­ surmount their last major obstacle. These im­ tute at Koutchino took an active and important provements were incorporated in design of the part in the develpment of some of the fundamen­ 1903 Flyer. Alternating as pilots, the Wrights tal theories of fluid motion. made the first powered flights in history on 17 REFERENCES: Handworterbuch fur Mathematic, Astronomic, December 1903 at Kitty Hawk. Physik etc. J. C. Poggendorff, Verlagchemie, GmbH Berlin REFERENCES: Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Charles 1938; D. P. Riabouchinsky, "Thirty Years of Research in Scribner's Sons, 1976; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Fluid Mechanics," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society (London), volume 34, 1935; D. P. Riabouchinsky, "Twenty- Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. Five Years More of Theoretical and Experimental Research in Fluid Mechanics," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society Dimitri Pavlovitch Riabouchinsky (London), volume 66, 1962. 1882-1962 Alexandre Gustave Eiffel Notable achievements in the formative years 1832-1923 of aerodynamics Early establishment of a scientifically managed Born in Moscow on 18 October 1882, Dimitri aeronautical research laboratory Pavlovitch Riabouchinsky was the son of a wealthy merchant. He attended the Academy of Undoubtedly best known for his architectural Commercial Sciences in Moscow for a year before achievements, Gustav Eiffel also made funda­ transferring to the University of Heidelberg in mental contributions to early aeronautics in his 1901. From 1908 to 1912 he attended the Uni­ laboratory at Auteil, France. Born in Dijon, he versity of Moscow and later was a private docent studied at the Ecole Polytechnique and the Ecole with the University. In 1904, Riabouchinsky Centrale in Paris. Intensely interested in innova­ founded the Aerodynamic Institute on his father's tive structures and with the effects of wind load­ estate at Koutchino near Moscow, where he ing on plane surfaces, he experimented with air served as its director from its inception until he resistance on bodies of various shapes by dropping left Russia for Paris in 1918. them from measured heights of the Eiffel Tower. Riabouchinsky's Institute was favorably re­ He later established sound engineering principles ceived in Russian scientific circles, which enabled on which to design a wind tunnel. Such a tunnel him to attract a talented research staff and con­ was built in his laboratory. duct important wind tunnel research at the Insti­ Eiffel conducted classical tests on a number of tute. When the Revolution of 1917 occurred, he aircraft models and components which laid the 32 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE foundation for future work. His tunnel was the Lanchester's intent. The circulation theory of first of what was later termed the "open-jet" type. wings is today referred to as the "Lanchester- The principal characteristic of Eiffel's tunnel was Prandtl Theory." that it permitted models to be tested in a free jet Among the several awards received for his of air that is not constrained by solid walls or work, Lanchester was awarded the Daniel Gug­ boundaries. This type of tunnel has many advan­ genheim Medal on 16 September 1931 on the tages and was subsequently used widely. He pub­ occasion of the reading of the Wilbur Wright lished his results in three books published in 1907, Memorial Lecture before the Royal Aeronautical 1910, and 1914. Society in London.

REFERENCES: J. L. Naylor and E. Ower, Aviation: Its REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ Technical Development, Vision Press, 1965; The McGraw-Hill esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; The Guggenheim Med­ Encyclopedia of World Biography, volume 3, 1973. alists, The Guggenheim Medal Board of Award, 1963.

Ludwig Prandtl Frederick William Lanchester 1875-1953 1868-1946 Creative work in the science of aerodynamics Contributions to the fundamental theory of aerodynamics As the founder of boundary layer theory and The son of a noted architect, Frederick William the progenitor of the German school of aerody­ Lanchester was born at Lewisham, England. He namics, Ludwig Prandtl was instrumental in es­ studied at the Royal College of Science from 1886 tablishing aerodynamics as a recognized scientific to 1889 but did not graduate. His engineering discipline. For over half a century, he and his training was gained by attending evening engi­ students made Gottingen University a leading neering lectures and workshops at the Finsbury center for research on fluid mechanics. Among Technical College. other things, Prandtl was the creator of modern Well known as an automobile engineer, Lan­ concepts of wing theory, boundary layer mechan­ chester expressed an early interest in aeronautics ics, and turbulence. when he read his paper, "The Soaring of Birds The only surviving child of a surveying and and the Possibilities of Mechanical Flight" to the engineering professor at the agricultrural college Birmingham Natural History and Philosophical at Weihenstephan, Germany, Prandtl was born Society in 1894. This paper reportedly contained in nearby Freising. He studied mechanical engi­ the fundamentals of circulation theory of susten- neering at the Technische Hochschule at Munich tation, but it was not printed and Lanchester did and earned his doctorate from the University of not preserve a copy. In the succeeding two years Munich with a dissertation on lateral instability he expanded the paper and submitted it to the of beams in bending. Upon graduation, he went Physical Society of London in 1897. This paper to work in the Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Niirn- embodied the circulation theory and was of pro­ berg. In the course of attempting to redesign an found importance to aeronautics. However, the installation for removing shavings by suction, Society rejected the paper for publication. Lan- Prandtl recognized some basic weaknesses in the chester's theory eventually received full publica­ structure of fluid mechanics. Accepting a profes­ tion in 1907 in the first of a two volume treatise sorship at the Hannover Technishe Hochshule in Aerial Flight. Complex in its presentation, the 1901, he concentrated on analyzing pipe flows theory was not well received until the German and in 1904 published his celebrated paper on engineer Ludwig Prandtl, who had been inde­ the flow of fluids with small viscosity. In the same pendently working along similar lines, clarified year he accepted a chair at the University of NUMBER 4 33

Gottingen where he undertook the direction of craft in Europe. The later success of the company the Institute for Technical Physics. was largely due to a biplane design developed by The new environment at Gottingen permitted Maurice in 1910. Henri and Maurice went on to Prandtl to devote himself to purely scientific work develop and produce many land planes and sea­ and he soon acquired the assistance of doctoral planes, including multi-engine aircraft designed candidates who did their work with him. Many specifically for commercial passenger transporta­ of these students became leading authorities in tion. the emerging science of aerodynamics. The Farman Aviation Works was subsequently REFERENCES: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim nationalized in 1936 and was closed in 1937. Both Medal Board of Award, 1963; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Henri and Maurice continued their automotive Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; activities but greatly reduced their involvement Theodore von Karman, Aerodynamics, Cornell University with aviation. Press, 1954; Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970. REFERENCES: Anonymous, Henri Farman-An Apprecia­ tion, Flight, 1958; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, 1970; Raymond J. Henri Farman Johnson, editor, Above and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers, 1874-1958 Inc., 1968. Maurice Farman Albert F. Zahm 1877-1964 1862-1954 Early use of the aileron and development of practical aviation in Europe Pioneering research on the aerodynamic resistance of shapes Although generally regarded as Frenchmen, the Farman brothers were born in Paris of British The son of Jacob Zahm, a logger who had parents, while their father was a correspondent of emigrated to the United States from Olsberg, in The Standard and The Tribune. Encouraged to take Alsace, Albert F. Zahm was born in New Lexing­ part in athletics, Henri and Maurice formed a ton, Ohio. In 1878 he entered Notre Dame Uni­ cycling team while art students at the Paris versity, where he developed an interest in math­ School of Fine Arts and for a time were amateur ematics and the physical sciences. Zahm received champions of France. After winning national rec­ his Bachlor of Arts degree in 1883 and his Masters ognition as cyclists, the Brothers entered the au­ of Science degree in 1890, before entering Cor­ tomobile business and excelled at auto racing. nell's Sibley College where he was awarded a The Farman business was a flourishing success second master's degree. At the Johns Hopkins when, in 1907, Henri became enthusiastic about University, Zahm earned his doctorate in physics the prospects of flight. He left the automobile in 1898 with a dissertation related to the physics business, placed an order with Gabriel Voisin for of flight. a biplane and taught himself to fly. After winning As an undergraduate Zahm built a number of the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize, he opened a flying model airplanes and several full scale vehicles. school at Mourmelon and later began to build his While he was in graduate school at Notre Dame, own aircraft, the Henri Farman HI. In a short time, he chose to devote his talents to the scientific Maurice also became enthusiastic about flying investigation of aerodynamics, and designed and and started a rival aviation business. The two built a primitive wind tunnel. He later built an brothers finally united their companies to form aerodynamic laboratory while a professor of phys­ the Farman Aviation Works, which grew to be ical science at Catholic University. Equipped one of the most successful manufacturers of air­ with a large wind tunnel, Zahm conducted me- 34 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE thodical research on the aerodynamic resistance permitted small models to be tested at full-scale of various shapes. values of Reynold's number. Zahm exerted a strong influence on the growth Continuing interest in airfoil theory, Munk of early aviation and was recognized as a leading introduced a significant advance in his thin-air­ authority in the United States. In 1912, he pro­ foil theory. While existing theories were depend­ posed formation of an aeronautical laboratory ent on highly complex applications of conformal endowed by the government and jointly directed mapping, Munk introduced a linearization that by a committee of scientists, military representa­ permitted calculation of the desired characteris­ tives and civilians. Continuing to champion this tics in terms of easily identified shape parameters. cause he toured Europe with Jerome Hunsaker in He then introduced his theory for the air forces 1913 to assess European aeronautical research on an airship. The linearizations introduced in facilities. His report influenced Charles D. Wal- these theories proved extremely useful when air­ cott, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu­ foil theory was extended to sonic and supersonic tion, to take an active role in the formation of a flight speeds. national laboratory. The formation of the Na­ Munk's work during this period was accorded tional Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in special recognition by the chairman of the NACA 1915 is directly attributed to Walcott's involve­ in a report entitled "Resume of the Advances in ment as a consequence of Zahm's report. Theoretical Aerodynamics Made by Max M.

REFERENCES: Biography, in A. F. Zahm Papers, Univer­ Munk." sity of Notre Dame Archives, South Bend, Indiana. Leaving NACA in 1926, Munk returned to academic life at Catholic University in Washing­ Max Munk ton, D.C. While with the University, Munk re­ mained active in theoretical aerodynamics and 1890- published extensively on the subject.

Significant contributions to aerodynamic theory REFERENCES: Who's Who in Aviation, 1942-43, Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1942; R. T. Jones, "Recollections Born in Hamburg, Germany, on 22 October from an Earlier Period in American Aeronautics," Annual 1890, Max Munk earned his Doctor of Engineer­ Review of Fluid Mechanics, 1977; George W. Gray, Frontiers of ing degree from the Technical University, Han­ Flight, Alfred A. Knopf, 1948. nover, and his Doctorate from the University of Gottingen in 1916. Emigrating to the United John William Dunne States in 1921, he joined the research staff of the NACA's newly formed Langley Memorial Aero­ 1875-1949 nautical Laboratory. At about the time of his Notable contributions resulting in inherently stable aircraft arrival, engineers at Langley were engaged in collecting and disseminating data on the aero­ The son of a distinguished general, John Wil­ dynamic characteristics of airfoils and had ex­ liam Dunne has been described as a wiry, resilient pressed concern with the unsatisfactory results man of high intelligence and sensitivity. A keen obtained from attempts to apply wind tunnel chess player who acquired the nickname "Profes­ data to full-scale aircraft. Munk suggested scaling sor" as a boy, he was born in Kildare, Ireland, in accordance with Reynold's number and pro­ and educated in private schools. posed construction of a variable-density wind Dunne's serious involvement in aeronautics tunnel. When the variable-density tunnel became dates to his tenure as a lieutenant in the Wiltshire operational in 1923, the soundness of Munk's Regiment when he was on sick leave from the reasoning was verified. The tunnel eliminated the Boer War because of enteric fever. He started to difficulties with earlier wind-tunnel testing and experiment with models and when in 1902 he NUMBER 4 35 met H. G. Wells, a noted writer of science fiction, bridge, England. Raised by his mother and he was encouraged to experiment further. By the grandmother after losing his father at a very early time he had recovered and was due to return to age, Bryan spent much of his early life in Italy, South Africa, he had started design of an ambi­ France, and Germany. Educated at Peterhouse tious flight vehicle. In 1903, illness again caused College, Cambridge University, Bryan earned the his return to England and left him with heart degree of Doctor of Science in 1885 and was fifth trouble. He set to work to learn aerodynamics wrangler in the Mathematical Tripos of 1886. He and soon was making models to test his theories was a fellow of Peterhouse from 1889 until 1895, on aircraft stability. In 1905, Dunne was intro­ when he was awarded the chair of professor of duced to an officer of the Royal Engineers, Colo­ pure and applied mathematics in the University nel John Capper, then superintendent of the Brit­ College of North Wales, Bangor. He held the ish army's balloon factory at South Farnborough. chair until his retirement in 1926. Dunne was attached to the balloon factory in Developing an early interest in aviation, Bryan 1906 and placed in charge of the design, construc­ published, in collaboration with W. S. Williams, tion, and testing of the first Bristol military aero­ an epoch making paper on the longitudinal sta­ plane. Considered highly secret, Dunne's tests bility of gliders in 1904. In the paper, he intro­ with model gliders and a man-carrying glider, the duced the concept of resistance derivatives, de­ Dunne D.L, were conducted under strict security duced the equation governing stability, and ap­ measures. plied Routh's discriminant to obtain the condi­ When the army decided to discontinue research tions of stability. Too advanced for its time, the on stable aircraft, Dunne severed connections paper gained little approval. Bryan persevered, with the balloon factory and joined the Blair however, and seven years later published his '''Sta­ Atholl Aeroplane Syndicate, a small company bility in Aviation,''' a book regarded as a classic in formed to finance his experiments. Initial success aviation history. When practical methods were with an inherently stable aircraft was realized in found to experimentally evaluate the resistance 1910. Dunne continued to experiment with his derivatives, Bryan's theory became an integral tailless configurations, inspired by the Zanonia part of aircraft design. seed, until ill health forced him to abandon aero­ Bryan continued to work on the rigid dynamics nautics in 1914. of aircraft and inspired the research of many Dunne's inherently stable aircraft were the pre­ investigators. He received many awards before cursors of all subsequent tailless aircraft. retiring to a villa near Bordighera, Italy, in 1926.

REFERENCES: Constance Babington-Smith, Testing Time, REFERENCES: Article by S. Brodetsky, Nature, 1 December Chapter 1, Harper and Brothers, 1961; Charles H. Gibbs- 1928; A.E.H. Love, Obituary, The Journal of the London Math­ Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationary Office, London, ematical Society, July 1929. 1970; P. B. Walker, Early Aviation at Farnborough: The History of the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Macdonald and Co., Lon­ Geoffrey T. R. Hill don, 1971. 1895-1956

George Hartley Bryan Significant achievement in development of swept wing 1864-1928 tailless aircraft and inherently stable, stall-proof aircraft

Notable achievement in formulating the theory of aircraft A strong proponent of safe aircraft with a deep stability concern with stall phenomena, Geoffrey Hill served aeronautics in a number of capacities. The only child of Robert Purdie Bryan of Clare During his professional career he occupied posi­ College, George Hartley Bryan was born at Cam­ tions of engineer, designer, test pilot, and profes- 36 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE sor. The son of a noted professor of the University Bennett Melville Jones of London, Hill demonstrated an early interest in aviation. While still in their teens, he and his 1887- brother built and flew a full-scale glider. Hill attended University College, London, and Notable achievement in aerodynamic theory particularly earned his degree in 1914. Upon graduation he with regard to streamlining entered the Royal Aircraft Factory as a graduate apprentice, remaining there until 1916 when he When Bennett Melville Jones' publication obtained a commission in the Royal Flying Corps. "The Streamline Aeroplane" appeared in 1929 it Injured in an aircraft accident while serving in exerted a lasting influence on subsequent aircraft. France, he returned to flight status in 1918 as a In this paper, Jones compared the skin friction test pilot at Farnborough. Later he became chief drag of a number of aircraft with the theoretical test pilot at Handley Page Ltd. where he shared drag determined by assuming ideal streamlining. in the early development of the Handley Page The comparison provided designers with an ideal­ slat. By 1924 he designed, built, and flew the Hill ized goal and indicated how much power was Pterodactyl Mark 1. Joining the staff of Westland being wasted to overcome drag. Aircraft Works, Hill designed several further Jones was born in Birkenhead, England, on 28 types of pterodactyls, of which three were built. January 1887. His father, Benedict Jones, was a Appointed to the Kennedy Chair of Mechani­ barrister-at-law. Jones was educated at Birken­ cal Engineering at University College, London, head School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Hill gained a reputation as an inspiring educator. After completing the Mechanical Science Tripos During World War II, Hill was in charge of the in 1909 he was employed in aeronautical research Air Defense Research Department at the Royal at the National Physical Laboratory, Cambridge. Aircraft Establishment at Exeter, and in 1942 In 1913, he joined W. Armstrong Whitworth and became scientific liaison officer between the Brit­ Company, joining the Royal Aircraft Establish­ ish and Canadian governments. After the war, he ment the following year. was engaged as a consultant to Short Brothers at During World War I, Jones qualified as a pilot Rochester and to General Aircraft at Feltham, and served as an observer with No. 48 Squadron, England. As aircraft speeds increased and aero- Royal Air Force. After a stint with the Technical elastic effects became more pronounced, Hill de­ Department of the air Ministry in 1918, he be­ veloped the "aero-isoclinic" wing as a means of came the Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical overcoming the effects that arise from operation Engineering at Cambridge University, a chair he in proximity to the control reversal speed. The held from 1919 to 1959. Jones served with the concept was tried and proven on the Sherpa, but Ministry of Aircraft Production from 1939 to was never adopted for an operational aircraft. 1945 and was chairman of the Aeronautical Re­ search Council from 1943 until 1947. Hill died during Christmas week on his farm Jones authored numerous papers and reports near Londonderry. on aerodynamics. He was knighted in 1942 for his work in aeronautics and service to England. REFERENCES: D. Kieth Lucas, Obiturary, fhe Journal of the Royal Society, volume 60 (March 1956); G. T. R. Hill, Enci- REFERENCES: R. Miller and D. Sawers, Technical Develop­ clopedia De Aviacion y Astronautica, Edicion Garriga 1972; ment of Modern Aviation, Praeger Publishers, 1970; Who's Who, Charles Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationary Of­ The Macmillan Company, 1960; Who's Who in World Aviation, fice, London,1970. American Aviation Publications, Inc., 1955. NUMBER 4 37

Martin Wilhelm Kutta he excelled scholastically and upon completion 1867-1944 entered Moscow University, where he specialized in mathematics. After graduation he taught phys­ Early contributions to aerodynamic theory particularly ics at a secondary school in Moscow. Two years with regard to the theory of lift later he became professor of mathematics at the Moscow Higher Technical School (Vyssheye Tek- Inspired by the experimental inquiries of Otto nicheskoye Uchilishche, abbreviated MVTU). Lilienthal, Martin Wilhelm Kutta conducted a He also taught mechanics at the Academy of mathematical analysis of the lift on a wing section Commercial Sciences, Russia. Zhukovski received obtained from the surface of a circular cylinder. a Doctorate of Applied Mathematics in 1882. At the insistence of his teacher, S. Finsterwalder, Appointed professor of mechanics at Moscow he published his results in a note entitled "Auf- University in 1886, he simultaneously held a triebskrafte in Strbmenden Fliissigkeiten" which comparable position at the MVTU. appeared in 1902. The fundamental assumption Taking an interest in aeronautics, Zhukovski underlying Kutta's analysis was later independ­ began to scientifically investigate the theory of ently put forward by Nikolai Zhukovski. Now flight. In 1902, he directed construction of the commonly called the Kutta-Zhukovski condition, first wind tunnel in Russia in the laboratory of it is the salient point in the theory of lift. By the MVTU. This facility was subsequently ex­ means of this analysis the entire problem of lift is panded into an aerodynamics laboratory where made amenable to mathematical investigation. his lectures on aviation theory complemented Born in Pitschen, Oberschlesian, Germany, experimental work on the wind tunnel. With the Kutta obtained his doctorate from the University outbreak of World War I, he used the facility as of Munich in 1900. He held the position of pro­ a school for instruction of military pilots in avia­ fessor of applied mathematics at several technical tion and aerodynamics. Later, he founded The academies and universities in Germany. In 1911, Central Institute for Aerodynamics (TsAGI). he was named a full professor at the Technische Perhaps best known for his theorem, shared Hochschule, Stuttgart, a position he held until with Kutta, which proved applicable to any air­ 1935. foil section, Zhukovski published extensively. His Kutta's papers on aerodynamics and the theory work directly influenced the early growth of avia­ of lift had a great influence on the growth of the tion in Russia and brought him many of his subject during its formative years. country's highest honors. REFERENCES: William F. Durand, Aerodynamic Theory, REFERENCE: H. J. Nowarra and C. R. Dural, Russian Civil Dover Publication, 1963; J. C. Poggendorff, Handworterbuch and Military Aircraft, 1884-1969, Fountain Press Ltd., 1970. der exacten Wissenschaften, volume 5, Leipzig, 1926; F. Pfeiffer Nachrichton, Zeitschrift fur Angewant Mathmatik und Physik, volume 17, number 6 (December 1937). Jerome Clark Hunsaker 1886- Nikolai Yegorovitch Zhukovski 1847-1921 Notable contributions to aerodynamics, aircraft design, and rigid airships Important contributions to the science of aerodynamics A brilliant engineer with a remarkable record Nikolai Yegorovitch Zhukovski (Joukovsky) of aeronautical accomplishment, Jerome Clark did much to place Russian aviation on a firm Hunsaker was a leading figure during the form­ scientific basis. Born in the village of Orekhovo ative years of U.S. aviation. The son of Walter in central Russia on 5 January 1847, he was the and Alma Hunsaker, he was born in Creston, son of an engineer. Sent to highschool in Moscow, Iowa, and educated in the public schools of Sa- 38 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE ginaw and Detroit, Michigan, before attending pany until completion of the Akron and Macon the United States Naval Academy. Graduating airships. He then returned to MIT as head of the in 1908 at the head of his class, Hunsaker subse­ departments of Mechanical Engineering and quently attended the Massachusetts Institute of Aeronautical Engineering. Technology (MIT) where he earned his masters In 1941 he was elected chairman of the Na­ degree and later his doctorate. tional Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, and Hunsaker's career in aeronautics began when was reelected annually for a period of sixteen he and his wife translated the pioneering work of years. Alexandre Eiffel on wind tunnel testing of air­ craft. Invited to visit Eiffel's laboratory, he went REFERENCES: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim to Paris in 1913 and worked with Eiffel's assistants Medal Board of Award, 1963; Pioneering in Aeronautics, The on wind tunnel testing. While in Europe Hun­ Guggenheim Medal Board of Award, 1952. saker visited the leading aerodynamics laborato­ ries with Albert Zahm before returning. Upon his Hermann Glauert return in 1911, he prepared a series of compre­ hensive reports on the European laboratories for 1892-1934 the U.S. Navy Department and inaugurated wind tunnel research at MIT to determine data Aerodynamic contributions to airfoil and airscrew theory for rational aircraft design. and aircraft stability and control Recalled to Washington during World War I, Hunsaker was placed in charge of the Aircraft Hermann Glauert had earned an international Division of the Bureau of Construction and Re­ reputation as an authority on airscrews, and on pair, which was responsible for design, construc­ the aerodynamics of gyroplanes when he was tion, and procurement of all naval aircraft. He killed in a blasting accident on Fleet Common. was given two engineering projects of particular Born in Sheffield, England, he was educated at interest in 1918. The first was for the design and the King Edward VII School and attended Trin­ construction of a Zeppelin and the second, to ity College, Cambridge, where he took a first class design and build a flying boat capable of crossing in the Mathematical Tripos and was awarded the the Atlantic. Ryson Medal for Astronomy. The flying boat project resulted in the historic Glauert joined the staff of the Royal Aircraft NC-4, the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic, while Establishment in 1916. As a Fellow of the Royal the Zeppelin project led to the Shenandoah, the Society and a Fellow of Trinity College, he was first Zeppelin to use helium as a lifting gas. one of the principle workers at the Air Ministry. In 1921, Hunsaker was transferred to the Bu­ He was the author of Elements of the Aerofoil and reau of Aeronautics where his duties remained as Airscrew Theory and published many papers on before. While working in this capacity, he con­ aerodynamics. Although primarily a mathemati­ tributed much to the development of naval air­ cian, Glauert had a deep appreciation of the craft. Detailed as assistant naval air attache at London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin in 1923, Hun­ value of practice as a check on theory, and his saker continued to serve until he resigned from opinons were highly regarded by practical men the Navy in 1926. He then joined the research and theorists alike. At the time of his death he staff at the Bell Telephone Laboratories, where headed the Aerodynamics Department of the he was in charge of wire and communication Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. services for commercial aviation. He became a REFERENCES: Obituaries, New York Times, 6 August 1934; vice-president of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber The Aeroplane, 8 August 1934; Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Company in 1928 and remained with the com­ Society (London), 1934. NUMBER 4 39

Virginius Clark The duramold process was successfully applied 1886-1948 on several aircraft, ranging from small personal Significant contributions in airfoil theory and wooden planes to the huge Hughes HK-1 flying boat. At aircraft construction the time of his death, Clark was working for Hughes. Virginius Clark was a leading figure in the REFERENCES: Walter Boyne, National Air and Space Mu­ formative years of U.S. aviation. The son of seum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C; Who's Henry and Sarah Clark, Virginius was born in Who in American Aeronautics, Floyd Clymer Publishers, 1925. Uniontown, Pennsylvania. He distinguished him­ self at the Naval Academy, graduating in 1907, John K. Northrop and learned to fly at San Diego while still with the Navy. He transferred to the Aviation Section 1895- of the Signal Corps and was sent to the Massa­ Significant achievement in streamlining and flying wing chusetts Institute of Technology for graduate technology work. After leaving M.I.T., Clark served as an officer John K. Northrop was the chief proponent of in charge of the Experimental and Repair De­ flying wing design in the United States. Born in partment of the U.S. Army Air Station in San Newark, New Jersey, Northrop was nine years old Diego. His unique qualifications as a regular when his family relocated in Santa Barbara, Cal­ officer, pilot, engineer, and flying unit com­ ifornia. Deeply interested in mechanics, he cur­ mander lead to his appointment, in 1917, as a tailed his formal education to work as a garage military member of the newly formed NACA. mechanic, carpenter, and draftsman before going This service further enhanced his qualifications to work in 1916 with the Loughead brothers, who for selection to go to Europe in 1917 as a member were building flying boats. Except for a period of the U.S. Aeronautic Mission. This experience with the Army Signal Corps, Northrop stayed enabled him to act as an advisor on the types of with the Lougheads until 1923, when he joined aircraft to be produced and to initiate design the Douglas Aircraft Company. He remained projects of his own. with Douglas working as draftsman, designer, Clark served in many capacities during this and project engineer until forming the Lockheed period, first in Washington and later at McCook Aircraft Company in 1927. It was while he was Field which he commanded at one time and with Lockheed that he designed the famous Lock­ where he rose to the rank of colonel. As an heed Vega, an aircraft whose design was consid­ engineer and pilot he designed a number of com­ ered far ahead of its time. petition winning aircraft, but he is perhaps best Northrop began his research on flying wing known for his development of the Clark airfoil aircraft in 1928 in an effort to reduce drag to a series, which culminated in the Clark "Y" airfoil, minimum. Forming a small engineering group a high lift low drag section. The Clark "Y" airfoil known as the Avion Company, he built and test- was used for several decades on a wide variety of flew a semi-flying wing, which made numerous U.S. and foreign aircraft. test flights until the Depression caused further Clark left the service to enter industry and research with it to be abandoned. The pressure of served in executive engineering positions with the designing and building conventional aircraft pre­ Dayton Wright Company, Consolidated Aircraft vented complete concentration on flying wing Corporation, and others, before forming the Clark aircraft, but in 1939 Northrop began engineering Aircraft Corporation. He invented the duramold tests of a new flying wing design. Known as the construction method which used formed, plastic- NIM "Jup," the vehicle was flight-tested at Mu- impregnated wooden shells for aircraft structures. roc Dry Lake in 1940 and made over 200 flights. 40 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Encouraged by the Air Force to investigate the velocity of a body in a gas to the speed of sound applicability of flying wing aircraft for bombard­ in the gas under given conditions of temperature. ment, Northrop built four N9M flying wing air­ It has been called the most important concept of craft in 1942. These aircraft were used to prove speed in compressible fluid theory, because it the flight characteristics of flying wing aircraft provides a convenient index to the compressibility and indoctrinate pilots in their use. of a fluid at any given speed. Northrop designed a number of flying wing Mach retired in 1901, after suffering a stroke, aircraft including the XB-35, which was the first but remained active in his field until his death at in a series of large flying wing bombers, and the Vaterstetten, near Haar, Germany. jet powered YB-49, the only true large flying REFERENCE: Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Charles Scrib- wing. The last Northrop-designed flying wing to ners' Sons, 1970. be built before his retirement was the X-4, a miniature flying wing laboratory intended to ex­ Osborne Reynolds plore all wing configurations at sonic speed ranges. 1842-1912 In addition to designing flying wings, Northrop Fundamental studies on the transition from laminar to also introduced a type of wing construction turbulent flow known as "multiweb construction" which was widely used by the industry. Osborne Reynolds was born into an Anglican REFERENCE: E. T. Maloney, Northrop Flying Wings, World clerical family in Belfast, Ireland. Educated at War II publications, 1975. Dedham Grammar School and then privately, he apprenticed in mechanical engineering before Ernst Mach going to Cambridge and eventually pursuing a career in civil engineering. A brilliant student, he 1838-1916 graduated from Cambridge in 1867 as seventh Pioneering studies in airflow and its behavior at sonic Wrangler and received a fellowship at Queens speeds College. He contributed significantly to a variety of engineering subjects during his tenure as an Born in Turas, Moravia (Austria), Mach was engineering professor at Owens College, Man­ the son of a school teacher, who relocated in chester. Vienna while Ernst was still a baby. He obtained Initially interested in electricity and magnet­ his doctorate in physics from the University of ism, his attention turned to fluid mechanics after Vienna in 1860 and taught mathematics at Graz 1873. His experimental investigation of flow sta­ University. Later he headed the departments of bility in pipes and channels is described in a physics at the universities of Prague and Vienna. paper published in the Philosophical Transactions The author of numerous technical books deal­ for the Royal Society of London in 1883. In this work ing with physics and philosophy, Mach was the Reynolds shows that transition from laminar to first to take note of the change in airflow over a turbulent flow is dependent on the ratio of inertia moving object as it reaches the speed of sound. to viscous forces, a ratio now known as the Rey­ Although his experimental work in ballistics was nolds' number. This ratio is particularly impor­ not widely known until aircraft approached the tant in aerodynamics and wind tunnel testing, speed of sound, Mach's writings and teachings because it allows results to be generalized and were widely disseminated. The term "Mach num­ correlated with relative ease. ber" came into universal use in 1947 when Cap­ Introduced in 1883 during a series of experi­ tain Charles Yeager exceeded the speed of sound ments on flow in tubes, the nondimensional pa­ in the Bell X-l. Mach number is the ratio of the rameter (i.e., Reynolds' number) was not imme- NUMBER 4 41 diately recognized as a fundamental similarity greatly improved aircraft safety. Under license law. Neither Reynolds nor other scientists who the slot was fitted on civil and military aircraft followed him gave a specific name to the param­ over most of the world. In his latter years, eter until 1908 when the physicist Arnold Som- Handley Page championed the laminar flow merfeld (1868-1952) named it in honor of Rey­ wing, which was developed to reduce the cost of nolds. It has since come into general use in those flying while improving safety. sciences which have to do with fluid flow. Throughout most of his years, Handley Page

REFERENCES: Dictionary of Scientific Biography, Charles took an active part in institutions connected with Scribners' Sons, 1970; Theodore von Karman, Aerodynamics, British aviation. A great educationist, he also Cornell University Press, 1954. fostered the importance of technical education and training. His service in England on the Board Frederick Handley Page of Governor's of Imperial College and the College of Aeronautics contributed much to their finan­ 1885-1962 cial and technnical stability. Introduction of the slotted wing and the laminar flow REFERENCE: "An Appreciation by J. Lawrence Prit- wing chard, "Journal of the Royal Society, December 1962.

A life long advocate of the safe, economical, Gustav Lachmann and comfortable airplane, Frederick Handley Page was one of the most remarkable personalities 1896- in British aviation. Genial, outspoken, and a Notable contributions to the development of high lift shrewd businessman, his voracious appetite for devices reading and flawless memory served him well in the cause of aviation. Born in Cheltenham, Eng­ Born in Dresden, Germany, on 2 March 1896, land, he enrolled at Finsbury Technical College Gustav Lachmann served as a lieutenant in the at the age of seventeen. At Finsbury he studied Imperial German Army assigned to the Hessian electrical engineering and so distinguished him­ Life Dragoon Regiment 24 before being trained self that he became chief designer of a British as a pilot. Lachmann's interest in high lift devices electrical manufacturing company at 21 and was may be traced to an accident he experienced as offered a position with Westinghouse. He was a pilot during the First World War. He conceived primarily interested in aeronautics, however, and of the slotted wing as a means for generating lift in 1909 founded Handley Page Ltd. at Crickle- while hospitalized with severe injuries sustained wood, England. when his plane stalled and crashed in 1917. After "H. P.," as he is most frequently referred to, conducting smoke tests on a model, he applied pioneered in the development of large aircraft. for a patent in February 1918, but the application During World War I he produced the 0/400 was rejected on the grounds that it would destroy bomber and by 1918 had developed the V/1500 lift. four-engine bomber for the purpose of bombing After the war he studied engineering at Tech- Berlin. The V/1500 was not ready for use until nische Hochschule, Darmstadt, and received his just before the armistice. Handley Page bombers, doctorate from the University of Gottingen. particularly the Hampton and Halifax, also saw When a 1920 article in a British journal described considerable service during World War II. In all, the Handley Page slotted wing and indicated a the company produced 63 different types of air­ 60 percent increase in lift, Lachmann again ap­ craft. plied for a patent. The patent was awarded after Handley Page and his staff contributed to avia­ he persuaded Ludwig Prandtl to conduct wind tion the invention of the slotted wing, which tunnel tests that showed the slotted wing to in- 42 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE crease lift by 63 percent. He pooled his patent retirement. During his tenure as research director, rights with Handley Page in 1921. NACA flourished and became a research giant In 1924 he was a designer with the Franz responsible for scientific and technical contribu­ Schneider Aircraft Works in Berlin. The following tions of incalculable value to the United States year he became chief designer at the Albatross and to the world in general. Lewis pioneered in Aircraft Works in Berlin but left to become tech­ the design, construction, and use of variable den­ nical advisor to the Ishikawajima Aircraft Works sity, full scale, refrigerated, free flight, gust and in Tokyo in 1926. He remained in this capacity high speed tunnels. until joining Handley Page Ltd. in 1929. While Under Lewis' direction the NACA decentral­ at Handley Page Ltd., Lachmann served as di­ ized from its location at Langley Field and estab­ rector for scientific research. lished comparable centers at Moffet Field, near The slotted wing was crucial in the develop­ Palo Alto, California, and Cleveland, Ohio. The ment of the flap and was one of the most signifi­ research center at Cleveland was later given the cant improvements to aircraft safety. name "Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory" in recognition of the part which he had played in its REFERENCES: Who's Who in World Aviation, American Avia­ tion Publishers, Inc., 1955; R. Miller and D. Sawers, The design and construction. Technical Development of Modern Aviation, Praeger Publishers, A special feature of each of these laboratories 1970; R. P. Hallion, Legacy of Flight, University of Washing­ is its Flight Research Division. Lewis held it as a ton Press, 1977. cardinal principle that laboratory results must be proven in the air before being turned over to the George William Lewis military or the industry. Related to this require­ ment is the attention given to the development of 1882-1948 special instrumentation required to record obser­ Direction of aeronautical research at the NACA during vations made while in flight. This special activity the formative years has led the world in aeronautical research and may be traced directly to Lewis. George William Lewis was endowed with a A true architect of flight technology, Lewis was talent for leadership, which admirably suited him tireless in his pursuit of aeronautical progress to lead American aeronautical research from 1919 until, his health impaired, he was relieved of his to 1947. During this critical period, military and task as director of research to become a consultant commercial aircraft came into their own. Born in to NACA in 1947. Ithaca, New York, he attended Scranton High REFERENCES: William F. Durand, Biographical Memoir of School before attending Cornell University. George William Lewis, National Academy of Sciences, Wash­ Graduating from Cornell in 1908 as a mechanical ington, D.C, 1949; Obituary, Aviation Week, 19 July, 1948; engineer, Lewis remained in the capacity of in­ George W. Gray, Frontiers of Flight, Alfred A. Knopf, 1948; structor and graduate student to earn his masters The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim Medal Board of degree in 1910. He then joined the faculty of Award, 1964. Swarthmore College, and in 1917 he became engineer-in-charge of Clarke Thompson Research Jakob Ackeret of Philadelphia. 1898- Lewis joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) at Langley Field in 1919 Pioneering research in supersonic aerodynamics as a power plane engineer and was appointed executive officer in November of that year. In Jakob Ackeret's two dimensional theory for 1924 the appointment was changed to director of prediction of the lift and drag on a wing moving research. He served in this capacity until his at supersonic speeds proved to be fundamental to NUMBER 4 43 the body of theory assembled in support of high coming a research engineer with the National speed flight. Ackeret, who introduced the term Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley "Mach number" to denote the ratio between the Field in 1925. velocity of motion and the velocity of sound was Jacob's research activities were largely con­ born in Zurich, Switzerland, on 17 March 1898. cerned with studies made in the variable-density He earned his engineering diploma in mechanical wind tunnel at Langley Field. As a group leader engineering and his Doctor of Science degree he worked on the problem of reducing airfoil drag from the Zurich Federal Institute of Technology. by delaying the boundary layer transition from Ackeret also took postgraduate work at the Uni­ laminar to turbulent flow. Recalling an earlier versity of Gottingen under the direction of the observation by Prandtl, Jacobs conceived the idea founder of modern aerodynamics Ludwig of designing an airfoil to provide progressively Prandtl. While at Gottingen he was a department falling pressure across the chord. Prandtl had head at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. shown that such a condition would prevent insta­ Returning to Switzerland in 1928, he was ap­ bility of the laminar flow. This concept changed pointed chief engineer with Escher Wyss Ltd., the approach to airfoil design and led to devel­ Zurich. Four years later Ackeret returned to ac­ opment of the low drag wing. As a consequence ademic life as professor and director of the Insti­ of Jacob's contribution, the performance of air­ tute of Aerodynamics, Swiss Federal Institute of craft with regard to both speed and carrying Technology, Zurich. capacity was greatly improved and many military After returning to Zurich, Ackeret designed and commercial aircraft adopted the wing sec­ and had constructed the world's first modern tions he designed. supersonic wind tunnel. A continuous-flow re­ In 1937 Jacobs received the Sylvanus Albert turn-circuit wind tunnel with a Delaval nozzle, it Reed award for the outstanding contribution to was capable of reaching Mach 2. A description of aeronautical science during the year. The award the wind tunnel was published in 1935. Ackeret cited Jacobs for his work on the aerodynamic received many awards and honors for his research improvement of airfoils. He also contributed sig­ in high speed aerodynamics. nificantly to the design of special research equip­ ment including high-speed wind tunnels and REFERENCES: Who's Who in Switzerland 70/71, Nagel, Ge­ neva, 1971; Theodore von Karman, Aerodynamics, Cornell smoke-flow tunnels for flow visualization. University Press, 1954; Hugh Dryden, "Supersonic Travel REFERENCES: George W. Gray, Frontiers of Flight, Alfred within the Last Two Hundred Years," The Scientific Monthly, A. Knopf, 1948; Eastman Jacobs, manuscript in the Bio­ May 1954. graphical Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smithson­ ian Institution, Washington, D.C. Eastman Jacobs Hugh Latimer Dryden 1902- 1898-1965 Aerodynamic improvement of airfoils and notable contributions to air flow visualization Fundamental contributions to supersonic flight and outstanding leadership in aerospace research A native of Greeley, Colorado, Eastman Jacobs lived there until graduating from high school. He An architect of international space coopera­ then attended the University of California at tion, Hugh Latimer Dryden stood at the forefront Berkeley, graduating with honors in 1924 with of research in aeronautics and astronautics for the degree of Bachelor of Science. Upon gradua­ almost half a century. A native of Pocomoke City, tion he joined the engineering staff of the Pacific Maryland, he earned his way through the Johns Telephone and Telegraph Company before be­ Hopkins University. A brilliant student, he grad- 44 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE uated in 1917 with highest honors and earned his enced the development of high-speed aircraft in doctorate in physics before he was 21. Upon the United States. His investigations dealing with graduation he was named chief of the Aerondy- aerodynamic phenomena became the accepted namics Section of the Bureau of Standards. Dry­ theory of supersonic drag and charted the way den immediately embarked on a series of pioneer­ for supersonic flight and guided missiles. ing research projects in high speed phenomena, which won him international recognition as a Theodore von Karman was born in Budapest, scientist. Within four years he made some of the Hungary, the son of Professor Maurice and He­ earliest recorded studies of airflow around wing lene von Karman. His father, an eminent teacher sections at speeds near or above the speed of and philosopher at the University of Budapest, sound. His career at the National Bureau of guided von Karman's interests toward science Standards was characterized by important re­ and technology from the beginning. He gradu­ search in turbulence and boundary layer control. ated as a mechanical engineer with highest honors Named assistant director of the Bureau in 1946, from the Budapest Royal Technical University in he was promoted to associate director in the same 1902. Returning to the University as an assistant year. He left the Bureau of Standards the follow­ professor after a year of military service, he left in ing year to become director of aeronautical re­ search of the National Advisory Committee for 1904 to join the Ganz Company, manufacturers Aeronautics. In 1949 his responsibilities were of machinery. again increased as he become director of NACA, Resuming his technical studies, he enrolled as the highest career position in the agency. In 1954 an advanced student at the University of Gottin­ he headed the NACA, which was formed to gen in Berlin in 1906. Awarded his doctorate in supervise development of an airplane to explore 1908, he remained on as an associate professor the problems of space and high speed flight. The until 1912 when he accepted a position as director X-15 developed for the task proved to be an of the Aeronautics Institute and professor of aero­ extremely useful research tool, providing data at speeds in excess of six times the speed of sound nautics and mechanics at the University of and an altitude of nearly seventy miles. Aachen. When his work was interrupted by On 8 August 1958, Dryden was named deputy World War I, he served with the Austro-Hungar- administrator of the newly formed NASA and ian Aviation Corps. In the postwar years he re­ was a dominant figure in Project Mercury. Later turned to the University of Aachen and under his he took a prominent part in the planning for guidance the Aeronautics Institute became one of Gemini and Apollo and in the decision to mount a Europe's leading aeronautical research centers. lunar exploration mission. In 1926 the Guggenheim Fund for the Promo­ A recipient of numerous awards, he had de­ tion of Aeronautics brought von Karman to the voted over 45 years of his life to Federal service at United States to lecture and assist in organizing the time of his death. the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratories at REFERENCE: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim California Institute of Technology (GALCIT). Medal Board of Award, 1963; Obituary, Aslronautica Acta, volume 12, no. 2, 1966; Official NASA Biography. He returned in 1928 as research associate at Caltech and in 1930 became director of GALCIT. Theodore von Karman With the outbreak of World War II, von Kar­ man reoriented his research activities toward mil­ 1881-1963 itary objectives and undertook leadership of the Pioneering achievements in the development of high­ Army Air Force jet propulsion and rocket motor speed aerodynamics and its application to supersonic program at Caltech. His ideas and achievements flight were instrumental in development of the Bell Revered as one of the world's leading aerody- X-l, which became the first supersonic aircraft. namicists, Theodore von Karman greatly influ­ He subsequently was a founder of the Aerojet NUMBER 4 45

Engineering Corporation, which became a major who symbolizes the past, present, and future of producer of guided missiles. aviation development." A prolific inventor, Signally honored for his many contributions to Coanda received many honors and was granted applied mathematics, mechanics, and physics, a number of patents which deal with various von Karman served in a variety of high-level applications of the "Coanda effect" to airplane, positions. World renowned as a scientist of tow­ automobile, and boat construction. ering stature, he died on 7 May 1963 at Aachen. REFERENCE: Current Biography, The H. W. Wilson Com­ REFERENCES: Current Biography, The H. W. Wilson Com­ pany, 1956. pany, 1955; The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim Medal Board of Award, 1963. Alexander Lippisch 1894-1976 Henri Coanda 1885-1972 Pioneering use of the delta wing

Aerodynamic research resulting in the phenomenon Although his ideas were sometimes ridiculed known as the "Coanda effect" and often shunned, only to gain prominence later, Alexander Lippisch's zeal for innovation in avia­ A resident of Paris for much of his life, Coanda tion never diminished. Born in Munich, Bavaria, was born in Bucharest, the son of Constantine Lippisch was educated at the Technische Hoch­ Coanda, president of the Romanian Council of schule Berlin and received his doctorate from the Ministers. An intensely serious scholar, Henri was University of Heidelberg at the age of 50. His a graduate of the military school of Jassy when first contact with flight occurred in Berlin on the he enrolled in the Technische Hochschule of occasion of Orville Wright's 1909 flying demon­ Charlottenburg in Berlin. In 1906 he entered the stration. After World War I, when gliding domi­ University of Liege and the Ecole Superieur nated Germany's aeronautical activities, Lippisch d'Electricite de Montefiore in Belgium. He was a entered the field of aviation by designing several member of the first graduating class of the Ecole gliders and initiating fundamental studies on Superieur de l'Aeronautique. delta wing aircraft. His Delta I glider, built in Coanda's interest in aeronautics dates to con­ 1930, was converted into a powered plane and versations with Gabriel Voisin and Louis Bleriot demonstrated to the public in 1931. Ignoring the during a railway trip in 1906. During 1909-1910 prejudice of aerodynamicists against the new con­ Coanda designed and built his first airplane, a cept, Lippisch further developed the type and turbo-air compressor powered vehicle. In 1912 he later designed the first high-speed rocket-powered was appointed chief engineer of the Bristol Aero­ aircraft, the ME 163. plane Company. With the outbreak of World Having subjected an even more radical design War I, Coanda returned to France and served to tests in a supersonic wind tunnel, Lippisch with the 22nd Artillery Regiment before being conceived the idea for a supersonic aircraft in his assigned to the Delauney-Belleville factory, which PI3 design, a low-aspect-ratio Delta type. A glider was engaged in aircraft production. version, designed to test low-speed performance In 1933 he exhibited a small model of a saucer- was still under construction when it fell into the shaped plane, which raised itself vertically, and hands of American occupation forces. This model in 1937 demonstrated the principle known as the together with Lippisch's research results were "Coanda effect," an aerodynamic phenomenon given to U.S. Air Intelligence after his escape producing lift by deflection of jet blasts. from the occupation of Vienna by the Russians. Honored at a luncheon of the Wings Club in Full-scale testing of the glider at NACA and New York, Coanda was introduced as "the man further wind tunnel testing of the delta wing 46 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE showed the superiority of this type for high-speed active duty and assigned as technical executive to aircraft. the Aeronautics Division, Wright Air Develop­ After escaping from Vienna, Lippisch came to ment Center. Released in 1953 with the rank of the United States where he served as a consultant colonel he remained with the Aeronautics Divi­ to the U.S. Air Force at Wright Field and the sion as technical director. At the time of his Naval Air Materiel Center at Philadelphia. He retirement he held the position of technical direc­ subsequently joined the Collins Radio Company tor, Directorate of Advanced Systems Technol­ in Cedar Rapids as head of aeronautical research. ogy, Wright Air Development Division. While at Collins, Lippisch worked on the devel­ Kotcher's contributions and projects greatly opment of vertical take-off and landing aircraft influenced development of the first Air Force jet and the airfoil, a radical flying boat, designed to aircraft. He also supervised development of the exploit surface effects. first air-to-air refueling system for B-17 and B-24

REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ aircraft and reconstructed the German V-l buzz esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; Obituary, New York bombs for the Air Force. Kotcher had much to Times, 13 February 1976. do with the successful development of the X-l, the first supersonic aircraft, and was later associ­ Ezra Kotcher ated with problems concerning Dyna Soar, the B- 70, and communications satellites. 1903- The recipient of many honors and awards for Administrative and technical accomplishments resulting his educational and aeronautical achievements, in significant advances in high-speed performance Kotcher retired from the Air Force in 1961, after thirty-two years of service.

Known as the man responsible for re-establish­ REFERENCES: Anonymous, "Educator, Scientist, Leader," ing and organizing the Air Force Institute of Contact, February 1961; Richard Hallion, Supersonic Flight, Technology, Ezra Kotcher was known through­ the Macmillan Company, 1972. out the Air Force as an educator, scientist, and leader with exceptional foresight and flexibility. John Stack A native of New York City and a graduate of the University of California with a Bachelor of Sci­ 1906-1976 ence degree in aeronautical engineering, he ac­ Originating the research aircraft program and design of quired his Master of Science degree in aero­ the transonic throat for high-speed wind tunnel testing nautical engineering from the University of Mich­ igan in 1938. Kotcher first became associated Internationally known and respected for re­ with the Air Force in 1928, when he was assigned search in high-speed aerodynamics and leader­ to the Engineering Division at Wright Field. His ship in wind tunnel development, John Stack was potential as a teacher was soon recognized and born in Lowell, Massachusetts, where he attended he was assigned to the Air Corps Engineering public schools and Woods Business College. His School as an instructor in mathematics. By 1941 undergraduate education was at Chaucy Hall he had risen to the rank of senior professor. When School in Boston and the Massachusetts Institute the activities of the School were temporarily of Technology. Upon graduation Stack joined halted with the advent of World War II, Kotcher the National Advisory Committee for Aero­ was called into active service with the rank of nautics as a junior aeronautical engineer in 1928, lieutenant colonel. Following his release from ac­ and a year later he designed the nation's first tive duty in 1946, he returned to Wright Field as high-speed wind tunnel, which was used to de­ director of the newly formed Air Force Institute velop airfoils. of Technology. In 1951 he was again recalled to Over the next decade, Stack became recognized NUMBER 4 47 as an authority in wind tunnel design, construc­ the Technische Hochschule Braunschweig, grad­ tion, and application. As chief of NACA's com­ uating as an engineer in 1924. Awarded his doc­ pressibility research division he guided much of torate in engineering from Braunschweig the fol­ the research in transonic speeds and conceived lowing year, Busemann started his professional the research airplane as a tool of the scientist. career at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute (now the Beginning with the X-l and the D-558, the re­ Max Planck Institute) in Gottingen. He later search airplane series paced progress in aero­ became chief engineer of the Institute. While at nautics and space flight, culminating in the X-15. Gottingen he conducted theoretical and wind Stack contributed to development of the variable- tunnel experimentation in the field of high-speed sweep wing presently in use on advanced military aerodynamics. aircraft. In 1913 Busemann began a four-year period as One of his outstanding achievements was his a lecturer in the Engine Laboratory of the Tech­ role in the design, construction, and application nische Hochschule, Dresden, but returned to of a transonic throat in a wind tunnel test section. Braunschweig in 1935. From his return until the This accomplishment made it possible to study Allied occupation ten years later, he served as flow conditions over the full transonic speed range chief of the Gas Dynamics Division of the Aero­ in a large tunnel. The development of this tunnel nautical Research Laboratory. Following a pe­ solved the problem of "choking" which had baf­ riod as a research consultant in England during fled aeronautical scientists for years. part of 1946 and 1947, Busemann accepted an While with NACA, Stack filled a number of invitation to continue his career as a research key positions, successively becoming section head, scientist in the United States and joined the division chief, and assistant director, before being NACA research staff of the Langley Research appointed director of aeronautical research. He Center. At Langley, Busemann conducted origi­ retired from Federal service in 1962 to become nal research on transonic and supersonic aerody­ vice president of engineering with Republic Avia­ namics and served as a consultant on gas dynam­ tion Corporation. When that company was ab­ ics and related problems. He later became chair­ sorbed by the Fairchild Hiller Corporation in man of the advanced study committee of the 1965, Stack was appointed its vice president of Langley Research Center and supervised prepa­ engineering. ration of science lectures used in training astro­ Signally honored for his contributions to aero­ nauts for manned space flight. nautics, Stack died of head injuries sustained in REFERENCE: Official NASA Biography. a fall from his horse. REFERENCES: Fairchild Hiller Official Biography; Obitu­ Richard T. Whitcomb ary, Fairchild News Release, FI-9-215 (20 June 1972); Richard P. Hallion, Supersonic Flight, Macmillan Co., 1972. 1921- Innovative aerodynamic research leading to major Adolf Busemann advances in high-speed flight

1901- Richard T. Whitcomb gained international Pioneering research on high speed aerodynamics and gasrecognitio n for his discovery of the transonic area- dynamics rule concept. Whitcomb's concept amounts to a revolutionary method of combining the aircraft's Recognized as the first to propose use of swept wings and body to reduce to a minimum an wings in the design of high-speed aircraft, Adolf aircraft's interference drag in the transonic speed Busemann was born in Luebeck, Germany. After range. It has been adopted and applied by aircraft completing high school in Luebeck, he attended designers to increase by at least 25 percent the 48 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE performance of supersonic jets without requiring operating an elevator in Washington, D.C. On additional engine power. the recommendation of his Congressman, David Born in Evanston, Illinois, his family moved to John Lewis (Dem. Md.), Jones obtained a job Worcester, Massachusetts, when he was a child. with the National Advisory Committee for Aero­ Whitcomb attended public schools in Worcester nautics at Langley Field. At NACA, Jones had and, in 1939, entered Worcester Polytechnic In­ the opportunity to continue his studies by reading stitute. He received his Bachelor of Science in the literature and attending lectures. mechanical engineering with high distinction in Gifted with a remarkable ability to express a 1943 and accepted a position with the National complex problem in understandable and useful Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley terms, Jones was working on a stability problem Laboratories. During his career with NACA, of a proposed Army missile when he discovered Whitcomb has worked primarily on problems the drag-reducing faculty of the swept wing. involved with supersonic flight. When wind tunnel tests confirmed his discovery, More recently, Whitcomb invented NASA's Jones was able to mathematically account for the supercritical wing, an innovation which may be subsonic behavior of swept wings at supersonic more significant than the area-rule development. speeds. Flight tests of the supercritical wing were so Jones was appointed senior staff scientist at the successful that the concept is expected to form NACA Ames Research Center in 1946. While in the basis for design of commercial transports in this capacity, he extended Whitcomb's transonic the 1980's. As a result of Whitcomb's research, area rule, which enabled reduction of the tran­ commercial airlines will be enabled to fly faster sonic drag, into the supersonic region. Jones' and farther with substantial reductions in fuel supersonic area rule, which made it possible to consumption and direct operating costs. minimize the drag of an airplane at any chosen His many awards include an honorary doctor supersonic speed, is recognized as a substantial of engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Insti­ contribution to aerodynamic theory. He also in­ tute. troduced the concept of the oblique wing, which showed considerable promise when tested on a REFERENCES: National Aeronautic Association Press remotely piloted vehicle at NASA Flight Re­ Release, 4 June 1974; Current Biography, The H. W. Wilson Company, 1956. search Center, California.

REFERENCES: E. P. Hartman, Adventures in Research, Na­ Robert T. Jones tional Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1970; G. W. Gray, Frontiers of Flight, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. 1948; Theodore 1910- von Karman, Aerodynamics, Cornell University Press, 1954.

Significant achievements evidenced in formulation of the theory of swept wings and the supersonic area rule John V. Becker

Robert T. Jones, a brilliant aerodynamicist 1913- and mathematician with an earned reputation for original and perceptive research, did so with­ Achievement in evolving the technology of supersonic and out advantage of a complete formal education. hypersonic fligh t Born in Macon, Missouri, he was in college for only two semesters. He then had a variety of jobs As chairman of the hypersonic research air­ including a short stint with The Nicholas Beasely plane study group, John V. Becker was instru­ Airplane Company. When the Depression fin­ mental in development of the X-15 hypersonic ished this venture, however, he found himself research airplane. Born in Albany, New York, NUMBER 4 49

Becker earned a Bachelor of Science degree from H. Julian Allen New York University in 1935 and a Master of 1910-1977 Science degree in 1956. Joining the National Significant achievements in solving the problems of Advisory Committee for Aeronautics research aerodynamic heating and origination of the blunt body staff at Langley Field as a junior aeronautical concept used on re-entry shapes engineer, he was appointed head of the 16-foot Endowed with a remarkable instinct for using high-speed tunnel in 1943. Later he was named approximations and reasonable assumptions to assistant chief of the Compressibility Research reduce extremely complex problems to a level Division, and in 1955 became chief of the division, amenable to solution, H. Julian Allen developed which was subsequently designated Supersonic a variety of original and ingenious research tech­ Aerodynamics Division. niques. A native of Maywood, Illinois, he gradu­ Becker was head of the then subsonic 16-foot ated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of tunnel when interest in research on transonic and Arts degree in 1932 and acquired a Bachelor of supersonic flight led to the decision to develop Science in aeronautical engineering from the the X-l research airplane. Modifications to the same institution in 1935. In 1936 he joined the tunnel upgraded its performance first to transonic research staff of the National Advisory Commit­ and later to supersonic speeds. Expansion of the tee for Aeronautics at Langley Field and became research airplane idea to include development of a leading authority in aerodynamics and design an entire family of specialized aircraft, designated of supersonic and hypersonic wind tunnels. the "X series," provided Becker with the oppor­ Equally comfortable with either experimental tunity to contribute significantly to the technol­ or theoretical research, Allen moved to NACA's ogy of supersonic flight. newly formed Ames Research Center in 1940 as At a 1954 meeting of the NACA interlabora- head of the Theoretical Aerodynamics Section. tory research airplane projects panel, the mem­ While at Ames he became involved with the bers reached the conclusion that an entirely new problem of aerodynamic heating during ballistic research airplane was desirable. Langley Labo­ re-entry and originated the blunt body concept ratory created a hypersonic research airplane for re-entry shapes. This led to use of the blunt study group and assigned Becker to chair it. The body for every U.S. manned spacecraft. He was design produced by the study group closely re­ also the first to recognize that entry into planetary sembled the X-l5 configuration and featured atmospheres, or returns to Earth, at faster than many aspects of the later design, including use of escape velocity requires modification of the blunt Inconel X heat sink construction, similar weights, entry shape. and specifications. The design study further rec­ When Dr. Smith J. DeFrance, the founder and ommended a cruciform tail configuration and a director of the Ames Research Center retired in "wedge" vertical fin. Becker presented the panel's 1965, H. Julian Allen was named his successor. report to a joint NACA-Air Force-Navy panel The honor closely followed an earlier one in and won endorsement. The endorsement ulti­ which Allen had been awarded NASA's highest mately led to development of the X-l5. scientific honor, the NASA Medal for Exceptional In 1955 Becker was cited by New York Uni­ Scientific Achievement. Having laid much of the versity as one of its 100 outstanding graduates of groundwork for spaceflight, he retired from the College of Engineering. NASA in 1969 at the age of 58. REFERENCES: Official NASA Biography; R. P. Hallion, REFERENCES: NASA News Release 68-183 (25 October American Rocket Aircraft: Precursors to Manned Flight beyond the 1968); E. P. Hartmann, Adventures in Research, National Aero­ Atmosphere, International Astronautical Federation, 1974. nautics and Space Administration, 1970. 50 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Air-Breathing Propulsion

More than any other single factor, engine Europe around the middle of the 19th century. performance set the pace for progress in aero­ According to Bryant, illuminating gas was a prin­ nautics. In fact, it was the absence of a suitable cipal source of residential lighting and heating in engine that precluded the notion of powered the cities. This was made possible by a gas distri­ flight in the pre-Wright era. Engine reliability, or bution network fed from a central generating rather a lack of it, later proved to be a principal station. This system provided incentive to develop deterrant in the development of commercial air the internal combustion engine, which served the transportation. Still later, when propeller limita­ same purposes as today's electric motor. tions threatened to limit aircraft performance to Etienne Lenoir, in 1860, produced the first subsonic speeds, the jet engine provided a way to illuminating gas engine to be sold in quantity, eliminate the propeller and neatly sidestep the even though it was not a particularly good one. problem. There are countless other instances in Clearly influenced by steam engine practice, it the history of flight when engine performance was big, heavy, inefficient, and rough running was either the barrier or the key to aeronautical but it did prove illuminating gas could be used progress. as an alternative to steam. Unlike steam, however, the use of gaseous fuels severely limited the notion of a portable engine driving a wheeled vehicle. Predecessors of the Aircraft Engine The idea of using liquid fuels for this purpose was apparent, but the technology for vaporizing the Steam Engines fuel and mixing it in proper proportion with air The steam engine, which reigned supreme as simply did not exist for the fuels then available. the prime mover of 19th-century machinery, was There is little doubt that the enormous growth the major predecessor of internal combustion en­ of air breathing propulsion and its impact on gines. While steam engines were never serious aeronautics in this century is a consequence of contenders for a permanent role in aeronautics, the discovery of gasoline; yet the importance of they did attract the attention of early flight en­ fuel technology to aviation is seldom mentioned thusiasts. A typical example is that of Henson in historical accounts of flight. The first well and Stringfellow, who unsuccessfully tried to fly specifically drilled for oil was brought in at Ti- a steam-powered model in the late 1840's. In tusville, Pennsylvania, in 1859. Prior to the 1852, Henri Giffard built and successfully flew a "Drake Well," petroleum in the form of asphaltic steam-powered airship in which he attained a bitumen and mineral pitch had been collected speed of some 5 mph. But steam engines were ill- from seepage sites and used for a variety of pur­ suited to serve the needs of practical powered poses (G.I.A., 1974:165). Although distillation flight. Heavy, cumbersome, and too slow to be of techniques had been known and were used to direct service, the steam-engine none-the-less pro­ obtain illuminants from the seepage residues, they vided a century of experience, during which fab­ had not been used for processing gasoline, possi­ rication techniques were refined to the point bly because the more volatile fractions of crude where they could be easily converted to the manu­ oil are soon lost upon exposure to the atmosphere. facture of internal combustion engines. Commercial production of gasoline was started In an excellent article (Bryant, 1967:648-664) within four years of drilling the "Drake Well," on the origins of the internal combustion engine, but it's origins and those responsible for its dis­ Lynwood Bryant clearly establishes its relation covery remain unknown. Accepted sources (Wil­ with growth in the illuminating gas industry in liamson and Daum, 1959:234) contend that gas- NUMBER 4 51 oline was discovered by Joshua Merrill who had bustion engines while working as production earlier discovered "keroselene," a highly volatile manager on Otto's engine, left the firm in 1882, derivative obtained from steam distillation of coal in order to devote his full attention to develop­ oil, when he applied the procedure to distill pe­ ment of the automobile. An associate of long troleum naptha. In 1863, Merrill began to com­ standing, Wilhelm Maybach, had followed mercially produce gasoline at the Downer plant Daimler to Otto's firm, and when Daimler left to in Boston. Originally introduced as an illumi- form his own company, Maybach again joined nant, gasoline was justifiably considered an ex­ him. A talented mechanic, Maybach attacked the tremely hazardous by-product requiring special problem of developing a carburetor that would care in packaging and shipping. A major amount operate satisfactorily under the fluctuating speeds of it was simply dumped to avoid the hazardous and loads anticipated for an automobile. This handling problem. proved to be an elusive endeavor, which was not solved satisfactorily until 1893, when Maybach introduced a fine jet which sprayed gasoline into Automobile Engines the intake air. Maybach's discovery of the prin­ In 1876, Nikolaus August Otto introduced the ciple of modern carburetion was a crucial step in earliest recognizable ancestor of today's air- later development of the gasoline-fueled portable breathing piston engines. Although the engine engine. was fueled with illuminating gas and only devel­ Daimler and Maybach had met with earlier oped around 3 horsepower at a weight of close to success when, in 1883, they had produced a gas­ 2000 pounds per horsepower, it represented a oline-fueled engine capable of around 900 rpm. major improvement in propulsion technology. Although this engine used a less satisfactory form During its development, Otto had prophetically of carburetion, it was equipped with a radically combined three principle ideas: internal combus­ different type of ignition, which simply provided tion, compression of the fuel before ignition, and a steady hot spot in the combustion chamber and the four-stroke cycle. The idea of combining the neatly avoided the problem of timing. Daimler's four-stroke cycle with pre-ignition compression of cars of the 1890's used this type of ignition. the fuel was the outstanding feature, which makes Contemporary engine designers, such as Karl Otto's engine such a notable advance. Benz, struggled with the difficulties of electric Otto's engine was a great commercial success ignition, but, in the absence of a suitable mag­ and was soon being manufactured in a number neto, generally had to resort to a low-voltage of countries as competition offered similar engines make-and-break system, which was more reliable to an expanding market. By 1880, improvements at moderate speeds. A suitable electric ignition in engine performance had generated interest in system was not developed until 1902, when Rob­ adapting the engine for automotive use, but this ert Bosch introduced a high tension magneto able proved to be a difficult and prolonged endeavor. to deliver a hot spark without any battery For automotive use, the only practical route was (Bryant, 1967:653). This type of electric ignition to adapt the engine to liquid fuel, drastically won quick acceptance and soon became the stan­ reduce its weight and increase its running speed dard ignition for automotive use. with an improved ignition system. Consequently, The intense interest in automobilism, which the critical components to be developed were the captured the fancy of European technologists in carburetor and the electric ignition. the last twenty years of the 19th century, was During the last two decades of the 19th century solely responsible for the progress made in devel­ the most significant progress in automobilism was oping light, fast, gasoline-fueled engines. From an accomplished in Germany. Gottlieb Daimler, inauspicious beginning in the 1880's as a one who had gained experience with internal com­ horsepower affair weighing some 200 pounds, the 52 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE automobile engine emerged, in 1901, as a 35 Considering the performance of contemporary horsepower package with its weight neatly engines at the turn of the 20th century, the 52- trimmed to a respectable 14 pounds per horse­ horsepower, 5-cylinder radial engine developed power. In this form, it powered a Daimler auto­ for Langley's aerodrome represents one of the mobile to a speed of 53 miles per hour (Bryant, most extraordinary engines of the period. De­ 1967:661). signed by Charles M. Manly, an engineering graduate of Cornell University, and Stephen Bal- The Aircraft Engine zer, an automobile builder from New York City, the engine was a stationary radial design with a Aeronautical application of the gasoline-fueled specific weight of 2.16 pounds per horsepower. In engine came soon after, but early aircraft engines many respects, the Langley engine anticipated were not direct transplants from the automotive the highly successful radials, which came into field. Instead, they were fresh developments ac­ wide use on commercial vehicles of the thirties. complished with technology borrowed from the Although German Technologists had pi­ proving ground of a racetrack. The Wright engine oneered development of gasoline-fueled auto­ of 1903, and the remarkable Langley engine, motive engines, they were strangely absorbed in completed late in 1901, and tested over the next adopting their engines for use on dirigibles and three years, were the legitimate precursors of showed little interest in more conventional flight. engines developed specifically for aeronautics The British were similarly slow to react to the (Taylor, 1971:1). cause of flight. Of all Europe's leading aero­ Designed and built by the Wright brothers nautical powers, only France took an active role with the assistance of their mechanic Charles E. in developing aircraft engines. In 1906, Leon Taylor, the 1903 Wright engine followed contem­ Levavasseur began to manufacture a 50 horse­ porary automotive practice, but was a compara­ power, 8 cylinder engine, which he called "An­ tively crude affair. Orville Wright described the toinette." These superb engines were to become motor as follows: important power plants for European aviation. The motor used in the first flights at Kitty Hawk, N.C., Antoinette engines were water-cooled V-type on December 17, 1903, had [four] horizontal cylinders of 4- arrangements with machined-steel cylinders fit­ inch bore and 4-inch stroke. The ignition was by low-tension magneto with make-and-break spark. The boxes inclosing ted with brass waterjackets and equipped with the intake and exhaust valves had neither water jackets nor inlet port fuel injection. Together with the later radiating fins, so that after a few minutes of running time engines of Glenn Curtiss in the United States, the valves and valve boxes became red hot There was no they pioneered use of liquid cooled V-engines in float-feed carburetor. The gasoline was fed to the motor by aeronautics (Taylor, 1971:19). Although Curtiss' gravity in a constant stream and was vaporized by running over a large heated surface of the water jacket of the cylin­ earlier engines had been air cooled, in 1908 he ders. Due to the preheating of the air by the waterjacket and developed a water-cooled engine similar to Le­ the red-hot valves and boxes, the air was greatly expanded va vasseur's. before entering the cylinders. As a result, in a few minutes' By 1909, European designers could choose from time, the power dropped to less than 75 percent of what it among several different types of French aircraft was on cranking the motor. [McFarland, 1953:1210] engines. In addition to the water-cooled Anto­ Clearly a marginal engine, even by contempo­ inette, there was the 35-horsepower Renault air- rary standards, it did manage to power the first cooled V-8 and the 24-horsepower Anzani, a 3- aircraft and in so doing earned an honored place cylinder fan-type air-cooled engine selected by in history. Considering reliability to be more Bleriot for his cross-channel flight. important than lightness, the Wrights later mod­ The year of 1909 was also memorable for the ified their basic engine design with improved appearance of the Gnome engine; a 50-horse- cooling and accessories. power 7-cylinder rotary engine. A masterpiece of NUMBER 4 53 engineering, the Gnome's smooth-running char­ Birkigt's principal contribution to engine design acteristics soon won the approval of European was the en bloc construction, in which the cylin­ designers. Skillfully designed by Laurent Seguin, ders were formed from an aluminum block cast­ the Gnome rotary attained such popularity that ing with cored water passages. The success of this the design was modified and produced by several engine revolutionized design of liquid-cooled en­ other rotary engine manufacturers. Used exten­ gines. Hispano Suiza engines were adapted to sively by both sides during World War I, rotary American manufacturing methods and produced engines derived from the Gnome were manu­ in quantity by the Wright-Martin Aircraft Cor­ factured in France by LeRhone and Clerget, in poration, later renamed the Wright Aeronautical Germany by Oberiirsel and Siemens, and in Eng­ Corporation. The Hispano-Suiza engine was the land by the Humber Company who released prototype for subsequent development of liquid- lighter and more efficient engines under the des­ cooled engines, such as the Kestral, Rolls-Royce ignations Bentley BR-1 and BR-2. The rotary Merlin, Allison V-1710, and the German Daim­ engine reached its maximum development early ler-Benz and Junkers V-12. in the war but became obsolescent by 1918, Parallel development of air-cooled engines with chiefly because of speed limitations due to cen­ steel lined aluminum cylinders was initiated prior trifugal stress. to the end of World War I. At that time, the As aircraft performance improvements ren­ Royal Aircraft Factory assigned Professor A. H. dered rotary engines obsolete, the water-cooled Gibson and Sam D. Heron the task of developing V-type engine rose to the position of prominence. more effective air-cooled cylinders. A comparable In the United States the Curtiss OX-5 continued effort was started in the United States by Charles to lead the field until 1917, when the Liberty and L. Lawrance who founded the Shinnecock Air­ Hispano-Suiza engines were introduced to plane Company in 1915 and started development counter the German 6-cylinder Mercedes of 1915. of a 2-cyclinder air-cooled engine (Schlaifer and The 180-horsepower Mercedes engine was de­ Heron, 1950:162). rived from an earlier 160-horsepower model, After selling the rights to the 2-cylinder engine which introduced a new style in liquid-cooled to the Army, Lawrance approached the Navy cylinder design. That design influenced later Brit­ with a proposal for an upgraded version, which ish, French, and American designs until it finally ultimately became the 3-cylinder model L of yielded to cast aluminum en bloc construction 1918. In the following year discussions with both (Taylor, 1971:30). The cylinders were machined the Army and Navy resulted in a contract that from steel forgings with valve ports screwed and led to production of the 9-cylinder model J-l welded to the cylinder head. The whole assembly engine. The popularity and success of the J-l was was then encased in welded sheet steel waterjack- a decisive factor in establishing the air-cooled ets. Among the engines built with Mercedes-type engine in the United States. construction, an important one was the Liberty In 1921, Sam Heron came to the United States engine built in the United States. Surplus Liberty and was employed by the Army at McCook Field, engines played an important role in the postwar Ohio. A capable engineer with an extensive growth of aviation in America and remained knowledge of air-cooled engine design, Heron was militarily important well into the thirties. to assist in the development of large radial en­ Undoubtedly the most technically significant gines. Although perhaps best known for his work aircraft engine to be developed during World in developing the sodium-cooled valve, which War I was the Hispano-Suiza V-8, designed and solved a major problem in engine endurance, built in Spain by a Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt. Heron made a number of fundamental contri­ This engine was adopted for French Fighters in butions to air-cooled cylinder design. 1916 and used in the historic Spad vn and xm. Keenly aware of shipboard maintenance limi- 54 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE tations, Navy engineers strongly favored the com­ forged and machined cylinder heads, automati­ parative simplicity of radial engines. Realizing cally lubricated valve gearing, and the vibration- that Lawrance's facilities were too small to be absorbing counterweight were introduced on satisfactory for the major developmental effort it later models, but the basic technology of air- had in mind, the Navy tried to interest both the cooled radial engine design and construction re­ established aircraft engine companies, Wright mained unchanged. and Curtiss, to begin development and produc­ For commerical uses, the simplicity and ease of tion of air-cooled radial engines. Neither com­ maintenance of the air-cooled radial engine made pany was particularly interested in diverting its it the popular choice of designers. With few ex­ interest from liquid-cooled engines until the Navy ceptions, commercial air transports throughout informed Wright that it would no longer purchase the world relied on this type of engine until the 200-horsepower Wright Hispano engines. When postwar advent of jet and turbine engines all but this policy was enforced in 1922, the president of eliminated the commercial market for piston en­ Wright, F. B. Rentschler yielded and, with the gines. Navy's approval, purchased the Lawrance Cor­ poration as the most expedient route to produc­ Exhaust Valves tion of air-cooled engines (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:174-175). Making Charles L. Lawrance vice Piston engine reliability and endurance proved president of Wright, the company began devel­ to be particularly sensitive to exhaust valve per­ opments that led to the J-3 and J-4 air-cooled formance. Located, of necessity, in the combus­ engines. tion chamber, poppet exhaust valves character­ Becoming increasingly at odds with his direc­ istically experience gas temperatures as hot as tors, Rentschler resigned as president of Wright, 3000°F, which must be dissipated through the in 1924. The following year, he attracted away small stem and seat areas. Technologists con­ from Wright Chief Engineer George J. Mead and fronted with the task of improving engine endur­ the Assistant Engineer in Charge of Design ance first attempted to solve the valve problem A. V D. Willgoos and, encouraged by the Navy, by using improved materials. By 1918 the ordi­ founded a company within the Pratt and Whit­ nary steels used on early engine valves had been ney Aircraft complex to produce engines. With replaced by high-speed tungsten alloy tool steel. an engineering team used to working together, While certainly an improvement over the low they succeeded in producing the highly successful carbon steels, it was soon found that tungsten Wasp engine in early 1926. alloy valves were susceptible to severe burning at In the same year, at Wright, E. T. Jones, who the valve seat. Within a few years, tungsten alloy had headed the power plant section at McCook steels were replaced with high chromium steels Field was made chief engineer of Wright bringing further alloyed with one of several other elements Sam Heron with him. Heron's presence at Wright such as nickel, cobalt, or silicon. Around 1934, resulted in substantial improvements to the further material improvement was realized by Whirlwind. With redesign of the whirlwind in introducing stellite facings on both valve seats progress, Jones, Heron, and Lawrance began de­ and seat inserts (Taylor, 1971:63). sign of a completely new engine, the R-1750 When material substitutions alone proved to Cyclone, which passed a type-test at 500 horse­ be an inadequate solution to the valve problem, power, in 1927 (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:192). engine designers attempted to enhance the trans­ The basic feature of the Wasp and Cyclone fer of heat along the valve stem by using hollow engines, the 9-cylinder air-cooled radial engine, valves partially filled with liquid. Early attempts became the hallmark of "modern" radial engine to use mercury-filled valves were unsuccessful design. Some additional improvements, notably since mercury will not wet steel, which is required NUMBER 4 55 for good heat transfer. Some success was achieved charge of development. Experimental models ap­ with mercury fillers after Midgeley and Kettering plied to a Liberty engine were tested at an alti­ developed a method of coating the interior surface tude of 14,109 feet (4.3 km) on Pike's Peak in of the valve with a mercury wettable material 1918. The tests proved conclusively that Moss' (Taylor, 1971:64). invention was a success, but it was too late to be In 1919, Sam Heron, one of the pioneers of the used in the war (Durand, 1953:65-68). liquid-filled valve concept, was working on valve The first flight test of Moss' invention was coolants at McCook Field, when he decided to made at McCook Field the following year in a Le try a mixture of sodium and potassium nitrate. Pere biplane equipped with a turbo supercharged Achieving some success Heron continued to in­ Liberty engine. During the test, the aircraft at­ vestigate the potential for sodium and by 1928 tained a world's altitude record of 38,180 feet had adapted liquid sodium as the internal valve (11.6 km). Although interest waned in spite of a coolant. Heron's sodium-filled valve was a major number of record-setting flights, Moss continued contribution to engine technology and was later to refine his turbo supercharger in cooperation recognized as a milestone in the determined effort with the flight test section of the Army Air Corps. to improve engine reliability and endurance. The turbo supercharger did not gain full accept­ ance until March 1939, when tests on a Boeing B-17 conclusively established its real value. Superchargers Categorized as an engine accessory item, air­ As air becomes increasingly less dense with craft supercharger development opened the way altitude the power developed by an engine de­ for efficient high altitude operation of air breath­ creases until a level is reached where the power ing engines. The Wright Turbo-Cyclone R-3350, developed is just enough to sustain flight. To go introduced around 1946, is indicative of the so­ higher or faster, more air is needed to support the phisticated refinement realized in supercharger combustion needed to develop more power. Dur­ technology. ing World War I, the loss in engine power with altitude limited military aircraft to an absolute Carburetors and Fuel-Injection Systems ceiling of around 20,000 feet (6.1 km). In 1914, a Swiss engineer, Alfred Boechi suggested use of a The subject of fuel metering is essentially a turbo supercharger, but, aside from some experi­ saga of the parallel efforts to develop efficient mental models developed in France by Rateau, carburetors and fuel-injection systems. A compre­ little serious technical work was done on super­ hensive treatment of the subject, from which charging until after the war. Both England and much of the following is derived, is contained in the United States started intensive development an excellent book by Robert Schlaifer and S. D. of aircraft superchargers in 1918. Heron (1950:509-544). In 1917, the NACA was confronted with the Fuel metering devices, such as carburetors and problem of maintaining, at high altitudes, the fuel-injection systems, are essential engine acces­ power of the Liberty engine. Sanford Moss, who sories generally developed by ancilliary firms had become interested in building a gas-driven working in cooperation with engine manufac­ turbo engine while a graduate student at Cornell turers and the military. Although serving a simi­ University, was then working in the gas-turbine lar function, these two types of fuel metering division of the General Electric Company and devices operate in a distinctly different manner. was directed to undertake the study and devel­ With carburetors, fuel is metered, atomized, and opment of a turbo supercharger. The following mixed with incoming air to form a combustible year, the Engineering Division of the Army Air mixture, which is then distributed to the cylinders Service contracted for the work, with Moss in by the intake manifold. With fuel-injection sys- 56 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE terns, the intake manifold only distributes air and veloping a novel arrangement calculated to result relies on a fuel injector to meter and supply fuel in a sales advantage, Chandler replaced the float to the appropriate cylinder (Schlaifer and Heron, with a fuel control valve activated by pressure of 1950:509). the fuel on a diaphragm. During flight tests with Although primitive fuel-injection systems were Chandler's floatless carburetor, the Navy discov­ tried on aircraft engines before the First World ered that the carburetor was less susceptible to War, the simpler and lighter carburetor contin­ icing and adopted it for use on their Cyclone ued to dominate the market for aircraft engines engines. In March 1937, Trans World Airlines, throughout the between-the-wars period. When for similar reasons, made it the standard for World War I ended, the Zenith Carburetor Com­ airline Cyclones as well (Schlaifer and Heron, pany was the major supplier of aircraft carbure­ 1950:517-521). tors in the United States. Confronted with a In 1935, F. C. Mock replaced Chandler as head failing market brought on by the use of less of Stromberg carburetor development and con­ volatile fuels and an overabundance of surplus vinced management to support development of a Liberty engines, the Zenith Company defaulted competitive floatless carburetor. Mock's design aircraft sales to the Stromberg Motor Services was a bold departure from established carbure­ Company, which had no experience with aircraft tion principles in that it balanced both the fuel needs but was a known supplier of automobile and air flow by the action of two opposing dia­ carburetors. Typical of contemporary fuel-meter­ phragms. The new carburetor was put in produc­ ing technology, the Stromberg Company relied tion in 1938 and was such an overwhelming on a float to maintain constant fuel pressure success it was adapted for use on all high-power (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:54). engines produced by Pratt and Whitney and on While funds for development of carburetor the Wright Cyclones that powered B-17's (Schlai­ improvements were not readily available, Strom­ fer and Heron, 1950:521-524). berg managed to introduce some notable refine­ A competitive form of fuel metering, known as ments during the 1920's, which, among other "fuel injection" was well known, at least in prin­ things, allowed for satisfactory operation during ciple, long before the onset of the First World short periods of inverted flight. Stromberg float- War. In fact, a primitive form of fuel injection type carburetors, however, were incapable of au­ had been used by the Wright brothers on their tomatically compensating for the variations in air original engine; but the comparative lightness density associated with changes in altitude. The and simplicity of carburetors resulted in their basic inadequacies of the float-type carburetor selection as a standard aircraft engine accessory. came into prominence in the early 1930's when No attempt at systematic development of aircraft carburetor icing problems began to be a major fuel-injection systems was made in the United source of concern. Float-governed carburetors at­ States until carburetion difficulties were encoun­ tracted further criticism when the Navy, and later tered during dive bombing in the late 1920's. the Army, began to experience carburetion prob­ These difficulties caused the services to become lems that caused aircraft fires during dive-bomb­ interested in fuel injection as a possible cure. ing practice (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:515). M. G. Chandler (not to be confused with M. E. Chandler, who had been in charge of M. E. Chandler of the Stromberg Motor Services Stromberg carburetor engineering, left the com­ Company), who had earlier patented a fuel-injec­ pany in 1934 and, with backing from the Holley tion system, was hired by the Marvel Carburetor Carburetor Company, introduced production Company in 1926 to oversee further development simplifications that resulted in a definite cost of his invention. In the following year, the Army advantage. In an effort motivated both by an ordered a Chandler injection system for a one- interest in solving float-related problems and de­ cylinder engine, which was tested at Wright Field NUMBER 4 57 in 1928. When the test showed Chandler's single- ing mechanisms were unsatisfactory until a prac­ cylinder system to be competitive with contem­ tical model was introduced in the early 1930's. porary float-type carburetors, the Army ordered This model was the result of developmental ef­ an experimental injection system for a 9-cylinder forts conducted in Britain, Canada, and the air-cooled radial engine. The Marvel pump and United States during the preceding decade distribution system performed quite satisfactorily, (Miller and Sawers, 1970:73). but it suffered from a design limitation that pre­ In Great Britain, the Air Ministry's request for cluded its use on engines with more than 12 designs prompted Professor Hele-Shaw, a recog­ cylinders. Unfortunately a company dispute with nized authority in hydraulic mechanisms, and his the military over payment of development costs partner T. E. Beacham to adapt a hydraulic led to collapse of the Marvel Company in 1935 pump they had developed for other purposes to (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:530-533). control the pitch of an aircraft propeller. While After Marvel's collapse, interest in further de­ Hele-Shaw's interest in propeller design was in velopment of fuel-injection systems was continued direct response to a request on the part of the by the United American Bosch Corporation, with government, the Air Ministry decided that a Army support, and the Eclipse Aviation Corpo­ variable pitch propeller, which required its de­ ration, which pursued development with Navy velopment to be conducted at private initiative, support. By 1940, both of these companies had was not necessary. developed injection systems that had been reason­ A similar situation occurred with W. R. Turn- ably well proven but had not been fully certified bull who, in 1923, began work on an electrically for military use. Impressed with the extensive use operated pitch control mechanism under a grant of fuel injection by the Germans, both services from the Canadian National Research Council. quickly increased their developmental activities As in Hele-Shaw's case, early work was financed to equip the R-3350 with fuel injection as soon as by the government but the cost of later develop­ possible. When the Navy withdrew from further ments was principally supported by industry. development of fuel injectors in 1942, the Army Frank W. Caldwell, who designed the first vari­ continued alone. Shortly thereafter the Bendix able pitch propeller to come into general use and Products Division which had assumed responsi­ probably contributed more to the development of bility for the Eclipse injector development, variable pitch propeller technology than any adopted the operational Bendix Stromberg pres­ other individual, chose to make its development sure carburetor as a means to meter fuel to the a private endeavor rather than a venture depend­ injector pump. The innovation proved superior ent on military support. In contrast with both to any preceding performance by an injector Hele-Shaw and Turnbull, who worked outside system and was accepted for Army use and re­ the industry, Caldwell was an aeronautics profes­ leased for production in 1943 (Schlaifer and sional who had been in charge of propeller devel­ Heron, 1950:541-542). opment for the Army. Convinced mechanical The Bendix modified Eclipse injector system control devices would not work, Caldwell left simplified the problem of fuel distribution and government service to work out his ideas without completely eliminated icing difficulties. However interference. During the first half of 1929, he it increased the complexity of the fuel metering completed the design and applied for patents. In device, which required both a complete carbure­ June of the year, he joined the Standard Steel tor and an injector pump. Propeller Company in order to carry on with his work (Miller and Sawers, 1970:73). Variable Pitch Propellers Three months after Caldwell joined Standard, Although interest in a variable pitch propeller the company was bought by United Aircraft and predates the advent of conventional flight, exist­ merged with the Hamilton Propeller Company 58 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE to form the Hamilton-Standard Division. In 1929, For reasons unknown, Curtiss proceeded more Boeing and Northrop, who were also members of slowly than Hamilton-Standard and did not at­ United Aircraft were engaged in the design of all- tract a production order until 1935, when the metal monoplanes, which became the forerunners Navy ordered 50 propellers for the P2Y2 flying of the "modern" commercial air transport. The boats. By this time Hamilton-Standard had a loss of performance of the fixed-pitch propellers substantial lead and was about ready to release prompted Caldwell to simplify his design and its constant-speed variable pitch propeller. Of press for flight qualification, which was realized course, Curtiss had been working on an automatic by the end of 1932 when his propellers were constant-speed control since 1934 and so they readied for production. immediately went into production for this type, Boeing originally designed the 247 in 1932 with producing the first ones in 1935. Curtiss electric fixed-pitch propellers, but found its take-off per­ propellers soon became a strong competitor to the formance from some of the higher airports in the Hamilton-Standard hydraulically actuated pro­ Rocky Mountain region was inadequate. Cald­ peller (Miller and Sawers, 1970:76). Both were well was able to convince Boeing to test the used extensively during World War II. aircraft with variable pitch propellers. The 247's performance was notably improved: Normal Turbojet Engines take-off run was reduced by 20 percent and its single engine ceiling was increased from 2,000 to Systematic research of turbojet engines in­ 4,000 feet (600 to 1200 m) (Miller and Sawers, tended for aeronautical use may be traced to 1938:74). The success of Caldwell's propeller on Alan A. Griffith of the Royal Aircraft Establish­ the impressive 247 convinced American designers ment at Farnborough, England. In 1926, he de­ of the advantages of variable pitch propellers, livered a classic paper in which he proposed which became standard on all subsequent com­ development of a gas turbine engine to drive a mercial aircraft. propeller (Hallion, in litt. 1971). While at Farn­ Development of a constant speed control mech­ borough, Griffith conducted wind tunnel tests on anism for the propeller was completed by Ham­ airfoil configurations representative of turbine ilton Standard with help from the Woodward and compressor wheels and, in 1929, tested a Governor Company and placed in production in single stage compressor and a single stage turbine late 1935. Three years later the propeller was mounted on a common shaft. The engine further modified to permit feathering and, in achieved a remarkable 90-percent efficiency on 1945, was again improved to provide reversible both stages (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:332). pitch. Evaluating Griffith's work, Britain's Aeronautical While Caldwell's propeller was hydraulically Research Committee recommended continued actuated, W. R. Turnbull decided in favor of an experimentation, but Griffith was soon trans­ electrically operated pitch control. With funding ferred to an Air Ministry laboratory that had no from the Canadian National Research Council, facilities with which to pursue the work. In time, Turnbull completed design in 1925 (Miller and he returned to Farnborough, but the world-wide Sawers, 1970:75). Tests in 1927, on a 130-horse- Depression had made research money scarce and power engine showed his design to be fully reli­ Griffith's unconventional project was shelved. Al­ able and convinced Curtiss-Wright to take an though Griffith's work foreshadowed develop­ exclusive license on Turnbull's patents the follow­ ment of the turboprop engine, it was not so ing year. Curtiss promptly replaced the wooden recognized at the time and no further research on blades used by Turnbull with forged aluminum, gas turbine propulsion was conducted by the which had been developed by their propeller- Royal Aircraft Establishment until 1936 (Schlai­ making subsidiary, the Reed Propeller Company. fer and Heron, 1950:333). NUMBER 4 59

In contrast with Griffith's concept of using a development of a Whittle engine (the W. 1) for gas turbine engine to drive a propeller, Flying flight testing (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:350). Officer Frank Whittle became interested in the Later that year, after the invasion of Poland, the possibility of using the thrust from the jet exhaust Air Ministry contracted with Power Jets Ltd. to of such an engine as a primary propulsive force. build a second, more powerful engine, the W.2. Granted a patent in 1930, Whittle, who was then They then authorized the Gloster Aircraft Com­ only 23, requested the Air Ministry to support his pany Ltd. early the next year to design a twin- intended design effort, but his proposal was re­ engine fighter to be powered by two W.2 engines. jected. While his concept was considered sound, This aircraft was produced in 1943 as the Gloster at least in principle, the Air Ministry could see Meteor Mark I. no military advantage at the then prevalent flight Other British engine firms, including Rolls speeds and felt metallurgical limitations would Royce, Bristol, and de Havilland, soon began preclude the possibility of success. Private indus­ turbojet engine development programs. In 1942, try was similarly disposed (Schlaifer and Heron, development and production of a modified W.2 1950:333-335). engine, the W.2B was transferred to Rolls Royce, Whittle persisted and, in 1935, gained sufficient and eventually emerged as the Rolls Royce Wel- technical and financial support to form Power land engine (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:364). Jets Ltd., a small turbojet development firm. In In the mid-1930's, parallel turbojet develop­ the following year, the company again ap­ ments were occurring in Germany where Hans proached the Air Ministry for financial support, von Ohain, a student at the University of Gottin­ but was again refused. Fortunately, Henry T. gen, patented a centrifugal-flow turbojet engine Tizard, the chairman of the Aeronautical Re­ design (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:377). In 1936, search Committee, stated that Whittle's engine through the intercession of R. W. Pohl, Ohain's proposals were completely sound, which con­ professor, the young engineer was hired by the vinced Whittle's backers to continue their financ­ Ernst Heinkel Flugzeugwerke, and put in charge ing (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:341). of aircraft gas turbine development. Ohain's first The WU, Whittle's first jet engine, was com­ engine, a ground test device, was tested in 1937 pleted and ready for testing by April 1937. and attained a 550-pound thrust. Encouraged, Strictly a bench test model with a compressor Ohain and Ernst Heinkel decided to develop a efficiency less than Whittle had predicted, the flight test engine capable of about 1800-pounds test results were sufficiently encouraging to gain thrust. The prototype flight engine was com­ the respect of the Directorate of Scientific Re­ pleted and bench tested in 1938. After extensive search. Spurred on by reports of gas turbine modifications to improve its thrust characteristics, developments abroad, the Royal Aircraft Estab­ the engine emerged in 1939 as the He S-3b, lishment resurrected Griffith's earlier concept and capable of 1100-pounds thrust (Schlaifer and was authorized to begin design studies of a gas Heron, 1950:378). turbine engine to drive an aircraft propeller Concurrent with the turbojets development, (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:349). Heinkel had privately developed a special test Whittle continued to systematically develop aircraft designated the He 178. On 27 August the WU engine and, after a number of design 1939, Erich Warsitz took off in the He 178 pow­ modifications, produced, in 1938, a version that ered by the He S-3b to make the world's first jet- was used in combustion research for the next 2V2 propelled flight. years. The Air Ministry, which had regarded gas Another German firm, Junkers Flugzeugwerke, turbine research to be only of theoretical interest, was also interested in turbojet research (Schlaifer now became interested in the practical possibili­ and Heron, 1950:379). Junkers turbojet research ties of jet propulsion. In 1939, it agreed to fund was directed by Herbert Wagner and Max Muel- 60 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE ler who investigated both turboprops and turbo- Britain. While abroad, he learned of the Whittle jets. Unlike Whittle and Ohain's centrifugal de­ engine and of the comparatively advanced status signs, Mueller developed an axial flow design, the of British turbojet developments. Surprised to Junkers 006, which was tested in 1938 (Schlaifer find turbojet engines already in the hardware and Heron, 1950:379). Mueller's engine is noted stage, Arnold arranged for discussions between for its small diameter, low weight and straight- British and American representatives as a first through axial compressor. By the end of 1941, step toward American manufacture of the Whit­ German engine manufacturers clearly favored tle engine. By September, arrangements had been axial designs over centrifugal designs. made for General Electric to build the Whittle In 1943, with Germany reeling under round- engine for an aircraft to be designed and con­ the-clock bombardment and its fighters matched structed by Bell Aircraft Corporation. On 1 Oc­ or exceeded in performance by Allied piston-pow­ tober 1941, a Whittle engine and drawings for ered aircraft, the decision was made to give pro­ the W.2B were flown to the United States (Schlai­ duction priority to turbojet,fighters (Schlaifer and fer and Heron, 1950:461). Heron, 1950:398). Accordingly, the superb Me Upon receipt of the drawings, General Electric 262, a twin-engine fighter superior to any other began development of an American version of the in the world, was placed in production in 1944. W.2B, completing the first test engine in March Turbojet engine development in the United 1942. Test results revealed the need for design States clearly failed to gain any momentum com­ changes which resulted in the engine emerging as parable to that of Great Britain and Germany. the I-A, capable of delivering 1300 pounds thrust. Although some thought had been given to turbo­ Two I-A's installed in the Bell designed XP-59A jet research in the 1920's and 1930's, serious powered this aircraft on America's first jet pow­ developmental efforts were not initiated until ered flight (Schlaifer and Heron, 1950:462). 1939, some five years after Whittle and von Ohain By mid-1943, the Army had approved devel­ had become convinced of its potential. In 1939, opment of the Lockheed L-100 engine, started Vladimir H. Pavlecka of Northrop Aircraft pro­ earlier by Nathan Price, while the Navy con­ posed development of a turboprop engine (Schlai­ tracted with Allis-Chalmers for production of the fer and Heron, 1950:446). After receiving the British-developed de Havilland H.l Goblin backing of John Northrop, the company's foun­ turbojet. Interested in using the Goblin engine in der, a small design staff was assembled and di­ combat aircraft, the Army then contracted with rected to develop a suitable engine. Lockheed to develop a suitable airframe. De­ Around a year later, Nathan Price, an engineer signed by Clarence ("Kelly") L. Johnson, this with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, pro­ aircraft emerged as the Lockheed XP80, which posed development of a turbojet engine. Price first flew on 8 January 1944. had begun his research at the request of Lockheed When the war ended in 1945, Great Britain, officials who felt that conventional power plants Germany, and the United States had turbojet were rapidly approaching the point of maximum development programs underway. Only the exploitation. At this time, the applicability of United States had not completed turbojet aircraft turbojet aircraft was not generally accepted in in time to see combat service in the war. Firmly the United States. In fact, the National Academy established as the power plant for post-war of Sciences, in a report released in January 1941, fighters, jet engines were later developed for concluded that gas turbine aircraft engines were commercial air transports, as well. Today jet completely impractical (Schlaifer and Heron, engines are the predominant type used for mili­ 1950:443). tary and commercial air transportation, relegat­ In the spring of 1941, General Henry H. Ar­ ing the piston engine to the service of general nold, Chief of the Army Air Corps, visited Great aviation. NUMBER 4 61

Biographic Sketches zation, volume 1, Oxford University Press, 1967; A Biograph­ ical Dictionary of Scientists, Halstead Press, 1974; Lynwood Nikolaus August Otto Bryant, "The Silent Otto," Technology and Culture, volume 7, University of Chicago Press, 1966; Encyclopaedia Bnlannica, 1832 - 1891 volume 16, William Benton, 1966.

Engineering innovations resulting in the internal combustion engine and the four-stroke cycle Gottlieb Daimler

The son of a farmer, Nikolaus Otto was born 1834- 1900 in Holzhausen on 14 June 1832. At 16, he left Development of the light-weight, high-speed gasoline school and moved to Cologne to work for a engine merchant. In 1860, he read an enthusiastic ac­ count of an illuminating gas engine built by Gottlieb Daimler was an experienced profes­ Etienne Lenoir. The following year, he had a sional intent on inventing a light-weight, high­ small engine built and started experimenting with speed engine to drive a road vehicle. Born in it in his spare time. Working as a solitary amateur Schorndorff, near Stuttgart, he began his techni­ inventor, Otto had exhausted his funds when he cal education as a gunsmith's apprentice in 1848. met Eugen Langen, an industrialist trained at Daimler attended a technical school in Stuttgart Karlsruhe Polytechnic. The two men joined and, after several years experience in a Strasbourg forces, determined to design an engine capable of steam engineering works, completed his educa­ competing with Lenoir's. After several lean de­ tion as a mechanical engineer at the Stuttgart velopment years they succeeded in producing a Polytechnic. After some ten years in heavy equip­ practical engine in 1867, the Otto and Langen, ment engineering with Bruderhaus Maschinen- which could operate at 80 to 90 rpm, and won a fabrik as manager, he left to become director of gold medal in the Paris Exhibition of 1867. Machinenbau Gesellshaft in Karlsruhe. Joining Otto's engine of 1876, the so-called Silent Otto Gasmotorenfabrik Deutz as chief engineer in is the earliest recognizable ancestor of the auto­ 1872, he became involved in perfecting the Otto mobile engine. It burned illuminating gas, devel­ engine. Daimler left Otto's firm in 1882 taking oped about three horsepower at 180 rpm and with him a talented mechanic, Wilhelm May­ weighed over one thousand pounds per horse­ bach, and opened a factory in Stuttgart for the power. It was a far more successful engine than development of a light-weight portable engine in Lenoir's, which suffered from technical weak­ anticipation of automotive needs. nesses due to its low compression. For automotive use, the internal combustion In designing his engine, Otto had prophetically engine had to be adapted for use with liquid combined three principal ideas: internal combus­ fuels, and the only liquid fuel that could be used tion, compression before ignition, and the four- was gasoline. The detailed work necessary to stroke cycle. Otto's idea of combining the four- develop a reliable light-weight gasoline engine stroke cycle with compression of the gas prior to demanded, among other things, solution of prob­ ignition is the feature that makes this engine such lems involving carburetion, cooling, and ignition. a notable step forward. Otto's patent was invali­ By 1883, Daimler and Maybach had successfully dated in 1886 when competition convinced the resolved all of these problems and produced an authorities that Alphonse Beau de Rochas had engine capable of 600 to 900 rpm. The increase earlier described the four-stroke cycle in an ob­ in engine performance was due mainly to a scure pamphlet. unique ignition system, which created a contin­ REFERENCES: Lynwood Bryant, "The Beginnings of the uous hot-spot in the combustion chamber. Daim­ Internal Combustion Engine" Technology and Western Civili­ ler's engine made the automobile engine a prac- 62 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE tical proposition and it was the automotive in­ pany had become the largest automobile manu­ dustry alone that brought gasoline-engine tech­ facturer in Europe. In 1903, Benz retired from nology to a state in which it could be modified management of his company, which later merged for flight application. with the Daimler company to form Daimler-Benz A.G. REFERENCES: A Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, Halstead Press, 1974; Lynwood Bryant, "The Beginnings of the Inter­ REFERENCES: A Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, Halstead nal Combustion Engine," Technology in Western Civilization, Press, 1974; Lynwood Bryant, "The Beginnings of the Inter­ volume I, Oxford University Press 1967; Encyclopaedia Bntan- nal Combustion Engine," Technology in Western Civilization, mca, volume 6, William Benton, 1966. volume 1, Oxford University Press, 1967; Encyclopaedia Bn- tanmca, volume 3, William Benton, 1966; Encyclopedia Ameri­ cana, volume 3, Americana Corporation, 1976. Karl Benz 1844-1929 Wilhelm Maybach Pioneering innovations in automotive engineering and 1846-1929 internal combustion engines Noted achievement in the design and manufacture of Karl Benz' invention of the motorcar in 1885 airship engines and improvements in the technology precipitated a movement in automobilism that of internal combustion engines had a direct influence on the growth of aviation. An experienced engineer with an intense interest William Maybach is best known in aero­ in developing a small, fast engine to power a road nautical circles for his engines used on the airships vehicle, Benz strongly advocated electric ignition manufactured by the Zeppelin Company at Fred- as the means to controlling fluctuating speeds erichshafen, Germany. He is less frequently cited and loads. Although Benz was unsuccessful in for his improvements in carburetion, fuel injec­ achieving this objective, he contributed much to tion, timing and gearing, which greatly influ­ the development of internal combustion engines enced the technology of automobile and aircraft and their use as automotive power plants. His engines. motorcar of 1885 created an immense interest in Born at Heilbronn, Wiirtemberg, Maybach ground transportation, which resulted in a reser­ was the son of a carpenter. When his father died, voir of trained mechanics who were later needed he was left in the care of an orphanage at age 10. in the service of aeronautics. A long lasting association with Gottlieb Daimler The son of a railway mechanic, Benz was born was formed when the two met while working for in Karlsuhe, Germany, on 25 November 1844. an engineering firm in Wiirtenberg. In 1869 he Showing an early aptitude for machines, he stud­ was employed as a draftsman by Daimler and ied mechanical engineering at Karlsruhe Lyzeum followed him to the firm of Otto and Langen in and Polytechnikum. After a short stint with in­ 1872. When Daimler left to form his own com­ dustry, he established a machine-tool shop in pany at Connstatt in 1882, Maybach again joined Mannheim in 1871. In 1877 he began design and him in making high-speed engines. It was while development of a two-stroke engine, which with Daimler that Maybach invented the carbur­ proved highly successful. When Nikolaus Otto's eter that made the automobile engine practical. four-cycle patent was invalidated in 1886, Benz In 1894 he became technical director of the firm. designed a four-cycle engine specifically for auto­ Maybach designed the first Mercedes car and motive use. His motorcar, which he drove around in 1907 left the Daimler company to set up a Mannheim later that year, had a gasoline engine, special factory at Friedrichshafen. Maybach's a water cooling system, a battery-buzzer ignition company manufactured the engines used by the system, and a differential gear. By 1900 his com­ Zeppelin Company. His engines were also used NUMBER 4 63 in Russian aircraft designed by Nikolai Laurent Seguin Polikarpov. 1883-1944 REFERENCES: A Biographical Dictionary of Scientists, Halstead Press, 1974; Lynwood Bryant, "The Beginnings of the Inter­ Louis Seguin nal Combustion Engine," Technology in Western Civilization, 1869-1918 volume 1, Oxford University Press, 1967. Development of the first successful mass-produced rotary engines Charles Matthew Manly

1876-1927 Responsible for the first engine to represent a complete departure from accepted automobile Design and development of a lightweight air-cooled practice, Laurent and Louis Seguin produced an radial engine specifically for aircraft engine of unrivaled low weight, a factor which made them a favorite of many aircraft designers. A talented mechanical engineer, Charles Mat­ Louis Seguin, the elder brother, was born at Saint thew Manly was born in Staunton, Virginia. Pierre-La-Pelaud, Rhone, France, and graduated After a year at the University of Missouri, he seventh in his class from the Ecole Centrale. In entered Cornell University as a sophomore. Upon 1895, Louis began manufacturing gasoline en­ recommendation of the Dean of Engineering, he gines, turning to automobile engines in 1900 un­ joined Langley to supervise construction of the der the spur of long-distance automobile racing. Aerodome and was graduated in absentia. Founding the Societe des Moteurs Gnome in Langley had originally contracted with Ste­ 1905, he located his plant at Genevilliers. Lau­ phen Marius Balzer, a New York City automobile rent, his half brother and a brilliant designer, builder, for a 12 hp rotary engine, but when abandoned his studies at the Ecole Centrale to technical difficulties delayed delivery it was de­ join Louis in his new endeavor. cided that Manly should join in the further de­ In 1907, amid the strongly awakening aviation velopment of the Balzer engine. After consulting activity in France, the two brothers decided to European builders, Manly abandoned the rotary build an aircraft engine—the 50 horsepower engine in favor of a stationary radial design; a Gnome rotary. The name "Gnome" was chosen choice which was quickly justified. Manly's en­ to convey the idea of an engine busily at work, gine weighed 135 lbs and developed 52 hp. This producing substantial power for its size. Choosing engine somewhat anticipated modern radial air­ a rotary arrangement because of the prospect of craft engines in its use of a master connecting rod, achieving minimum weight, Laurent, the true its cam and valve-gear arrangement, and its use inventor of the engine, also attempted to achieve of crankcase, cylinders, and parts machined to adequate cooling without the complication of a carefully controlled dimensions. water cooling system. Although full credit for the engine cannot be The skepticism surrounding the radical design attributed to Manly, it was his modification and quickly gave way to admiration when the engine development of Balzer's rotary engine as a sta­ proved capable of producing 50 horsepower at a tionary radial engine that proved of significance. surprisingly low weight of only 165 pounds. Fea­ turing a short, hollow, single-throw crankshaft, REFERENCES: Robert B. Meyer, Jr., editor, "Langley's which served as an inlet tube for a combustible Aero Engine of 1903," Smithsonian Annals of Flight, number 6 mixture of gasoline and air, the engine achieved (1971); C. Fayette Taylor, "Aircraft Propulsion: A Review even combustion, which made for smooth run­ of the Evolution of Aircraft Piston Engines," Smithsonian Annals of Flight, volume 1, number 4 (1971); Aerial Age Weekly, ning. Its main disadvantages were its relatively 21 October 1918. high consumption of fuel and castor oil, which 64 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE was used for a lubricant, and the gyroscopic departure from traditional engine construction effect, which reduced maneuverability. In spite of practice. When tested in 1915, the engine's superb these disadvantages many thousands of Gnome performance convinced the French government rotaries were built, especially during the early to officially adopt the Hispano-Suiza aero engine. years of World War I when they powered many The engine soon became so significant it was of the most famous aircraft of the war. By 1917 produced by fourteen firms in France alone. the Gnome engine had begun to yield to more Although a number of variants were produced, conventional designs and it was soon obsolete. dry liner cooling became more critical when the bore and stroke were increased in an attempt to REFERENCES: Lauren S. McCready, The Invention and De­ velopment of the Gnome Rotary Engine, Masters thesis, Polytech­ realize higher horsepower. A marked reduction in nic Institute of Brooklyn, June 1973; Tre Tryckare, The Lore reliability coupled with the postwar decline in of Flight, Cagner and Co., 1970; C. Fayette Tayler, "Aircraft development eventually resulted in its abandon­ Propulsion: A Review of the Evolution of Aircraft Piston ment. Engines," Smithsonian Annals of Flight, volume 1, number 4 (1971). REFERENCES: Thomas G. Foxworth, The Speed Seekers, Doubleday; C. Fayette Taylor, "Aircraft Propulsion: A Re­ Marc Birkigt view of the Evolution of Aircraft Piston Engines," Smithsonian Annals of Flight, volume 1, number 4 (1971). 1878-1952

Notable achievements in developing the technology Sam D. Heron of light-weight liquid-cooled engines 1891-1963 Marc Birkigt's cast aluminum Hispano-Suiza V-8 engine is often regarded as the most outstand­ Significant achievements in developing the technology ing aircraft engine of World War I. The Geneva- which made high-power piston engines practical born Birkigt was educated at the Ecole Techni- cum and began his engineering career as a de­ Sam D. Heron's monumental contributions to signer of mining machinery. Relocating in Spain the development of high-powered piston engines, he turned to design of luxury automobiles, which as well as aircraft fuels and lubricants, were were produced at his Hispano-Suiza factory in largely responsible for the rate at which manned Barcelona. By 1913, Birkigt's fine automobiles flight developed in the period prior to jets. The had established themselves among the leading son of an actor, Heron was born in Newcastle-on- luxury cars of the period. His second Hispano- Tyne, England, on 18 May 1891. His mother died Suiza plant had been opened in Paris to produce during his infancy and his education was dis­ beautiful "enbloc" form engines, in which the persed among Alleyns School, London University cylinders were bored from a single cast iron block. night school, and Durham University night With the outbreak of World War I, Birkigt school; he did not, however, obtain a degree. turned over his Paris factory to the French Gnome While attending night school he completed his company. Birkigt returned to Barcelona where, apprenticeship as a mechanic and foundryman at in 1914, he conceived the "Monobloc" aero en­ Thames Ironworks Shipbuilding and Engineering gine, an ingenious engine fashioned from cast Company. aluminum and fitted with forged steel cylinder Known for his independent nature, Heron ex­ liners. The cooling water was channeled through perienced frequent changes in employment. Dur­ ports in the block, positioned so that the cooling ing the period he worked at Rolls-Royce, Napier, water never touched the steel cylinder liners di­ and Siddeley aircraft engine companies. While at rectly. The type of construction that became Farnborough during World War I, he was in­ known by the term "dry liner" represented a bold volved in the design and development of the first NUMBER 4 65 successful aluminum air-cooled cylinders at the ated from Yale in 1905 with a Bachelor of Arts Royal Aircraft Factory. degree. He also earned a Diplome Ecole des In 1921 he brought his extensive knowledge of Beaux Arts after studying architecture in Paris air-cooled engine design and construction prac­ for three years. While in Paris he began devel­ tice to the United States, where he was employed opment of a water-cooled aircraft engine with at McCook Field, Ohio. His association with the aluminum cylinders. With the outbreak of war, military (1921-1926 and 1928-1933) greatly con­ he returned to the United States to continue work tributed to the rapid development of the air- on the engine. cooled aircraft engine. During 1926 and 1927 he In 1915 Lawrance and four associates formed was involved in development of the Wright the Shinnecock Airplane Company with the in­ Whirlwind engine while employed by the Wright Aeronautical Corporation. Although perhaps best tent of developing a light private plane powered known for his work on the sodium-cooled valve, by a two-cylinder air-cooled engine designed by which solved a major problem in engine endur­ Lawrance. A 1917 decision to separate the com­ ance, Heron was an acknowledged authority on pany's air frame activities from its engine activi­ metallurgy and heat treating, application of hard- ties led to founding of the Lawrance Aero-Engine facing materials to exhaust valves, valve seat Corporation. Discussions between Lawrance and inserts, valve cooling, cylinder design, and engine both the Army and Navy were begun in 1919 lubricants and fuels. He was responsible for prep­ and resulted in production of the nine-cylinder aration of the first specifications for gasoline that J-l engine. This engine proved quite popular and included octane number and a champion of 100 its success proved decisive in establishing the air- octane fuel for aircraft use. cooled engine in the United States. In 1934 he was appointed director of aero­ In 1923 the Lawrance Aero-Engine Corpora­ nautical research at the Ethyl Corporation. Ex­ tion was purchased by Wright Aeronautical un­ cept for a leave of absence to the U.S. Govern­ der pressure from the Navy, which encouraged ment in 1940, he remained in this position until development of the air-cooled engine. In 1924 the his retirement in 1946. model J-4 was brought out and given the name by which it has been popularly known ever since: REFERENCES: S. D. Heron, History of the Aircraft Piston Engine, Ethyl Corporation, 1961; C. Fayette Taylor, "Air­ the Whirlwind. craft Propulsion: A Review of the Evolution of Aircraft Lawrance was president of the Wright Aero­ Piston Engines," Smithsonian Annals of Flight, volume 1, num­ nautical Corporation from 1924 to 1929 when he ber 4 (1971); Robert Schlaifer and S. D. Heron, Development became vice-president of the Curtiss-Wright Cor­ of Aircraft Engines and Fuels, Harvard University Press, 1950. poration. In 1930 he organized and headed the Lawrance Engineering and Research Corpora­ Charles Lanier Lawrance tion in Linden, New Jersey. 1882-1950 Lawrance's name was closely associated with Charles Lindbergh, Richard Byrd, Clarence Engineering contributions in support of air-cooled, Chamberlin, Amelia Earhart, and others who radial engine development depended on his engines in their record setting flights. Charles Lanier Lawrance's air-cooled radial engines proved so reliable, they were chosen by REFERENCES: Robert Schlaifer and S. D. Heron, Develop­ pioneer fliers for use on transoceanic flights. They ment of Aircraft Engines and Fuels, Harvard University Press, also were used to establish records of national and 1950; C. Fayette Taylor, "Aircraft Propulsion: A Review of international interest. Born in Lenox, Massachu­ the Evolution of Aircraft Piston Engines," Smithsonian Annals setts, he attended Groton School and was gradu­ of Flight, volume 1, number 4 (1971). 66 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Frank W. Caldwell REFERENCES: R. Miller and D. Sawers, The Technical Development of Modern Aviation, Praeger Publishers, Inc. 1970; 1889-1974 C. Fayette Taylor, "Aircraft Propulsion: A Review of the Evolution of Aircraft Piston Engines," Smithsonian Annals of Increasing aircraft performance through development Flight, volume 1, number 4 (1971). of controllable and constant speed propellers Sanford Moss Born at Lookout Mountain, Tennessee, Frank Caldwell studied at the University of Virginia for 1872-1949 a year before attending the Massachusetts Insti­ Development of the turbo-supercharger tute of Technology where he earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. Employed To operate an internal combustion engine ef­ as a process engineer with the Cahill Iron Works ficiently at altitude it is necessary to provide in Chattanooga, he left, in 1916, to join the sufficient air to keep the fuel-air mixture in the Propeller Department of Curtiss Aeroplane Com­ correct proportion. Sanford Moss, the man re­ pany in Buffalo. Caldwell was well aware of the sponsible for this idea, had the tenacity to pursue aerodynamic advantages of the variable pitch his conviction when others said it couldn't be propeller and was in charge of propeller devel­ done. Born in San Francisco and educated in opment for the Army when the Hart-Eustis me­ mechanical engineering at the University of Cal­ chanically actuated design was tested. His expe­ ifornia, Moss earned his doctorate at Cornell rience with the Hart-Eustis design convinced University in 1903. While studying at Cornell, he Caldwell that mechanical control would not became intensely interested in the gas turbine work. and conducted hundreds of experiments. Upon Choosing to make development of the variable graduation he joined the General Electric Com­ pitch propeller a private venture, Caldwell left pany as a research engineer and continued to Government service to develop his ideas for hy­ pursue his idea. draulic control of pitch. Although he did not When the First World War started, Moss was make a complete variable pitch propeller at the one of the top authorities on the subject of gas time he filed for patents, he had built and tested turbines. As the need for aircraft to perform at propellers with his basic hub design. After filing altitude became pressing, the Government asked his patents, Caldwell joined the Stand Steel Pro­ Moss to investigate the problem of superchargers peller Company, which later became the Hamil­ for airplanes. Working tirelessly, he constructed ton-Standard Division of United Aircraft. He a wooden model that showed clearly the princi­ built the first propeller in 1929-30 and tested it ples he had in mind. Moss took the model to on a 150 horsepower engine. Caldwell had in­ McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, the engineering tended to make his propeller fully automatic so and research center of the Air Service, where it that the pilot need only control engine speed, but was enthusiastically received. Moss worked long the urgent need for variable pitch control caused and hard until he had the first turbo-supercharger him to adopt a simpler two-position control for completed. He returned with it to McCook Field take-off and landing. By the end of 1932, Cald­ and obtained permission to conduct official tests. well's propellers had been built and flown suc­ The initial tests with a working turbo-superchar­ cessfully. The improvement in performance of the ger mounted on a Liberty engine were conducted Boeing 247 convinced designers of the advantages early in September 1918 at an altitude of 14,109 of pitch control. feet (4200 m) on Pikes Peak. The tests proved In 1935 Caldwell received the Sylvanus Albert conclusively that Moss' invention was a success Reed Award for his work with variable pitch and but it was too late to be used in the war. constant speed propellers. Almost shelved by the postwar doldrums in NUMBER 4 67 aeronautics, interest in the turbo-supercharger Borrowing funds, he had an experimental en­ was kept alive by the flight test section of the Air gine built, but it was badly damaged during tests. Corps. Due to interest by this group, Moss was Modifying the engine to incorporate multiple able to continue his research. The first flight test combustion chambers, he finally realized the de­ of a supercharged engine was made by Major sign speed of 1600 rpm. With support from the R. W. Schroeder who attained a world's altitude British Air Ministry, arrangements were made for record of 38,180 feet in a Le Pere biplane him to continue work on his engine. He started equipped with a turbo-supercharged Liberty en­ to work on an improved form with two units gine. Although interest waned in spite of a num­ designated the W-l and the W-l-X being built. ber of record setting flights, Moss continued to At the same time Gloster Aircraft Company un­ progressively refine his invention. The turbo- dertook design and construction of an airframe. supercharger did not gain full acceptance until The W-l-X was used for the test installation in March 1939 when tests on a Boeing B-17 proved May 1941, but it was subsequently replaced with its full value. the W-l for a complete series of tests. Sanford Moss was awarded the Collier Trophy The W-l-X was later sent to the United States in 1940 for his work in developing the turbo- to become the basis for American development of supercharger. the turbojet. Whittle came to the United States during 1942 to assist General Electric in devel­ REFERENCE: D.J. Ingalls, They Tamed the Sky, D. Appleton- Century Company, Inc., 1947. opment and production of his engine. He has been intimately associated with further improve­ ments in jet engines and aircraft and has received Sir Frank Whittle many well-deserved honors, including knight­ 1907- hood, for his efforts. Invention of the turbojet engine REFERENCES: Grover Heiman, Jet Pioneer, Duell, Sloan, and Pearce, 1963; Robert Schlaifer and S. D. Heron, Devel­ One of the earliest and foremost developers of opment of Aircraft Engines and Fuels, Harvard University Press, turbojet engines, Frank Whittle was a career of­ 1950; The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim Board of ficer in the Royal Air Force and a gifted mechan­ Award, 1964. ical engineer. A brilliant student, he was born in Coventry, England, and entered Leamington Hans von Ohain College at the age of eleven. He became an 1911- apprentice in the Royal Air Force at sixteen. Upon completion of his three-year apprentice­ Invention of the centrifugal flow turbojet engine ship, he became a cadet at the Royal Air Force College, which combined flight training with em­ Born in Dessau, Germany, Hans von Ohain phasis on scientific and engineering subjects. In had a compelling interest in science, and, much his senior thesis, he discussed the possibilities of to his father's disappointment, complete lack of gas turbines and rockets as powerplants for air­ interest in a military career. Resigned to this fact, craft. Graduating second in his class in 1928, he his father sent him to the University of Gottingen was posted with a fighter squadron stationed at where he studied physics. A brilliant student and Hornsby. In January of 1930 Whittle filed for his diligent worker, von Ohain completed the normal patent. Whittle completed the two-year engineer­ seven years of study in four, earning his doctorate ing course at the Officers Engineering School in in 1934. Intensely interested in developing the eighteen months and was sent to Cambridge for idea of jet propulsion for use on high-speed air­ advanced study. He earned his Bachelor of Sci­ craft, he had already submitted for a patent when ence from Cambridge in 1936. his professor recommended him to Ernst Heinkel 68 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE who owned the Heinkel Flugzeugwerke GmbH Although Lorin's engine, which represents an in Rostow. Given complete freedom to develop early form of the ramjet, was out of the main his engine, von Ohain produced a test engine to stream of contemporary aeronautics and was not demonstrate the fundamental soundness of the practical at the speeds attainable at the time, it principles involved. was to influence later generations of designers. Continuing to work on his designs, he produced His proposed design suggested use of two engines a vastly improved engine with liquid fuel injec­ mounted on either side of the fuselage. It also tion, obtaining some eleven hundred pounds of featured a hinged mount to permit directional thrust in 1939. Heinkel, elated with the perform­ control of the jets for vertical takeoff and transi­ ance of the engine, laid immediate plans to build tion to horizontal flight. He later developed his a stronger engine for flight test and mate it to a idea into a ramjet powered flying bomb but failed specially designed airplane. He put construction to gain support from the French military author­ of the He 178 on a crash basis and von Ohain ities. and his team rushed the flight engine to comple­ Lorin's engine concept was later adapted by tion. The engine was installed in the He 178 and Rene-Henri Leduc, who used a Lorin-type engine the world's first turbojet powered flight was made on the Leduc 0.10, and the Leduc 0.21 and 0.22. by this combination on 27 August 1939. The first of these vehicles, the 0.10, was launched Von Ohain then abandoned the centrifugal from a carrier over Toulouse in April 1949, six­ compressor concept for an axial compressor con­ teen years after Lorin's death. Although unortho­ cept. It was this axial compressor engine, to which dox in appearance it was highly successful, at­ von Ohain contributed greatly, that powered the taining a speed of 422 mph on half power. It later first operational jet fighter, the twin engine Me reached 500 mph on half power at an altitude of 262 fighter. 36,100 feet (10,800 m). Development of the Leduc vehicles ceased in REFERENCES: Grover Heiman, Jet Pioneers, Duell, Sloan, and Pearch, 1963; Robert Schlaifer and S. D. Heron, Devel­ 1957 when official support was withdrawn, but opment of Aircraft Engines and Fuels, Harvard University Press, their performance substantiated Lorin's early 1950. concept.

REFERENCES: Anonymous, "Rene Lorin," L'Aerophile, Rene Lorin March 1933; Charles Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; M. Taylor and J. Taylor, 1877-1933 Janes Pocketbook of Research and Experimental Aircraft, Collier Books, 1976. Early development of the ramjet

Descended from French nobility, Rene Lorin Alan Arnold Griffith was born in Paris on 24 May 1877. He studied at 1893-1963 the Lycee Henri IV and graduated from L'Ecole Centrale in 1901. Lorin entered the French army Significant achievements in aircraft propulsion systems as an artillery officer. In 1907, he published his and VTOL aircraft first article on direct reaction propulsion in Generally regarded as quiet and reserved, Alan L'Aerophile. This article was followed by others Arnold Griffith was an acknowledged authority which continued until the start of World War I. on gas turbine engines. Born in London, England, During the war he specialized in transportation he attended the University of Liverpool, gradu­ as officer in command of a mechanized courier ating in 1915. Upon graduation Griffith joined service. the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough and NUMBER 4 69 later transferred to the physics department at the development of an athoyd or ramjet powerplant university, where he worked with the noted ex­ for aircraft, Rene-Henri Leduc was born at Saint perimentalist Geoffrey I. Taylor on solution of Germain-les-Corbeil, France. He began his career torsion problems by use of the soap film analogy. as an apprentice in a garage in Corbeil and later While at the university he developed the Griffith became an official with the Factories and Foun­ theory of crack propagation, which is a basis for dries of Chantemarle in Essones. Serving with the modern work in fracture mechanics. army when France entered World War I, Leduc In 1926, he delivered a classic paper entitled was sent to a school at Fontainebleau, where he "An Aerodynamic Theory of Turbine Design," in which he proposed a gas turbine engine based on graduated first in his class. Discharged in 1920, an axial-type of compressor. The axial-type jet he continued his studies at the Ecole Superieure propulsion engine later replaced the simpler cen­ d'Electricite. After a short period with a cellulose trifugal compressor engine developed in 1928. factory in Tirol, Leduc joined the Breguet Com­ In 1939 Griffith joined Rolls-Royce Ltd. as pany in 1924. chief scientist and promptly started work on While with the Breguet Company, Leduc be­ multistage axial compressors and turbines com­ came involved with development of ramjet en­ bined on the contraflow principle. Griffith contin­ gines and in 1934 built one for test purposes. In ued his studies of contraflow applications until 1936 he designed an aircraft to use his engines. 1945, when he began to develop the principles Assigned a staff of designers, he began develop­ underlying the Rolls-Royce Avon engine. He ment of the Leduc 0.10. Interrupted by World later proposed use of the bypass principle, which War II and the occupation, during which the resulted in the Conway engine. In 1941 he ad­ dressed the problem of vertical take-off, which vehicle was disassembled and hidden, Leduc materialized in the Rolls-Royce Flying Bedstead. abandoned developmental work until after the Following the success of the Bedstead tests, Rolls- war. He then resumed work on the 0.10. The first Royce began design of their first lightweight lift powered flight of the Leduc 0.10 was made on 21 engine, which was designated "RB108." Several April 1949 at Toulouse, France. Air-launched were installed in Short SCI aircraft, which be­ from a Languedoc-161 carrier aircraft, the Leduc came the first VTOL aircraft to employ Griffith's flew for 12 minutes and reached a speed of 450 lift and control ideas. The Short aircraft were mph on only half power. successfully demonstrated in 1960, just prior to Leduc continued development of ramjet pow­ Griffith's retirement. ered aircraft producing the Leduc 0.1 and 0.22. REFERENCES: Donald Eyre, "Dr. A. A. Griffith, CBE, The 0.2 l's proved completely successful and were FRS," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, June 1966; used to flight-test components for the 0.22 Mach Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers, 1968. 2 interceptor. When official support of the aircraft was withdrawn in 1957 due to insufficient funds, Rene-Henri Leduc further development work was abandoned.

1898-1968 REFERENCES: Enciclopedia De Aviation y Astronautica, Edi- cions Garriga, volume 5, 1972; M. Taylor and J. Taylor, Development and application of the ramjet Janes Pocket Book of Research and Experimental Aircraft, Collier Destined to devote a major part of his career to Books, 1976.

Flight Structures

Today's popular image of an airplane is that cantilever wings and, except for some vehicles in of a low-wing monoplane with internally braced the private sector, all-metal, flush riveted con- 70 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE struction. The configuration and characteristics of the great problems of aeronautical engineering embodied in this image are now so casually ac­ became that of selecting the best materials and cepted, few people realize their emergence as the determining the best way to use them. structural standards of aeronautics required some It is doubtful if an awareness of the way in 40 years of intense development. During much of which weight and strength enter into the airframe this period, structural design was based more on design process would have made much difference intuition and empirical rules than sound princi­ to those who pioneered flight. Would-be flying ples for efficient use of materials. As aviation machine builders regarded the structure as a progressed beyond the realm of the individual minor problem, easily solved with available ma­ pioneer inventor and attracted the attention of terials and trial-and-error procedures. Of the con­ trained engineers, the companion sciences of elas­ ventional materials available for construction of tic theory, strength of materials, and structural bridges and other stationary structures, only steel mechanics were extended to encompass the prob­ and select varieties of timber were considered lems of flight structures. The guidance derived suitable for flight. Familiarity with wood made it from this body of theory resulted in impressive the natural choice of pioneer inventors, since it improvements in performance and established was readily available and inexpensive, required the subject of airframe structures as a recognized few specialized tools and could be easily worked engineering specialty. by those with limited construction skills. Wooden trusses joined together to form a Materials, Structures, and Design framework were considered to provide the easiest and most satisfactory solution to the structural Pioneer flight enthusiasts were often gifted am­ problems of early aircraft. This form of construc­ ateurs and sportsmen more enamored of engines tion permitted a stiff, lightweight structure to be than the supporting structure, about which they fabricated from simple two force members that knew little. From the beginning, they were con­ could be easily replaced if damaged. Reliable scious of the need for a lightweight structure, but methods for analysis and design of beams and very few of them had the theoretical preparation trusses had been available for decades (Timos­ to understand the problem of airframe design. chenko, 1953:190-197), but most experimenters The problem is one of strength in relation to neglected theory in favor of intuition. In a brief weight. In this problem, the object is to reduce description of early design procedure, Arthur W. weight, not increase strength. For a given aircraft, Judge, an associate fellow of The Aeronautical strength enters the problem as a value fixed by Society wrote: "In the earlier type of aeroplane consideration of the most critical load the vehicle body it was the usual practice to obtain the sizes is likely to experience. Once fixed, the value of of the different members by trial and error meth­ strength must be maintained if a safe structure is ods, or to make chance shots at the dimensions, to result. and to trust to luck whether the resulting body Weight enters the problem in a more influen­ has any margin of safety or not" (Judge, 1917: tial way. A structure is usually regarded as an 156). assemblage of solid components arranged to sus­ With such a haphazard approach, it is not tain load and provide shape. Its weight depends surprising that early aircraft experienced a high on only two factors: the material of construction incidence of accidents due to structural causes. and the way in which the material is disposed. Around 1911, a number of writers, including Consequently, while airframe design entails ma­ Claude Graham-White, 1910 winner of the Gor­ terial selection, the primary concern of the de­ don-Bennett International Aviation Cup, began signer is to determine the disposition of material to publish testimony and descriptive analyses re­ that results in the structure of least weight. One sulting from aircraft accident investigations (Gra- NUMBER 4 71 ham-White and Harper, 1911:104). The evidence the true factor of safety is the ratio of the breaking clearly identified structural failure as the princi­ strength of the structure to the worst load it is pal contributor to early flight accidents. A later ever likely to sustain. If, for instance, experience note on aircraft fatalities and their causes that indicates that the worst winter storms in a given appeared in the July 1911 issue of The Aeronautical area leave a maximum of 10 pounds of snow on Journal (Anonymous, 1911:125) listed the fatalities every square foot of roof, then the strength of all that had occurred during the first six months of members that support the roof may be calculated the year. The preface to the note begins: "At the as though the load was 50 pounds per square foot moment of writing thirty fatal accidents have instead of 10. The true factor of safety will then occurred this year, causing death to thirty pilots be 5 (Warner, 1923:1-6). and four passengers. In every case, except one By 1911, it had become apparent that aircraft where reliable news is available, the accident has structural design was a matter requiring the care­ been due to one of three causes, inexperience, ful attention of competent engineers. To offset recklessness or faulty construction of the ma­ the absence of collected data and design methods, chine." a number of engineers simply recommended us­ After citing the unfortunate circumstances of ing a factor of safety (actually a load factor) of 15 the exception, the preface to the note continues: (Judge, 1917:56). Others, like Louis Bechereau, "Faulty construction is the most fertile source of a gifted French-educated engineer, sought im­ accidents, and always will be until constructors proved structural behavior by less conventional put first-class engineering knowledge into their means. In late 1911, Bechereau adopted the ideas work. An airplane, to use a well-known advertis­ of the Swedish engineer Ruchonnet and produced ing phrase, must be built like a gun: it must be the first of the Deperdussin racing monoplanes. the best work designed by competent engineers Bechereau's Deperdussin was a beautifully to ample factors of safety" (Anonymous, 1911: streamlined, externally braced, mid-wing mono­ 125). plane, with a monocoque fuselage of molded At the time this anonymously written note plywood. In contrast with contemporary aircraft appeared, airframe constructors believed they structures, which used the skin merely as a cov­ were already designing to a "factor of safety" of ering and relied on trusses and frames to carry 6; a value that exceeds the standard for many the primary loads, monocoque construction de­ buildings. Unfortunately, this mistaken impres­ rived its strength solely from the load-carrying sion resulted from a misunderstanding of the term capacity of the skin. Effectively a precursor of "factor of safety" that was not corrected until stressed-skin construction, introduction of mono­ around 1920. The confusion with such a funda­ coque, and later semi-monocoque, construction mental concept can be attributed to the fact that marks a milestone in the evolution of light struc­ the term had acquired a significance in aero­ tures. Its use on the Deperdussin brilliantly fore­ nautics that changed its conventional meaning. cast a future trend toward extensive use of shell Loads on an airplane were inexactly known, so structure in aeronautics. amateur builders somewhat arbitrarily took the Although Bechereau's handsome racers were "factor of safety" to be the ratio of the breaking highly successful, monocoque construction was strength of the structure to the load it sustains not extensively adopted. The main reason was under steady, horizontal flight in still air (more that the Deperdussin's fuselage was made from correctly called, "load factor"). This is quite dif­ three layers of tulip wood reinforced with inter­ ferent from the correct engineering definition and mediate layers of fabric—an approach which can be misleading. proved to be expensive and difficult to fabricate As an expression familiar to every engineer without highly skilled workmen. Since most air­ responsible for design of a stationary structure, craft of the period were built on what, at best, 72 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE can be described as a limited production basis, the iron structure as impractically heavy. Un­ contemporary designers continued to rely on con­ daunted, Junkers continued to champion the ventional truss and frame construction. cause of metal construction and, in 1917, pro­ By the beginning of the "war to end all wars," duced both the J.2 and the remarkable J.4, an European engineers were considering replacing all-metal armored ground attack aircraft. He then wooden truss members with tubular steel mem­ produced the first low-wing cantilever monoplane bers; but uncertainties with weld integrity and fighters. Charles Gibbs-Smith, the distinguished distortion due to heat shrinkage caused them to aviation historian commented (1970:178) on the question the air-worthiness of welded structure. significance of this approach:

With few exceptions, wood remained the princi­ One of Junker's main reasons for adopting the low wing pal material of construction throughout the war, position was to minimize injury to the crew in a crash, as the chiefly because the demand was immediate and wings would be the first to hit the ground and thus absorb there was little sympathy for introducing un- a large part of the initial shock. When retractable landing proven innovations that might seriously disrupt gear became practicable, the low position was to prove ideal production. in its allowance of short, and hence light, under carriages. Positive steps toward extensive use of metal Although Junker's advanced thinking was to construction first occurred in Germany when exert a lasting influence on later aircraft struc­ Hugo Junkers boldly challenged the unques­ tures, it was not immediately appreciated by his tioned merit of thin wing forms and introduced contemporaries, who preferred to remain with the the J.l in 1915. Motivated by interest in reducing fabric-covered biplane and who tended to substi­ drag, Junkers' J.l was an all-metal, mid-wing tute tubular steel members for wooden ones. This monoplane with thick internally braced cantile­ comparatively reticent approach was adopted by ver wings. The aircraft, which was capable of Reinhold Platz, who had joined Anthony Fok- speeds in excess of 100 mph, had a smooth iron ker's company as a welder, but later designed the skin stiffened by a second layer of corrugated historic Fokker D-VII fighter, which saw exten­ sheet metal welded to its inner side (Junkers, sive service during World War I. Platz success­ 1923:406). fully developed the technique for welding steel Keenly aware of the structural implications of tubing and pioneered construction of fabric-cov­ his innovations, Junkers extensively tested each ered welded tube structure when he used it for new idea in the laboratory before committing it the fuselage of the D-VII in order to decrease to fabrication. Tests on various wing arrange­ production time. Recognized as the finest all- ments led him (Junkers 1923:428) to conclude round fighter of the war, Platz designed the D- that "the theoretically best design appeared to be VII with thick section, semi-cantilever wings. The the system of the so-called supporting cover, that wings were unique in that they were built with is, all tensile, compressive and shear forces are wooden box spars and plywood ribs arranged to taken up by the wing cover." The importance of divide the wing into a series of cells, each capable Junker's work lay in the skillful way in which he of resisting torsion (Weyl, 1965:214). combined the ingredients of thick cantilever The trend toward increased use of metal in wings with metal stressed skin construction to aircraft construction did not begin with a con­ achieve superior structural behavior. Some fifteen scious effort to take advantage of the superior years were required before these ideas emerged as structural properties of metals. Commenting on the standards of aircraft structures. the future of metal construction John D. North Unfortunately, German authorities were skep­ (1923:3), a noted British authority of the time, tical of such a radical departure from the more wrote: traditional wood and fabric biplanes and, ignor­ Of the three separate metal aeroplane movements in ing the J.l's respectable performance, criticized Great Britain, Germany and France, that in this country, at NUMBER 4 73

least, received its principal impulse, not from a realization of form of stressed-skin construction on production the great engineering advantages attending it, but from the aircraft. Rohrbach had worked with Claudius pressure of a world shortage of the limited supplies of that class of timber most suitable for light structural purposes. Dornier on flying-boat design during the war and, in 1919, started building smooth-skin du­ North is quite likely referring to the situation ralumin wing surfaces. The basis for Rohrbach's that occurred during the latter part of the war, wing design was a central box-section girder of when a shortage of aircraft quality timber seri­ thick duralumin sheet stiffened by fore and aft ously threatened to disrupt British aircraft pro­ bulkheads (Miller and Sawers, 1970:56), which duction. Brought on by Britain's need to rely on allowed the wing skins to carry a substantial part imported supplies of aircraft timber, one would of the primary load. Regarding failure to corre­ expect to find a strong interest on the part of spond with the onset of buckling, the wing and British engineers in promoting metal construc­ spars were designed to remain unbuckled under tion. Surprisingly, such a movement failed to the anticipated loads. This practice certainly re­ materialize during the period of aeronautical flected contemporary thinking, for little was stagnation, which beset Britain in the immediate known about the behavior of thin sheet structure postwar years. For some unexplained reason, Brit­ in the early twenties. ish engineers ignored the progress in metal con­ In 1925, Herbert Wagner made the important struction being made by their counterparts on the discovery that a structure of mutually perpendic­ continent and in the United States, and adopted ular members covered with a thin skin did not a strangely conservative and unprogressive ap­ fail if the skin buckled (Hoff, 1967:28). Wagner, proach. In 1924, as England moved to revitalize who made the discovery while working for Rohr­ procurement of military aircraft, the Air Ministry bach, had become dissatisfied with a fuselage conservatively ruled that all vital parts of future structure Rohrbach had designed and felt the service aircraft were to be made of metal. Disap­ spacing of the frames that supported the skin pointingly short of a positive decision, which should be changed to permit the skin to carry the might have promoted development of all-metal greatest possible stress. Theoretical considerations aircraft designed to take advantage of the supe­ prompted him to conclude that maximum stress rior weight/strength properties of metals, the rul­ occurred at an angle with the frame axes and ing did little more than foster continuation of would cause the skin to buckle into diagonal folds fabric-covered biplanes with high alloy steel without failing. When laboratory tests confirmed frames (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:182). the superior load carrying capabilities of panels While progress toward efficient use of metals designed according to Wagner's method, Rohr­ stagnated in England, German engineers contin­ bach decided to use the method in his subsequent ued to force the issue. Junkers had retained his fuselage designs. belief in the advantages of all-metal construction, Wagner patented his discovery, but it remained but had abandoned the "supporting cover" con­ largely unknown until he left Rohrbach and pub­ cept in favor of wing and fuselage skins of corru­ lished his views on structural design in 1929. At gated duralumin. To avoid introducing an un­ first, structural authorities in both Great Britain acceptable amount of drag, Junkers oriented the and the United States were skeptical of Wagner's corrugations parallel to the wind direction, which tension field theory, but it was finally accepted in greatly increased chordwise bending rigidity but the early 1930's and used in the design of many reduced the amount of load that could be carried metal aircraft. by the skins in the span wise direction. In the United States, engineers with the NACA Other German designers soon followed closely monitored European progress in metal Junker's lead. The most notable was probably aircraft construction but refrained from structural Adolf Rohrbach, who introduced an efficient activities that could alienate industry and jeop- 74 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE ardize their advisory position. A small group were agreement with experimental evidence, American engaged in limited in-house studies of a predom­ industry greatly improved its ability to design inantly theoretical or analytical nature (Gray, efficient lightweight structures. Their success 1948:180). Since the NACA had no facilities for with stressed-skin semi-monocoque construction testing structural components, the activities of the proved to be an important factor in the develop­ group were supplemented with experimental in­ ment of commercial aircraft, through which vestigations conducted at the National Bureau of America gained a position of world leadership in Standards in Washington, D.C. An attitude of air transportation in the mid-thirties. complete cooperation among the NACA, the Bu­ Civil aviation in continental Europe, while ad­ reau of Standards, and the military had existed venturous in expansion of its route structure, since the NACA was first founded in 1915. It was continued to use the tri-motor monoplanes pro­ in this cooperative spirit that Louis Schuman and duced by Fokker and Junkers, rather than press Goldie Back (Schuman and Back, 1930:519) of for development of updated equipment. England the Bureau of Standards undertook a series of was similarly complacent with regard to aero­ tests to determine the strength of rectangular nautical progress. Adopting an overly conserva­ plates under edge compression for the Bureau of tive design posture, F. Handley Page retained the Aeronautics of the Navy Department. Shuman biplane tradition by producing the H.P. 42 and and Back reported on the unexpected behavior 45 in 1931. In the following year, Armstrong of the plates which, unlike columns, continued to Whitworth produced the Atalanta, a 4-engine take load beyond the critical value needed to high-wing monoplane designed specifically to cause buckling. Their report was published by meet the needs of Imperial Airways African and the NACA in 1930 and widely disseminated Far Eastern routes (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:197). As (Hoff, 1967:29). the work horses of European air transportation, The following year, Ernest E. Sechler, a grad­ these aircraft types certainly must be considered uate student at California Institute of Technol­ operational successes, but they contributed little ogy, discussed Shuman and Back's research at a to the technical development of aeronautics. seminar attended by Theodore von Karman, di­ Commercial aircraft under development in rector of the Guggenheim Aeronautical Labora­ America during this period, differed substantially tory at Cal Tech (Hoff, 1967:28). Although von from their European counterparts. Combining Karman's major interest was aerodynamics, he the most advanced aerodynamic, propulsive, and was a superb analyst and had published several structural technology available, American vehi­ papers on solid mechanics while at the University cles were twin-engined, low-wing monoplanes of Aachen. Sechler's talk struck a responsive with flush riveted aluminum construction and chord as von Karman noted a striking similarity supercharged air-cooled radial engines. Equipped with a well-known concept he had analyzed in with retractable landing gear, flaps and compar­ 1924 and published under the title "Die mittra- atively sophisticated flight instruments, they genda Breite" (effective width) (von Karman, opened the way for all-weather operations and 1924:114). Shortly following Sechler's talk, von completely revolutionized the approach to civil Karman produced an approximate expression for air transportation (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:200). determining the ultimate load-carrying capacity Boeing's 247, which first flew in February 1933, of simply supported, edge loaded plates. Al­ was instrumental in setting the design standards though the expression cannot be justified with used to mark the modern airliner of the thirties. rigorous theory, it was a key element in establish­ A derivative of the earlier single-engine Mono- ing that thin-sheet structure could safely carry mail, by way of the B-9 bomber, the 247 was load even after buckling. Accepting von Kar- closely followed by the DC-1, a one-of-a-kind man's convenient formula on the basis of its aircraft which first flew in July 1933. Recognizing NUMBER 4 75 an opportunity to capture a share of the world ones known as the He 111 and Ju 86, also ap­ market, Douglas measured the DC-l's promise peared in 1936 (Gibbs-Smith, 1970:203). and immediately placed in production a stretch Like their American counterparts, many of version, known as the DC-2, which spawned the these aircraft had aluminum stressed-skin shell well-known DC-3 of 1935. A landmark aircraft structures made from intricate assemblies of skin, with an enviable service record, the DC-3 is rec­ ribs, spars, and stringers, further complicated by ognized by authorities as the most famous and the practical necessities for cut-outs and access successful airliner in history (Gibbs-Smith, 1970: holes. Such structures, of course, are not amen­ 201). able to precise solution since the usual methods European industry, shocked from complacency of stress analysis are based on certain mathemat­ by the comparative sophistication of American ical idealizations, which are not directly applica­ aircraft, began to develop similar vehicles in a ble to practical situations. Although proper inter­ determined effort to remain competitive. Using pretation of results obtained from idealized anal­ structural information gleaned from American yses can provide guidance in resolving important practical problems, structural engineers were of­ practice, British and German designers proved ten unable to calculate structural behavior to the equal to the task. A British derivative of the 247, required levels of accuracy. In recognition of this the Bristol 142, first flew in 1935, the same year fact, engineers would design and build major in which Germany's versions appeared in the structural components, such as a wing or fuselage, form of the Junkers Ju 86 and the Heinkel He with guidance from the best calculations they 111. Retired without much commercial success could perform. The component was then tested by the overwhelming competition of the DC-3, and, if necessary, redesigned in accordance with these aircraft later emerged as highly respected test results. Satisfactory structures were developed military vehicles. Heinkel's He 111, which saw no by repeating this design/testing sequence, but it commercial service, was soon modified into a was a costly and time consuming operation (Gray, bomber, while the 142 became the prototype for 1948:179-204). the Bristol Blenheim. The Ju 86 survived to serve In 1936, Paul Kuhn, an engineer with the both commercial and military functions (Gibbs- NACA at Langley Field, became interested in the Smith, 1970:201). way in which deformation affected the distribu­ Political events following Adolf Hitler's ap­ tion of stresses in a stringer-stiffened box beam. pointment as Chancellor of Germany on 30 Jan­ Kuhn noted that the stresses in the skin were uary 1933 completely changed the nature of Eu­ highest at the spars and became progressively less rope's aeronautical interests. Temporarily aban­ with each intermediate stringer. Thus, the first doning further development of commercial air­ intermediate stringer next to a spar was more craft, European industry entered into an intense highly stressed than the second intermediate design program to produce an inventory of vehi­ stringer and so on to the center stringer, which cles intended solely for warfare. The prototypes carried the smallest stress. Interpreting this be­ of a stable of aircraft, which would later earn havior to be attributable to the shear deformation recognition as some of the World's finest military of the skin, Kuhn developed the so-called "shear aircraft, first flew in 1935 and 1936. Among the lag theory." (Gray, 1948:185). fighters were the British Hawker Hurricane Between 1936 and 1943, Kuhn refined his shear (1935) and Supermarine Spitfire (1936) and the lag theory, publishing his results in a total of German Messerschmitt Me 109 (1936). A number seven technical papers and showing its applica­ of bomber prototypes including the British air­ bility to structural elements around cut-outs and craft officially designated the Blenheim, Welling­ access holes. During this time, American engi­ ton, Whitley, and Hampden and the German neers specializing in aircraft structures were find- 76 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE ing that the accuracy of the new approach saved general movement to extend consideration to re­ them the time and expense of repetitive testing. alistic structural arrangements not amenable to Shear lag theory was a great improvement over solution by conventional means. Originating in previous methods of analysis (Gray, 1948:185). the mid-fifties as a process of structural analysis, When expansion of the NACA was authorized the finite-element method has since been recog­ in 1939, funds became available to begin con­ nized as a versatile tool for treating a variety of struction of a structures research laboratory, complex engineering situations. In essence, the which was completed and occupied in October finite element method permits a realistic structure 1940 (Gray, 1948:193). Following in the NACA with infinite degrees of freedom to be approxi­ traditions that had made the agency so effective mated by an assemblage of subregions (or ele­ in aerodynamics, the laboratory and its staff con­ ments) each with a specified but finite number of centrated on the issues fundamental to sound unknowns. Each element interconnects with oth­ structural practice. Analytical results, backed up ers in a way familiar to engineers. The simplicity with experimental evidence, were summarized in with which the method can be used to model the form of convenient graphs and presented in complex realistic structures has undoubtedly con­ carefully edited NACA Technical Notes. The tributed to its wide acceptance (Zienkiewcz, 1971: information presented in these TNs was excep­ vii). This method is now in general use through­ tionally reliable and was accepted without ques­ out the industry. tion by structural specialists throughout the in­ dustry. Biographic Sketches With few exceptions, aircraft throughout World War II were fabricated from select alu­ Lawrence Hargrave minum alloys, but the postwar emphasis on supersonic flight forced engineers to assess the 1850-1915 potential of materials previously considered un­ Development of the box kite as a precursor of desirable for flight application. Modern metal­ early biplanes lurgy, which had been in an embryonic stage at the turn of the 20th century, had developed into Lawrence Hargrave was born in Greenwich, a scientific discipline. New alloys were constantly England, but emigrated to Australia at the age of being added to the inventory of available mate­ sixteen. After serving an apprenticeship with an rials. Many of these materials, notably magne­ engineering firm he explored for several years in sium, K-monel, Inconel X and Titanium, ex­ New Guinea. In 1877 he was appointed an assist­ hibited properties that were considered superior ant at Sydney Observatory, a position he held to those of aluminum for sustaining high temper­ until 1885 when he resigned to pursue his interest atures during flight. Each was flight-qualified in aeronautics. and performed satisfactorily. More recently, a Working on his own, with a limited income, class of materials known as filament-reinforced Hargrave originated the box-kite design, which composites have attracted interest as candidates was remarkably stable with great lifting power. for use in design of secondary structure. These While visiting England with his family in 1899, materials are in the early stages of flight qualifi­ he delivered a paper on his kites to the Aero­ cation proceedings with some already in use on nautical Society in London and presented some high performance military vehicles. More exten­ of them to the Society for testing. Although Har- sive application of composite materials in aircraft grave's box-kite designs attracted considerable structures is anticipated. interest and were published in the leading aero­ With the advent of electronic computers in the nautical journals, they were not acted upon for post-World War II era, engineers joined in the some time. NUMBER 4 77

Hargrave was greatly handicapped by his re­ REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ mote location, but he corresponded with many of esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; Raymond J. John­ son, editor; Above and Beyond, New Horizons Publishing, Inc., the leading aeronautical enthusiasts in Europe 1968; Robert Esnault-Pelterie, manuscript in Biographical and with Octave Chanute in America. He was Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Insti­ certainly one of the great aviation pioneers of tution, Washington, D.C. history.

REFERENCES: Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ Glenn Hammond Curtiss esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; Raymond J. Johnson editor, Above and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers Inc., 1968. 1878-1930

Robert Esnault-Pelterie Achievement in design and construction of aircraft and outstanding contributions resulting in the flying boat 1881-1957

Engineering advances which greatly influenced the course Glenn Hammond Curtiss did more to popular­ of aircraft development ize aviation and establish it as an industry than any other contemporary American. Born in Ham- Robert Esnault-Pelterie is remembered princi­ mondsport, New York, Curtiss' life was little in­ pally for his achievements in aviation, although fluenced by his parents, for his father died in he was one of the earliest pioneers of flight to 1880 and his mother remarried and left Curtiss' recognize astronautics as a natural extension of upbringing to his grandmother. Although his ed­ aeronautics. The son of a textile manufacturer, ucation was minimal, he excelled in mathematics. he was born in Paris. He earned his degree in A cycling enthusiast and competitor, he held science at the Sorbonne in 1902 and immediately several menial jobs before opening a business for entered the budding field of aviation. the manufacture and repair of bicycles. Adapting Known to many as "REP," he was responsible a gasoline engine to a bicycle, he earned a na­ for many innovations which became standard tional reputation as a motorcyclist before becom­ components on aircraft. He was among the first ing interested in aeronautics. Curtiss became con­ to advocate metal aircraft, designed an early vinced of the future of aviation while delivering predecessor to the twin bank radial engine, and an engine to Alexander Graham Bell. Along with proposed a theory for metallic propellers. Perhaps Bell, he was a founding member of the Aerial best known for introducing the aileron, REP was Experiment Association. Curtiss built his first constantly concerned with pilot safety and held aircraft, the June Bug in 1908 and won the Sci­ patents for devices such as safety belts, speed entific American Trophy with it. In January indicators, dual controls for pilot instruction, and 1911, Curtiss introduced the first practical sea­ static testing of airframes. plane in history. He subsequently fitted wheels to An early advocate of astronautics, REP pre­ it, creating the first amphibian, and went on to sented a report concerned with interplanetary become the world's leading pioneer and promoter travel to the Societe Francaise de Physique in of seaplanes. 1912. A reputable work, the report published by With the outbreak of World War I, Curtiss the Journal de Physique was edited ruthlessly, dras­ accepted an order from England to produce tically distorting the original manuscript. He ex­ "Curtiss Jennies." He moved his company to perimented with rocket fuels and reaction motors, Buffalo, but kept open his plant in Hammonds- but could not convince funding authorities of the port for experimentation. Following the war, Cur­ value of his work. Much of his work anticipated tiss turned to non-aviation pursuits, but contin­ the future of space exploration, yet REP retired ued to serve on the board of Curtiss Aeroplane to Switzerland unknown and misunderstood. and Motor Company as an advisor on aircraft 78 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE designs. He died in Buffalo from complications prepared numerous technical papers and reports. resulting from an appendectomy. In addition to his other aeronautical activities, Breguet is credited with development of the oleo REFERENCES: Beckwith Havens, "A Synopsis of the Life of Glenn H. Curtis," in Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above strut and the celebrated range equation that bears and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers Inc., 1968; Charles H. his name. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, Lon­ REFERENCES: Obituary, The New York Times, 5 May 1955; don, 1970. Enciclopedia de Aviacion y Astronautica, Edicions Garriga, vol­ ume 2, 1972; Tre Trycare, The Lore of Flight, Cagner and Louis Breguet Co., 1970; Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers Inc., 1968. 1880-1955

Creative engineering in design of the oleo strut and Louis Bechereau early application of metals in aircraft construction 1880-1970

An aeronautical pioneer whose name is syn­ Introduction of monocoque construction in onymous with the development of French avia­ aircraft design tion, Louis Breguet maintained a family tradition of excellence in engineering. Born in Paris, Bre­ Louis Bechereau introduced the first practical guet graduated from the Ecole Superieure streamlined fuselage to use a load-carrying skin d'Electricite de Paris as an electrical engineer. when he designed the Deperdussin racer in 1912. Upon graduation, he entered the family business, The fuselage structure, designated "monocoque" which specialized in construction of electric mo­ (single shell) had no internal stiffening, a char­ tors and steam turbines. The exploits of the acteristic which, though short-lived, represents a Wright brothers, however, soon attracted his at­ major step toward general acceptance of "semi- tention. Turning to aeronautics, he designed an monocoque" construction. electrically actuated aerodynamic balance in A 1903 graduate from Ecole d'Arts et Metiers 1906. d'Angers, France, Bechereau co-founded the So­ Experiencing limited success with a helicopter ciete de Construction d'Appareils Aeriens with he designed and built in 1907, Breguet turned to Clement Ader's nephew. In 1909, he received a conventional aircraft. By 1909 he designed and visit from Armand Deperdussin which resulted in built his first airplane, an awkward tractor bi­ Bechereau's joining the Societe pour les Appareils plane. Although his 1909 aircraft was not too Deperdussin (SPAD) at Bethany, near Rheims. influential, Breguet continued and, in 1910, in­ While with this company, Bechereau designed a troduced a far superior vehicle, which established series of racing aircraft, which stand among the the tractor biplane as a rival to pusher aircraft. most significant prewar types. When Louis Bleriot In 1911 he founded his company, the Societe acquired the company in 1913 and changed its Anonyme des Ateliers d'Aviation Louis Breguet. name to Societe Anonyme pour L'Aviation et ses Military contracts during World War I assured Derives, Bechereau stayed with the firm. the success of his company, and many of the During World War I, Bechereau designed the vehicles he produced proved to be highly effective famous SPAD fighters used by the Allies. Shortly throughout the war. In 1919, Breguet founded an after the war, Bechereau left SPAD to found, air transportation company, the Compagnie des with Marc Birkigt and Adolphe Bernard, the Messageries Aerienne, that later developed into Societe des Aeriens Bernard, but he shortly the Air France Aviation Company. moved on to the Salmonson Motor Company. He Breguet remained one of the leading aircraft later founded the Kellner-Bechereau Company, manufacturers in France until World War II and which engaged in design and construction of NUMBER 4 79 racing aircraft. Bechereau's last racing aircraft number of military aircraft, and his designs dom­ was the ill-fated Kellner-Bechereau racer. inated the total allied air strength. Founding the de Havilland Aircraft Company, REFERENCES: T. G. Foxworth, The Speed Seekers, Double- day and Company, 1977; Enciclopedia De Aviaciony Astronau- Ltd. at Stag Lane Aerodome, Edgeware, Eng­ tica, Edicions Garriga, volume 2, 1972. land, in 1920, de Havilland pioneered develop­ ment of air transportation. He also entered the field of general aviation with the Moth series, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland which made possible a great interest in private 1882-1965 flying. With the Second World War, de Havil­ land again returned to the design of military Creative design of military and commercial aircraft and aircraft with the Mosquito, an outstanding high­ development of the first long-range jet transport speed general-purpose aircraft, and also entered the jet-engine and jet-fighter field. De Havilland's Geoffrey de Havilland's working career in aero­ interest in jet aircraft continued after the war nautics extended over half a century and brought with introduction of the world's first jet airliner, him recognition as one of the world's greatest the D. H. 106, Comet. contributors to aviation. Knighted in 1944, de Geoffrey de Havilland lost two of his three sons Havilland was the son of a parson whose family in test flying, the youngest, John, in a Mosquito came from Guernsey, England. He was educated collision in 1943, and the oldest, Geoffrey, in at St. Edwards, Oxford, and Crystal Palace high-speed flight research while a test pilot with School of Engineering before launching his career his father's company. as a designer with London's motor industry. It was in 1908, when de Havilland was twenty-six REFERENCES: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim Medal Board of Award, 1964; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, and newly married, that he left the motor indus­ Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970; try intent on building an airplane to fly. Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above and Beyond, New Horizons With monetary support from his grandfather Publishers, Inc., 1968. he built his first aircraft, a biplane powered by a 45-horsepower engine of his own design. Un­ daunted after the aircraft crashed on its first Sir Charles Richard Fairey flight, de Havilland redesigned it around the 1887-1956 same engine and taught himself to fly with the new machine. By the end of 1910, de Havilland Creative engineering in the early use of flaps and had joined the Army balloon factory at Farnbor­ distinguished leadership in pioneering advances in ough as a designer and pilot. Here he developed variable pitch propellers and stressed skin structures his own aircraft, renamed it the Farman Experi­ mental No. 1, and later the F.E.2. While at Perhaps best known for his accomplishments Farnborough, he was also responsible for the as founder and executive chairman of the Fairey Bleriot Experimental No. 1, the BS-1, and the Aviation Co.,*-Ltd., Fairey was a capable and B.E. No. 2. talented designer. The only son of a large Victo­ In 1914, de Havilland joined the Aircraft Man­ rian family, Charles Richard Fairey was born at ufacturing Co., Ltd., at Hendon as a chief de­ Hendon, England. He attended public school but signer and pilot. His first design with the com­ when the death of his father, a city merchant in pany was the D.H. 1, a two-seat biplane fighter comfortable circumstances, left the family vir­ that started a long series of aircraft with the D.H. tually penniless, Fairey went to work with the designation. Throughout the war with Germany, Jandus Electric Company. He covered his own de Havilland was responsible for designing a expenses while attending night school at Finsburg 80 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Technical College where he qualified as an elec­ The son of a wealthy Dutch coffee planter, Fokker trical engineer. was born at Kedivi, Java, but returned with his Fairey's interest in aeronautics dates to 1910 family to Haarlem, Holland. A poor student in when he won an airplane model competition with all subjects except physics, he convinced his father a monoplane model of his own design. The model to send him to an aviation school at Salbach, inadvertently infringed on an earlier patent by Germany. John W. Dunne and the infringement led to a Fokker designed and built his first airplane in meeting with Dunne. In 1911, Fairey took a 1910, before teaching himself to fly. Within two position with Dunne as manager of the Blair years he had set himself up as a designer and Atholl Syndicate, where he had the good fortune manufacturer of military aircraft. In search of of working with leading aeronautical authorities. customers, Fokker offered his services to several In 1913, Fairey joined the Short brothers as chief countries, but only the German War Ministry engineer. When war broke out, he registered The was judicious enough to offer him a contract, Fairey Aviation Company, as required by British which he readily accepted. Moving to Johanes- law, in 1915. His first contract to build a dozen thal Flying Field, near Berlin, he established his Short seaplanes was followed with an order to first aircraft factory. Within a few months he build 100 Sopwith IV2 Strutters. In June 1916, built a second factory at Schwerin, Mecklenburg. Fairey produced and patented the variable cam­ With the outbreak of war, Fokker's fame as an ber wing, which was the first use ever made of a aircraft designer and manufacturer soared. In trailing edge flap to increase lift. The first air­ 1915, Fokker's company was commissioned to plane to be designed and built by the company produce the synchronized machine gun and later, was a twin-engined fighter, the F2. This aircraft the cantilever wing, which was used successfully was the first of an unbroken chain of Fairey on the D-VII, an aircraft that has been called the aircraft, which included such significant vehicles best German fighter of the war. With the cessa­ as The Fairey Hamble Baby, the Fox I day bomber tion of hostilities, Fokker managed to get his of 1926 and the Fairey Delta 2, which set a world's equipment out of Germany and established the speed record in 1956. "Nederlandsche Vliegtwigenfabriek" (Dutch Air­ Awarded many honors in his career, Fairey was craft Works) at Amsterdam, which soon became the director-general of the British Air Commis­ one of the leading producers of aircraft in Europe. sion in Washington. He was knighted in 1942 for Although Fokker continued to design and manu­ his work in this capacity. facture military aircraft, he also reacted to the growing needs of several newly founded airlines. REFERENCES: Anonymous, "Sir Richard Fairey," Flight, 5 October 1956; J. Laurence Pritchard, "Sir Richard Fairey— In 1922, Fokker came to America and founded An Appreciation," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Atlantic Aircraft Company. He later became December 1956; Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above and president of the Fokker Aircraft Company of Beyond, New Horizons Publishers, Inc., 1968. America, which subsequently changed its name to General Aircraft Company of America and Anthony Fokker '*• then to General Aviation Corporation. He later left the Corporation and concentrated on selling 1890-1939 American-built aircraft built by Douglas and Innovative engineering in aircraft design and significant Lockheed to European nations. contributions to passenger air transportation Fokker's activities in promoting commercial passenger travel have earned him a prominent Inventive, wealthy, and endowed with an able place in aviation history. His trimotor aircraft business sense, Anthony Fokker became a world- was the foundation on which Royal Dutch Air­ renowned aircraft designer and manufacturer. lines was built. NUMBER 4 81

REFERENCES: A. R. Weyl, Fokker, the Creative Years, Putnam designed D-VII has been called the finest aircraft and Company Ltd., 1964; Raymond J. Johnson, editor, of the First World War. Above and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers, Inc., 1968; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationery REFERENCES: A. R. Weyl, Fokker, the Creative Years, Putnam Office, London, 1970. and Company, Ltd., 1965; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. Reinhold Platz 1886-1966 Hugo Junkers

Innovative design leading to significant improvement in 1859-1935 air frame structures and fabrication practice Pioneering work in aircraft structures and all-metal construction An instinctive designer without formal training in design methodology, Reinhold Platz acquired Hugo Junker's concepts of the internally an extraordinary sense of practical stress analysis braced cantilever wing, which carries through or by careful observation and experience. Platz was under the fuselage structure, and use of all-metal born at Cottbus, in the province of Brandenburg, construction are embodied in virtually all modern near Berlin, and apprenticed as a gas welder. In aircraft. He was born, the son of a mill-owner, at 1905, when the Fouche acetylene-oxygen process Rheydt, Germany, and educated at the technical of fusion welding was introduced in Germany, he institutes of Berlin, Karlsruhe, and Aachen. Long learned the technique and experimented with its before entering the aircraft industry, Junkers had application. earned an international reputation for his theories Platz joined Fokker's company at Schwerin in on internal combustion engines. In 1890, he es­ 1912 as a welder. He later became the designer of tablished a company to make experimental gas the historic Fokker fighters of World War I and engines, and later founded the Junker's Flugzeug- of the famous Fokker transports. When German werk. Army authorities found fault with the perform­ Junker's first aircraft patents were granted in ance and structural reliability of Fokker's air­ 1910 for a tailless flying wing. In 1915, Junkers planes, Platz was given the opportunity to try his built the J-l, an all-metal aircraft made with hand at design of a new aircraft. Within weeks corrugated sheet steel. The material of construc­ he designed a revolutionary biplane with canti­ tion was changed to aluminum in 1916. The lever wings, which became known as the V type, Junkers' aircraft factory was closed by the Treaty a designation reflecting the fact that no external of Versailles in 1919, but opened again a year bracing with struts and cables was employed. The later. Entering the field of commercial aviation, cantilever wings were integral structures consist­ Junkers' air service operated from 1921 until ing of wooden box spars and wooden ribs covered taken over by Lufthansa in 1925. A subsidiary entirely with plywood. The design features of factory was opened in Moscow in 1920 and an­ Platz's wing were new to the Fokker firm, but other in Sweden. By 1930 Junkers' aircraft were soon became a hallmark of the company. used by many of the world's airlines. Although Fokker is recognized as an individual Junkers retired from active management of his who withheld needed design information from company in 1932 to devote himself to scientific his employees, it appears that he and Platz mu­ interests. Among Junkers' accomplishments is the tually inspired each other. It was Platz, however, Junkers' "Jumo" diesel engine, which was one of who, tireless in pursuit of simplicity, evolved the the first diesels used successfully for aircraft. structural concepts and fabrication techniques Junkers died at Gauting, not far from Munich, that resulted in superior aircraft. The Platz- on his birthday (3 February), at the age of 76. 82 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

REFERENCES: Anonymous, "Hugo Junkers," Flight, 1 Feb­ and influenced the entire course of aircraft struc­ ruary 1935; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Majesty's tural design. Stationery Office, 1970; Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above With the removal of the Versaille ban in 1927, and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers, Inc., 1968. Rohrbach abandoned the manufacture of mili­ Adolf Rohrbach tary aircraft and concentrated on the Rohrbach- Romar transport planes for the Lufthansa. Rohr- 1889-1939 bach's lecture in the United States in 1926 helped Significant advances in aircraft structures including materially to inspire the revolutionary American introduction of the stressed-skin concept transport aircraft of the 1930's. In December 1929, Rohrbach established the Metal Flying Adolf Rohrbach revolutionized the practice of Boat Corporation in Delaware, Maryland, but aircraft structural design with his concept for the United States government was unwilling to stressed-skin construction in which the metal skin place orders with his firm, and early in 1931 he of an aircraft carries a significant part of the load. returned to Germany. He died of a heart attack Born in Gotha, Germany, Rohrbach attended the at the age of 51. Classical Schools at Gotha and Coburg before REFERENCES: Obituary, New York Times, 10 July 1939; studying shipbuilding and receiving his engineer­ Anonymous, "Death of a German Pioneer Designer," Flight, ing diploma from the Technische Hochschule 13 July 1939; Charles H. Gibbs-Smith, Aviation, Her Maj­ Darmstadt. He then joined the firm of Blohm esty's Stationery Office, London, 1970. and Voss, but his interest changed from ships to aircraft. Shortly before the war he went to work Claudius Dornier for the Zeppelin-Werke, Berlin-Staaken, as an airplane designer. He remained with the Com­ 1884-1969 pany from 1914 to 1921, during which time he Pioneering achievements in metal aircraft construction produced the all-metal Staaken transport planes. and large flying boats In 1920, however, the Interallied Aeronautical Commission ordered that the planes be destroyed, Acknowledged as one of the world's leading with the result that the Staaken plants were pioneers in the manufacture of metal aircraft, closed. Earning his degree as a Doctor of Engi­ Claudius Dornier spent his early career as an neering from the Technische Hochschule Berlin- engineer involved with construction of metal Charlottenburg in 1921, Rohrbach founded the bridges. Born in Kempton, Germany, Dornier Rohrbach Metal Airplane Company. To circum­ graduated from the Munich Institute of Tech­ vent the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, Rohr­ nology. He was first introduced to the field of bach established his plant in Copenhagen, Den­ aviation when, in 1910, he joined the Graf Zep­ mark, and specialized in the construction of metal pelin Company as a structural engineer. As a flying boats. member of the experimental department his work Realizing that the Junkers corrugated metal on the static and dynamic behavior of dirigibles surfaces produced high drag and could not bear led to an appointment as technical advisor to von a significant amount of load, Rohrbach, in 1919, Zeppelin. With the outbreak of World War I, von started building smooth-skinned metal aircraft Zeppelin helped him establish the Zeppelin- with metal box-like construction in the wings. Werke Lindau GmbH, to construct large flying This practice was the beginning of modern boats made of light guage metal. stressed-skin construction, in which the primary In 1922 he founded Dornier Metalbauten loads are carried by the wing surfaces. Although GmbH, the original nucleus of what was to be­ stressed-skin construction appeared revolutionary come the Dornier industrial complex. Continuing at the time, it became a widely accepted practice construction of flying boats at the Marina de Pisa NUMBER 4 83 in Italy, he produced the first Dornier Wal in ical seminary in Orlov from 1907 to 1911 and November of 1922. Dornier flying boats of this continued his education at the Polytechnic Insti­ type were considered the best and safest of their tute in St. Petersburg. In 1913 he enrolled in the time, a reputation that earned him international aeronautics course offered in the Department of recognition. Establishing a factory at Altenshein, Naval Architecture. Upon graduation in 1916 he Switzerland, in 1926, he began work on the Do- joined the Aeronautics Department of the Russky X, an aircraft which was the culmination of his Baltisky Vagon Zavod (Russo Baltic Wagon Fac­ ideas regarding flying boats for international tory), where he helped put the Sikorsky S-16 into traffic. The Do-X received world acclaim when production and worked on Sikorsky's Ilya Muro- in 1931, the giant 12-motor airplane flew from metz. Germany to New York carrying 169 passengers. Sent to the Duks factory in Moscow in 1918, In a 1932 reorganization, Dornier took full after the revolution in Russia, he was assigned control of his company, changed its name to the task of organizing for production foreign-de­ Dornier Werke GmbH and relocated in Fried­ signed aircraft, including the French Spad VII. richshafen. He then turned to military aircraft, Polikarpov subsequently assumed direction of the designing and building an advanced fighter plane company that came to be known as the State in the same year. Two distinctive thin-fuselage, Aeronautics Factory No. 1. Named director of the twin-engine bombers, the Do-17 and Do-25, were design bureau of land aircraft in 1925, Polikarpov developed shortly afterward. Dornier's aircraft initiated work that led to production of some of accounted for much of Germany's Luftwaffe's the first Soviet designed aircraft. Polikarpov's bomber-reconnaissance fleet during World War successful designs of the mid-1920's led to his II. With the Allied victory, Dornier lost his busi­ selection with Dimitri Grigorovich to design a ness and went into brief retirement. He emerged new fighter aircraft in 1927. When, in 1929, their from retirement to work on Swiss VTOL aircraft progress failed to satisfy the authorities, the two and worked on STOL aircraft for the Spanish designers and their staff were placed in detention army. He later resumed construction of aircraft in a hanger of Factory No. 39 with orders to in Germany and recreated the Dornier Werke produce the fighter prototype. Design and pro­ GmbH, but left direction of the company to his duction of two prototypes, designated the VTII, children. was completed in just over eight months. Typical elements of Dornier's marine aircraft Regaining political respectability in 1933, Po­ were his stabilizing floats and tandem motor likarpov began design of two fighters, which arrangements. He died in Zug, Switzerland, on 5 proved to be highly successful. His TsKB-12 rep­ December 1969. resented a major advance in Russian fighter air­ craft. A low-wing monoplane with fully retract­ REFERENCES: Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above and Be­ yond, New Horizons Publishers Inc., 1968; Enciclopedia De able landing gear, it was the first fighter aircraft Aviaciony Astronautia, Edicion Garriga. volume 3, 1972. to incorporate features that would later become standard characteristics of modern fighters. Des­ Nikolai Polikarpov ignated the 1-16, it entered service in 1934 and earned the distinction of a superior vehicle during 1892-1944 the Spanish Civil War. Polikarpov was signally honored by the Rus­ Notable achievement in development of the first modern sian government for his contributions to Soviet monoplane fighter aircraft flight technology.

Nikolai Polikarpov was born in the township REFERENCES: Enciclopedia De Aviaciony Astronautia, Edicion of Georgievsk in the province of Orlovsky, Russia. Garriga, volume 6, 1972; Nowarra and Duval, Russian Civil As the son of a minister he attended the theolog­ and Military Aircraft, Fountain Press, Ltd., 1971. 84 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Alfred Verville Technical Data Division, U.S. Bureau of Aero­ nautics. He was also a consultant for Douglas and 1890-1970 Curtiss-Wright aviation companies during his Pioneering contributions to aircraft design long professional career. REFERENCE: "Alfred Verville," manuscript in Biographi­ Much honored as an "elder statesman" of cal Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian American aeronautics, Alfred Verville rose to a Institution, Washington, D.C. position of international leadership in aircraft design. A native of Atlantic, Michigan, Verville Fred E. Weick attended Adams Township High School and, from 1907 to 1910, took a correspondence course 1899- in electrical lighting and railways operation. Be­ Major achievement in lightplane design including the coming interested in aviation in 1914, Verville NACA cowl and steerable tricycle landing gear went to the Curtiss Aeroplane Company in Ham- mondsport, New York, to learn to fly. His unique A native of Chicago, Illinois, Fred E. Weick's perception of the mechanical and aerodynamic efforts to improve lightplane safety have led to features of flight was quickly recognized. Accept­ major design advances. Weick was educated at ing a position as engineer and design-draftsman the Armour Institute of Technology and Univer­ with Curtiss, Verville took an active part in de­ sity of Illinois where he earned his Bachelor of veloping the transatlantic flying boat America and Science degree in 1922. Upon graduation he be­ the Curtiss Jenny of World War I fame. gan his professional career as a draftsman with In 1922, Verville toured Europe with General the U.S. Air Mail Service. In 1923 he was super­ Billy Mitchell, then assistant chief of the U.S. intendent of the Yackey Aircraft Company, but Army Air Service to study the development of left to design propellers for the Bureau of Aero­ European aviation. Returning to the United nautics. Joining the National Advisory Commit­ States, Mitchell requested Verville to design an tee for Aeronautics as a research engineer in 1925, aircraft devoid of external wire bracing. Verville's Weick became involved with a program to reduce aircraft, a monoplane with thick low wings and the drag resulting from air-cooled engines. At the then-revolutionary retractable landing gear, was time, most American aircraft were equipped with an outstanding success. Later described by a air-cooled engines, and it was common practice panel of aviation leaders as one of the world's 12 to ignore the drag in order to assure adequate most significant aircraft, the U.S. Army Verville- cooling. Placed in charge of the propeller research Sperry airplane won the Pulitzer Speed Trophy tunnel, Weick conducted an exhaustive series of in 1923. It provided direction for subsequent tests which ultimately led to the NACA low drag development of military fighter aircraft. cowl. Announced in a Technical Note in 1928, Verville designed and built a number of highly the cowl not only reduced drag, it promoted more successful aircraft before joining the Bureau of efficient cooling. Air Commerce (now the Federal Aviation Ad­ Weick left NACA in 1929 to become chief ministration) in 1933. While with the Bureau he engineer of Hamilton Aeronautical Manufactur­ was, successively, aeronautical engineer, chief of ing Company, but returned to NACA in 1930 as the Manufacturing, Engineering and Inspection assistant chief of the Aerodynamics Division. In Service, and finally assistant chief of the Aero­ this capacity, he was the guiding force behind nautic Development Section. In 1945 he joined development of the W-l, a small airplane for the Navy Department in Washington. From 1950 private owners designed as a private venture. The until he retired in 1961, Verville was technical W-l was equipped with a tricycle undercarriage advisor and consultant to the director of the to make take-off and landing easier and prevent NUMBER 4 85 nose over. Other private plane manufacturers Signal Corps. A year later, he became vice-presi­ adopted the tricycle undercarriage in the mid- dent of the Sturtevant Aeroplane Company and 1930's and, after successful application on the pioneered American use of steel frame aircraft. DC-4E in 1938, all American airliners were de­ The next year he formed the Loening Aero­ signed with tricycle landing gear. nautical Engineering Corporation to work on two Weick again left NACA in 1936 to become government contracts. The first was a Navy con­ chief engineer with the Engineering and Research tract for a small plane to be launched from Corporation and develop a commercial version of destroyers and the second, an Army contract for the W-l. Weick's most widely recognized achieve­ the M-8 Pursuit monoplane, which embodied use ment, the Ercoupe grew out of this association. of rigid strut bracing that he patented. The first production model of the Ercoupe was Following World War I, Loening produced the ready in 1940, but the war blocked further devel­ Flying Yacht, a five-seat monoplane boat, which opment. After the postwar lull caused the com­ established world records. This project won Loen­ pany serious financial problems, Weick was called ing the coveted Collier Trophy in 1921. Within to Texas A & M University to set up an aircraft three years he introduced the Loening Amphibian, research center. He concentrated his efforts on a daring metal design capable of taking off and development of the revolutionary Ag-1 crash­ landing on either land or water. The Loening proof agplane. This agricultural airplane and the Amphibian was adopted by both the U.S. Army Piper Pawnee that evolved from it set life-saving and Navy. standards of lasting benefit to the entire agplane Loening's pioneering activites in all facets of industry. aeronautics won for him numerous awards and

REFERENCES: Richard B. Weeghman, "Living Legends, honors. He is a member of the Aviation Hall of Fred E. Weick," Flying, June 1976; R. Miller and D. Sawer, Fame. The Technical Development of Modem Aviation, Praeger Publish­ REFERENCES: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim ers, 1970. Medal Board of Award, 1964; National Cyclopedia of Biography, volume B, 1978; Raymond J. Johnson, editor, Above and Grover Loening Beyond, New Horizons Publishers, Inc., 1968. 1888-1976 Edwin A. Link Creative engineering in design of the strut-braced 1904- monoplane and amphibious aircraft Invention and development of flight simulators A graduate of Columbia University, Grover Loening was awarded his Bachelor of Science A creative inventor whose name is synonymous degree in 1909 and in the following year received with flight simulators, Edwin Link was born in the Master of Arts degree in aeronautics, the first Huntington, Indiana, but subsequently located ever conferred in this country. In 1911 he gradu­ in Binghamton, New York. He was educated at ated from the same institution with a degree in Binghamton Central High School and the Bele- civil engineering. Born in Bremen, Germany, fonte Academy in Pennsylvania, before attending where his father was consul-general, Loening be­ Lindsley Institute in West Virginia. Link learned gan his professional career as chief engineer of the to fly at the Binghamton airport and eventually Queen Aeroplane Company in 1911. He later was qualified as a flight instructor. hired as Orville Wright's assistant and manager Concerned about the high cost of flight train­ of the Wright brothers' Dayton, Ohio, factory. In ing, Link built his first "pilot maker," a mechan­ 1914 Loening was appointed chief aeronautical ical device with a stubby wooden fuselage engineer of the Aviation Section of the Army mounted on a universal joint and actuated by 86 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE organ bellows obtained from his father's factory. Elmer Ambrose Sperry, Sr. The bellows simulated pitch and roll as the 1860-1930 trainee "flew" the trainer. It was soon being used in the flying school operated by Link and his Significant contributions to aircraft instrumentation brother, George, and substantially reduced the cost of flight training. It didn't sell immediately, A prolific inventor and pioneer in the field of however. Hard hit by the Depression, Link en­ applied electricity, Elmer Ambrose Sperry, Sr., gaged in a variety of flying activities until, in was granted over four hundred patents during his 1934, the Army Air Corps placed a small order professional career. As an only child, Sperry was for his simulators. This order helped to start born to Stephen Decater Sperry and his wife Link's flight simulator business. Mary in Cortland, New York. Sperry was reared Founding Link Aviation Devices, Inc., to by his widowed aunt, Helen Sperry Willet, after manufacture and sell flight-training equipment, his mother died during his birth. He attended Link entered the field of flight simulation just classes at the State Normal School and proved a two years before the United States entered World good student with an intense interest in electric­ War II. With the outbreak of war, Link's com­ ity. While still attending Normal School, Sperry pany flourished with orders from both the Army visited nearby Cornell University and enrolled as and the Navy. His simulators were used to train a special day student for the year 1879-1880. more than half a million airmen. Adept with mechanical devices Sperry's inventive In the postwar lull, Link expanded his opera­ career began with contributions in the field of tions, undertaking contracts for an aviation electrical machinery, specifically, dynamos and trainer, special radio aids, and flexible gunnery arc lamps. He eventually experimented with gy­ trainers. He also built the famous C-ll, the first roscopic compasses and stabilizers for ships. In jet trainer, and later the B-47B, the world's first 1910, the Navy adopted his gyrocompass, a con­ jet bomber simulator. Far removed from Link's tract that guaranteed the economic stability of earlier devices, these simulators were computer- the Sperry Company. driven replicas of the cockpits of the aircraft being In 1913 Sperry devised an award-winning air­ simulated. Each was equipped with the latest craft gyro-stabilizer. Within four years he in­ simulated radio aids and navigation equipment. vented the Gyro Turn Indicator, which is consid­ Duplicate cockpit instruments and facilities for ered by many to be the greatest flight safety introducing a number of hazardous emergency instrument in aviation history. To this instrument flight conditions and malfunctions were incorpo­ was later added a ball in a curved tube, which rated. acted as a bank indicator. The directional gyro Link's simulators are also very much a part of and gyro horizon were added later to form an the space age. His company was heavily involved instrument cluster in use on every airplane flying in the development of Apollo mission simulators today. James Doolittle first put this combination and lunar module mission trainers used by NASA to test when he made history by making the first during astronaut training. "blind" take-off, flight, and landing in an air­ In 1959 Link relinquished control of the organ­ plane. ization to devote more attention to such other Although the gyro-stabilizer did not find ap­ interests as deep sea submersibles. plication directly to the airplane, it survives in modified form as the Sperry auto-pilot. It was the REFERENCES: "Edwin Link," manuscript in Biographical forerunner of all subsequent auto-pilots and has Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Insti­ tution, Washington, D.C; John D. Barlage, "From Pilot become standard equipment on all large aircraft, Maker to Multimillionaire," Naval Aviation News, December both civil and military. 1968. A recipient of many honors and awards, Sperry NUMBER 4 87

was twice awarded the Collier Trophy, in 1914 of this assignment, Doolittle first demonstrated for gyroscopic control and, in 1916, for his drift "blind" flying in an experimental plane equipped indicator. Under his able direction the Sperry with an artificial horizon and directional gyro­ Gyroscope Company blossomed into a research scope. He later pioneered in the development of and development giant, the Sperry Rand Cor­ 100 octane gasoline. poration. Recalled to active service in 1942, Doolittle REFERENCE: J. Hunsaker, Biographical Memoir of Elmer Ambrose organized and carried out a daring operation, Sperry, National Academy of Sciences, 1954. which bombed the Japanese mainland from car­ rier-based B-25 bombers. Doolittle was later as­ James Doolittle signed to duty with the 8th Air Force in England and was named to command the 12th Air Force 1896- in Africa. In 1943 he became commanding gen­ Professionalization of flight testing eral of the 15th Air Force and in 1944 command­ ing general of the 8th Air Force in the European Destined for a career marked by extraordinary Theater of Operations. versatility, James Doolittle was born in Alameda, Retiring from active duty in 1946 with the California. Soon after his birth, his parents relo­ rank of Lieutenant General, Doolittle returned to cated in Alaska where he lived until he was Shell Oil Company as vice-president. He has eleven. He returned to California, completed his received many honors and awards for his aero­ secondary education in Los Angeles, and entered nautical activities but is recognized here for his the University of California. With America's en­ outstanding contributions to flight testing. try into World War I, Doolittle interrupted his REFERENCES: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim education after three years at the University and Medal Board of Award, 1964; W. B. Courtney, Through Hell enlisted in the Signal Corps as an aviation can­ and High Brass, Colliers, 1948; News Release, National Aero­ didate. He displayed such a talent for flying that nautics Association, 18 May 1955. he was assigned as a flight instructor after win­ ning his wings at Rockwell Field, California. He Sir Sydney Camm continued his studies after the war and upon completion of the Aeronautical Engineering 1893-1966 School at McCook Field, was awarded his Bach­ Creative design of fighter aircraft elor of Arts degree from the University of Cali­ fornia in 1923. Doolittle entered the Massachu­ Praised as "the man whose aircraft saved Great setts Institute of Technology the following year Britain," Sydney Camm was a recognized au­ for special engineering courses and graduated in thority on fighter aircraft design. Born in Wind­ 1924 with a Master of Science. In 1925 he earned sor, Camm became an aviation enthusiast while his Doctor of Science in aeronautical engineering a schoolboy, forming, in 1912, the Windsor model from the same school. airplane club. In 1914, he joined the Martinsyde During his assignment at MIT he also served Company as an apprentice and went through all on temporary duty at McCook Field. While there, the shops, acquiring a solid technical foundation. he conducted flight tests on aircraft acceleration He eventually found his way into the drawing that resulted in rewriting the strength specifica­ office where his talents attracted the attention of tions for fighter aircraft. After flying demonstra­ G. H. Handasyde, designer of Martinsyde air­ tion tests in South America, Doolittle was sent to craft. For two years these men worked together, Mitchell Field in 1928 at the request of the Daniel until Camm joined the Hawker Aircraft firm as Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aero­ senior draftsman in 1923. Within two years, nautics to assist in fog flying experiments. As part Camm became chief designer for Hawker. 88 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

During his career with Hawker, Camm de­ indentures to Whites shipyard at Cowes where he signed a number of highly successful fighter air­ became friends with H. B. Pratt. When Pratt was craft including the Cygnet, the Fury, the Hart, and called to Vickers as chief draftsman-airships, Wal­ the Osprey. From these was developed the first of lis joined him as chief assistant. In 1917, Wallis the great Camm monoplanes, the Hurricane, which designed the R.80 praised by some as "the most accounted for more enemy aircraft during the beautiful airship ever built." By 1922, Wallis had Battle of Britain than all other British aircraft gained the reputation as Britain's outstanding combined. Camm followed up with the Typhoon, airship designer. the Tempest, and the Fury. Returning to airship design after a stint teach­ In the postwar years Camm mastered jet fighter ing mathematics at Chillon College in Switzer­ design with the Seahawk, the P. 1001 and the land, Wallis designed the successful R. 100. In this Hunter, before designing the world's first V/STOL design, Wallis introduced radically new concepts, fighter bomber, the P. 1127. Designated the Kes- including geodetic principles. Wallis had already tral, it incorporated the revolutionary concept of turned to aircraft design when the crash of the an engine using rotating nozzles for thrust vec­ R. 101 on 5 October 1930 destroyed for all time toring. This aircraft achieves at last the perfection Britain's rigid airship program. Still at Vickers, of flight. It can hover, back up, land, and take off he adapted geodetic construction to aircraft use without need of a long runway and then fly and developed the Wellesley and Wellington supersonic. bombers, both of which proved extremely durable Camm received many awards for his aero­ under combat conditions. nautical accomplishments. He was knighted in Wallis finally gained recognition during World 1953. War II, not for design of aircraft, but for weapons systems in the form of special purpose bombs. REFERENCES: Obituary, Interavia, 1966; R. H. Chaplin, "Sir Sidney Camm," Journal of the Royal Aeronautical Society, With the cessation of hostilities, Wallis, now in volume 70 (August 1966); Current Biography Yearbook, H. W. the capacity of special director and head of a Wilson Company, 1942. Research Department, turned to variable geom­ etry design. By the summer of 1953 he had proven Sir Barnes Wallis that use of a swing wing was practical and had demonstrated its performance. 1887- Belatedly honored for his aeronautical achieve­ Creative achievements in developing the technology of ments, Wallis was knighted in 1968. geodetic construction and the variable geometry wing REFERENCE: J. E. Morpurgo, Barnes Wallis, A Biography, St. Martins Press, 1972. Uniquely responsible for some of the most in­ novative design advancements in the history of Edward Heinemann British aeronautics, Barnes Wallis entered avia­ tion by way of the rigid airship. Wallis was born 1908- at Ripley, Derbyshire, England, where his father Notable accomplishment in design of military and had a medical practice. With the family left in research aircraft poor financial circumstance when the father was crippled by poliomyelitis, Wallis was educated at An accomplished designer with an enviable Christ's Hospital where he excelled in mathemat­ record of successful aircraft, Edward Heinemann ics and science, but failed to matriculate at the earned his reputation without benefit of a formal University of London. Deciding on a career in education. Of German-Swiss extraction, Heine­ marine engineering, he apprenticed to the mann was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on 14 Thames Engineering Works, but transferred his March 1908. When he was six the family moved NUMBER 4 89

to Los Angeles, where he was graduated from the oriental sciences and cultures at the University of Manual Arts High School. Attracted to aviation Bonn. Few details regarding their formal educa­ by the record setting flight of the Douglas World tion are available. The two brothers began exper­ Cruisers in 1924, Heinemann joined the Douglas iments with flying-wing gliders in 1931, after Company in 1926 as a draftsman. After several witnessing a flight of Alexander Lippisch's pow­ brief periods with different aircraft companies, he ered Delta /aircraft, while serving an aeronautical became a designer with Northrop Aircraft Co. in 1930. Six years later he returned to the Douglas apprenticeship at Wasserkuppe. Their first proj­ Co. as chief engineer. ect, a single seat glider, was known as the Horten A Heinemann-designed dive bomber, the SBD I. It was built in their home at Venusbergweg, Dauntless of World War II fame, proved highly Bonn, and established a basic form of construc­ effective against the Japanese naval forces. Al­ tion and aerodynamic form that continued though too late for World War II, his attack throughout their succeeding designs. Most of the bomber, the AD Skyraider became the U.S. Navy's original ideas on tailless aircraft came from Rei­ workhorse in Korea. More adaptations have been mar. Walter was more of the political type and built from the Skyraider's basic design than from had fairly good contacts in the RLM (German any other aircraft. Air Ministry). Heinemann's design talents were not entirely Both brothers entered the Luftwaffe in 1936, devoted to design of military aircraft. When the where they were encouraged to continue their United States entered into a flight research pro­ gram to explore the problems of supersonic flight, design activities. By the time they left the Luft­ Heinemann designed the D-558 Skystreak and the waffe in 1938, they had completed preliminary D-558-2 Skyrocket. The Skyrocket filled the need for work on several flying wing designs, including the a research vehicle to test the behavior of swept Horton III, which enjoyed considerable success wing aircraft in transonic research. It later be­ when flown in contests at Rhon. After a brief came the first aircraft to attain Mach 2. Heine­ stint at the Technical University in Bonn, they mann returned to the design of high-performance returned to the Luftwaffe. military aircraft and produced a successful series Traditionalists viewed the Horten's unconven­ of attack bombers and fighters for the Navy. tional designs with suspicion. The brothers, how­ In 1958, Heinemann became vice president- ever, completed design of a jet fighter, which they military aircraft for Douglas. Two years later he designated the Ho IX, and started construction of joined Guidance Technology, Inc., as executive a prototype without authority of the RLM. vice president. In 1962, he became vice president- special projects with General Dynamics Corp., When, in 1944, the RLM became aware of the the position from which he retired in 1973. Horten's unauthorized activity, Reichsmarschall REFERENCES: F. S. Hunter, "Designer by Intuition," Amer­ Hermann Goring became intrigued with the Ho ican Aviation, 1954; Nomination for Honorary Fellow, The IX and gave the project his personal backing. Society of Experimental Test Pilots, R. E. Schleck, June 16, After flight tests of a glider version of the HO IX 1977; News Release, Douglas Aircraft Company, 21 January proved highly favorable, further development 1952. was transferred to the Gothaev Waggonfabrik Reimar Horten under the RLM designation Go. 229. With Allied 1913- occupation of the Friedrichsvoda plant, in 1945, development of the Go. 229 was terminated. Walter Horten After World War II, Reimar went to the Re­ 1915- public of Argentina where he worked as a de­ Notable achievements in the technology of flying wing signer in the DINFIA (National Directory of vehicles Aeronautical Construction and Investigation). Reimar and Walter Horten were born in Bonn, He originally collaborated with Kurt Tank, but Germany, where their father was professor of soon returned to his own flying wing designs. 90 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Walter Horten returned to the New German A recognized authority on missile structures, Luftwaffe. Sechler was an Air Force consultant. He was also a consultant with several aircraft companies in­ REFERENCES: William Green, Warplanes of the Third Reich, Doubleday and Co., 1970; Horten, manuscript in Aircraft cluding Thomson Ramo Woolrich Systems, File, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Insti­ North American Aviation, and Lockheed Aircraft tution; Enciclopedia De Aviaciony Astronautia, Garrigas Edicion, Company. volume 4, 1972. REFERENCES: Who's Who in America, Marquis Who's Who Inc., 1978; Official California Institute of Technology Bi­ Ernest E. Sechler ography; Hallion, R., Legacy of Flight, Washington University Press, 1977. 1905-1979

Notable contributions in airframe structures technology Robert J. Woods 1904-1956 A distinguished educator and author of several books on airframe structural analysis, Ernest E. Pioneering work on supersonic, variable geometry and Sechler was born in Pueblo, Colorado, on 17 hypersonic aircraft November 1905. He received his engineering ed­ ucation at the California Institute of Technology Responsible for development of the world's first where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in supersonic aircraft, the Bell X-l, Robert J. Woods engineering, Master of Science degree in mechan­ was a brilliant designer with a flair for the uncon­ ical engineering, a Master of Science degree in ventional. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he at­ aeronautics, and, in 1934, a doctorate in aero­ tended the University of Michigan, where he nautics. He remained with the Institute, attaining earned both a BS in mechanical engineering and the rank of professor and later became executive a BS in aeronautical engineering. Upon gradua­ officer (aeronautics), a position he filled until his tion in 1928, he joined the National Advisory retirement. Committee for Aeronautics at Langley Field While a GALCIT graduate student, Sechler where he shared the same desk with John Stack, reviewed research on structural members fabri­ with whom he became a life-long friend. Woods cated from thin metal sheets. While many engi­ left NACA in 1929 to become assistant chief neers predicted such structures would buckle un­ engineer with the Towle Aircraft Company. He der loading, John Northrop, Theodore von Kar­ subsequently worked briefly with the Detroit Air­ man, and he demonstrated that multicellular con­ craft Corporation and Lockheed Aircraft Corpo­ struction did not fail when buckled and, indeed, ration, before joining Consolidated Aircraft in retained almost their full prebuckled strength. Buffalo. When Lawrence Bell formed the Bell This was verified beyond reasonable doubt on Aircraft Corporation, Woods joined him imme­ Northrop's Alpha. diately. While with Bell, his engineering talent Sechler remained active in structures research, flourished and he became chief design engineer producing numerous papers on shell structures. and director of the Corporation. He served on the Sub-Committee on Structures Together with Harlan Poyer, Woods developed of the National Advisory Committee for Aero­ the P-39 Airacobra, a single seat fighter with the nautics from 1949 until its reorganization as the engine mounted behind the pilot, driving a con­ National Aeronautics and Space Administration ventional propeller by means of an extension in 1958. Sechler was named chairman of NASA's shaft. In 1937, Woods designed the FM-1 Aira- Research Advisory Committee on Structural De­ cuda, an unorthodox twin-engine fighter with sign and later chaired NASA's Research Advisory pusher propellers, which did not enter active Air Committee on Space Vehicle Structures. Corps service. Woods then designed a prototype NUMBER 4 91 experimental lightweight fighter, the XP-77 and, design achievements also include the Hudson in 1943 began development of the XP-83 in an bomber, Constellation and Super Constellation trans­ attempt to produce a successful long-range turbo­ ports, the P-38, and the T-33 trainer. jet powered escort fighter. In 1952 Johnson was named chief engineer at In a conversation with Ezra Kotcher in 1944, Lockheed's Burbank, California, plant, which Woods committed the Corporation to produce a later became the Lockheed-California Company. research aircraft to investigate flight in the tran­ When the office of corporate vice-president, re­ sonic region. When Bell decided to let the com­ search and development, was established in 1956, mitment stand, a team consisting of Robert Stan­ he was chosen for the post. In 1958 he became ley, Benson Hamlin, Paul Emmons, Stanley vice-president of advanced development projects. Smith, and Roy Sandstrom was put to work. The The holder of numerous design and structural resulting aircraft was the Bell X-l, the first air­ patents, Johnson has received many awards for craft to fly at supersonic speeds. his unique contribution to aerospace develop­ Woods continued to contribute to research air­ ments. craft with the X-5, the first aircraft to use the so- REFERENCES: Time, 20 January 1975; Raymond J. John­ called swing wing. He also was active in promot­ son, editor, Above and Beyond, New Horizons Publishers Inc., ing aircraft for hypersonic flight. 1968; Clarence ("Kelly") Johnson, manuscript in Biograph­ REFERENCE: R. Hallion, Supersonic Flight, McMillan Com­ ical Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian pany, 1972. Institution, Washington, D.C.

Clarence L. ("Kelly") Johnson James H. Kindelberger 1910- 1895-1962 Innovative application of technology to the development of advanced service aircraft Technical achievement in design and production of military and commercial air vehicles Named aviation's Man of the Year in 1956, "Kelly" Johnson showed indications of his bud­ Known to his friends as "Dutch," James Kin­ ding aeronautical talents while still a high school delberger was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. student. A native of Ishpeming, Michigan, he When his father died, Kindelberger left high attended the University of Michigan with the aid school to support his family, but continued his of academic scholarships. Earning his Bachelor of studies at night. In 1913, he became a draftsman Science in engineering in 1932 and his Master of with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and, after Science in engineering the following year, he had three years, entered Carnegie Institute of Tech­ so distinguished himself as a student that he had nology. He had only been with the University for become a consultant with the Studebaker Cor­ a year when the United States entered World poration before completing school. War I. Kindelberger left school and enlisted in Hired by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a the Army Signal Corps, where he qualified as a draftsman and stress analyst and after assign­ pilot and flight instructor. ments in flight test, aerodynamics, weights and After the war, Kindelberger returned to the wind tunnel tests, he became chief research en­ aircraft industry as a designer and chief drafts­ gineer in 1938. Johnson had a leading role in the man with the Glenn L. Martin Company in design of 40 of the world's finest aircraft—among Cleveland. In 1925, he became chief engineer them the F-80, America's first production jet, the with the Douglas Aircraft Company in Santa high altitude U-2, the supersonic F-104 Starfighter, Monica. While in this capacity, he engineered and the superb YF-12A and SR-71. Johnson's design of the DC-1, the DC-2 and the historic 92 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

DC-3, the last of which many authorities consider Aviation Corp., and the E. G. Budd Company, to be the most successful airliner in history. before joining Convair in 1941 as chief of struc­ In 1934, he became president and general man­ tures at the company's Vultee Field Division. ager of General Aviation Manufacturing Corpo­ When Convair was awarded an Air Force con­ ration, which later became North American Avia­ tract for study and development of a 5000-mile tion and relocated in Los Angeles. Under his missile in 1946, Bossart was named project engi­ direction, the company played a major role in neer. The following year the Air Force cancelled producing combat and training aircraft. These the contract because of budget difficulties, but included the T-6 Texan trainer, the famous P-51 Bossart convinced the company to continue de­ Mustang, and the B-25 Billy Mitchell bomber used velopment with its own funds. A new contract on the historic Tokyo raid. By the time of Japan's was awarded in 1951, and Bossart again headed surrender, North American had produced more the design team. aircraft than any other company in the world. In 1953 Bossart was appointed assistant chief Although North American diversified its pur­ of Convair, San Diego, and two years later be­ suit of high technology in the postwar era, Kin­ came chief engineer of the Atlas project. He was delberger kept the company active in aircraft promoted to technical director of General Dy­ production. Among others, the company pro­ namics, Astronautics in 1957. He retained this duced the F-86 Sabre Jet and its successor, the F- position until his retirement. 100 Super Sabre, the A3J Navy attack bomber, and Bossart was the recipient of several major the X-l5 research aircraft. His last contribution awards for his work on Atlas. to aeronautics was the XB-70 Valkyrie. REFERENCES: Who's Who in World Aviation, volume 2, Kindelberger became chief executive officer American Aviation Publications Inc., 1958; General Dynam­ and chairman of the board of North American in ics/Astronautics Biography; Obituary, The San Diego Union, 1948. He remained as chairman of the board 5 August 1975. until his death on 27 July 1962.

REFERENCES: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim Edward Polhamus Board of Award, 1964; Who's Who in Aviation, 1942-43, Ziff- Davis Publishing Company, 1942. 1921- Development of the outboard-pivot which made variable- Karel Jan Bossart sweep wings practical 1904-1975 Edward Polhamus, assistant head of the 7 x 10 Significant contributions to missile and launch vehicle foot tunnel branch at Langley Research Center, technology was born in Washington, D.C. A graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, he attended the As developer of the Atlas missile, Karel Jan University of Maryland from which he received Bossart produced the free world's first reliable his Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical intercontinental ballistic missile used to launch engineering in 1944. Upon graduation he joined the Mercury series of manned space capsules the research staff of Langley Research Center and without failure. Bossart was born in Antwerp, was assigned to the Stability Research Division. Belgium, on 9 February 1904. He was graduated Polhamus actively participated in research on from Brussels University in 1925 with a degree in aircraft stability and control, the aerodynamics of mining engineering. In 1927 he earned a Master variable-sweep aircraft, and in the development of Science degree in aeronautical engineering of methods for prediction of aerodynamic char­ from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. acteristics. He is co-holder of a patent on the Bossart worked with Sikorsky Aircraft, General outboard-pivot variable-sweep wing and was in- NUMBER 4 93 strumental in development of a double-pivot vari­ held the rank of Captain. During this time he was able-sweep wing design. a dive bomber and fighter/bomber pilot. From 1960 to 1962 Polhamus served as coor­ Alford received his Bachelor of Science degree dinator of Langley research in support of the in aeronautical engineering from Virginia Poly­ TFX. He served as technical advisor to the Air technic Institute and State University in 1949 Force on the TFX and coordinated Langley sup­ and completed work for a masters degree with port of the F-l 11 program. the same university in 1960. He began his career REFERENCE: Official NASA Biography. with the National Advisory Committee for Aero­ nautics in August 1949 as an aeronautical engi­ neer and scientist. In 1965 he was named head, William J. Alford, Jr. Stability and Control Section, Full-Scale Re­ 1923- search Division. From 1970 to 1975 Alford was manager, Advanced Transport Technology Of­ Development of the outboard-pivot which made variable- fice, and from 1972 to 1975 he also served as sweep wings practical assistant chief, Terminal Configured Vehicle Pro­ Co-holder with Edward Polhamus of the pat­ gram Office. He was appointed head, Systems ent entitled "Variable-Sweep-Wing Configura­ Analysis Branch, Aeronautical Systems Division, tion," William Alford is currently manager, En­ in 1975, and remained in that position until his ergy Efficient Transport Office, Aircraft Energy present appointment. Efficient Project at Langley Research Center, The author or co-author of numerous publica­ Hampton, Virginia. A native of Norfolk, Vir­ tions, Alford has received a number of awards for ginia, Alford graduated from Granby High his engineering achievements. School in 1942. From 1942 to 1954, he served REFERENCE: William J. Alford Jr., Official NASA Biog­ with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, where he raphy.

Vertical Flight

In common with most engineering endeavors, like a humming bird. It isn't easy . . . somebody is going to growth in aeronautics was largely a matter of do it. . . . progressive refinement as engineers sought to im­ prove specific aspects of performance. For con­ While Edison appears to have somewhat mis­ ventional aircraft the main effort was directed judged the future for conventional aircraft, his toward increasing speed and altitude, while sec­ prophecy with regard to vertical flight was true. ondary efforts resulted in wing slats, flaps, and In time, the capacity to emulate the humming­ other high lift devices as designers tried to de­ bird was realized, but the price paid in terms of crease landing speeds in the interests of safety. operating costs, payload and cruising speed has Concern with the hazards of landing stimulated so far kept vertical-flight vehicles from serious interest in developing specialized aircraft that consideration as commercial air transports or mil­ could take off and land vertically. Considered a itary fighters and bombers. Instead, machines of shortcoming of conventional aircraft, the advan­ a type properly designated as helicopters have tage of vertical flight was recognized by the dis­ been developed into versatile utility aircraft. In tinguished inventor, Thomas Edison, who was this role they have proven capable of performing moved to comment (in Taylor, 1968:2): a variety of specialized civilian and military func­ The airplane won't amount to a damn until they get a tions beyond the capability of other types of flight machine that will act like a humming bird—go straight up, go forward, go backward, come .straight down and alight vehicles. 94 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Autogiros a conventional control system that depended on air pressure for effectiveness. While such controls While vertical flight principles in the form of were satisfactory for fixed wing configurations, rotary wings can be traced to the time of Leon­ they caused serious problems in autogiros at­ ardo da Vinci, or even earlier to the ancient tempting to land at speeds below 20 mph (32 Chinese, this brief treatment is limited to the kph). In this speed range, air pressure was insuf­ progress made since Juan de la Cierva first intro­ ficient to retain control effectiveness, and resulted duced the autogiro on 9 January 1923 (Gibbs- in a number of ground looping accidents (Ander­ Smith, 1970:189). Cierva's early aeronautical ac­ son, 1946:26). A different type of control specifi­ tivities had centered on design of conventional cally designed for rotary wing aircraft had to be aircraft until he became convinced that the nor­ developed to permit full control with no forward mal practice of landing was extremely hazardous. speed. Two distinctly different types of control Landing, coupled with the frequency of engine were introduced. The first involved feathering the failures, which was quite high in the early twen­ blades, while the second called for tilting the ties, heightened his concern for aircraft safety. In rotor head. Cierva's mind the way to improve flight safety Sound in principle, but regarded as an oddity was to make the generation of lift independent of incapable of contributing to air transportation, aircraft speed (Johnson, 1974:380). With the state interest in autogiros began to decline in the 1930's of flight technology in the twenties, the only way as attention shifted in favor of helicopters. to accomplish this was to use a rotating wing. Starting with this premise, Cierva evolved the autogiro and demonstrated its potential with a Helicopters fully controlled flight of 4 kilometers in 1923. Although serious attempts to develop the heli­ Continuing with the concept, he introduced re­ copter as a vehicle type actually predate Cierva's finements and two years later demonstrated the autogiro concept by some fifteen years, they had full practicality of the system. been abandoned for want of an engine with Although autogiros resemble helicopters in that enough power for vertical flight. Serious devel­ both use rotary wings, they are otherwise entirely opment of the helicopter as a practical vehicle different vehicles. In an autogiro the rotor system was reinitiated in 1935 when French designers is not power driven. Wing rotation is entirely due Louis Breguet and Rene Dorand developed and to aerodynamic forces. The rotor blades simply flew the Gyroplane Laboratoire, a single-engine hel­ replace the wings of a conventional aircraft as a icopter with two coaxially mounted rotors and means for generating lift and do not contribute both collective and cyclic pitch controls (Munson, to the forward motion of the vehicle. Forward 1968:10). Vertical control was maintained with a motion is achieved with a conventional engine/- collective pitch mechanism, which permitted the propeller combination. pitch angles of all main rotor blades to be altered Since lift is not generated unless the rotor by the same amount. Motion in the horizontal system is revolving, an autogiro cannot fly until plane was controlled with the cyclic pitch mech­ the blades are moving with sufficient speed to anism, which continuously changed the pitch of generate the necessary amount of lift. In early each blade as it revolved. With this type of con­ autogiros it was necessary to taxi the aircraft until trol, increasing the pitch of a given blade is the rotor had attained the speed needed to sustain countered by decreasing the pitch of the diame­ flight. In later systems the rotor was geared to the trically opposed blade. The net effect amounts to engine when preparing for takeoff but was dis­ tilting the rotor assembly, which results in the connected prior to flight (Johnson, 1974:380). horizontal force component used to control lateral Early autogiros were hybrids in that they used motion. NUMBER 306 95

Introduced within a year of the Breguet-Dur- that make them so versatile, they depend on and machine, the German designed Focke-Ach- rotary wing principles in a trade-off between gelis FW 61 challenged the French lead in heli­ versatility and speed. Since World War II, there copter design with a series of world height, speed, has been a growing interest in developing vehicles and distance records. Two years later, Igor Sikor­ that combine the speed of fixed-wing aircraft sky, a Russian emigre famed for his multi-engined with the vertical-flight capabilities of helicopters. aircraft and "flying clippers," rekindled his pre­ Known as VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vious enchantment with helicopters and per­ aircraft, these vehicles depend, in one form or suaded the United Aircraft Corporation to de­ another, on vectored thrust. Some, like the Bell velop a suitable machine. Sikorsky's illustrious X-22A of 1965, depend on ducted propellers career in aeronautics had started in 1909 when mounted on rotatable engines, while others, like he designed a machine with two co-axial contra- the Short SC-1 of 1960, use multiple turbojet rotating rotors. The machine, however, lacked an engines oriented in the vertical and horizontal engine with the power required for vertical flight. planes. The vertically oriented engines are used When Sikorsky returned to helicopters in 1939, for take-off and landing and are shut down after adequate power plants were readily available. power has been transferred to the horizontal en­ After some two years of flight development, in gine for forward flight (Taylor, 1968:54). which he experimented with various combina­ While most VTOL aircraft are still categorized tions of main and tail rotors, Sikorsky completed as experimental vehicles, the revolutionary work on his VS-300. It emerged in 1941 as a Hawker Siddeley P. 1127 Ke sir al/Harrier has re­ practical vehicle that could carry a useful payload cently become operational with the Royal Air in addition to the pilot. Recognizing the signifi­ Force and the United States Marine Corps. Work cance of the VS-300, the Army Air Corps on the P. 1127 began in 1958 to provide a test bed awarded Sikorsky a contract for an experimental for evaluation of a vectored thrust engine devel­ machine, the XR-4. Leadership in helicopter de­ oped by Bristol Siddeley. A subsequent contract, velopment had passed to the United States (Hal­ placed in 1961, provided nine prototype aircraft lion, 1977:209). for joint testing by British, American, and Ger­ A series of Sikorsky machines including the man pilots. Upon completion of the tripartite test R-4, R-5, and R-6 followed. Used mainly for program, six of the Kestrals were shipped to the utility and rescue missions during World War II, United States for further flight testing. After in­ these vehicles served with distinction in every corporating a number of modifications, the vehi­ theater of operations (DeLear, 1961:4). By war's cle was redesignated the Harrier and made oper­ end, helicopters had established their future in ational (Taylor, 1968:30). Despite the promise of civil and military aviation as a versatile utility imaginative visionaries, the future of vertical aircraft. flight will rest on its ability to remain economi­ In the years following the war, helicopters in­ cally competitive. deed came into their own, earning a reputation for accomplishing more humanitarian missions Biographic Sketches and practical functions than any other vehicle type. Applications made possible by a helicopter's Juan de la Cierva y Codornice ability to perform like a humming bird with a payload are legion, limited only by one's imagi­ 1886-1936 nation and the commitment of development Development of the autogiro funds. As with all aircraft, helicopters are a study in Juan de la Cierva y Codornice, son of Juan de compromise. To achieve the flight characteristics la Cierva y Penafiel and Maria Codornice, was 96 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE born at Murcia in Spain. Although his father was typify Igor Sikorsky's active professional life. Si­ a prominent lawyer and statesman, Cierva as­ korsky was born in Kiev, Russia, the son of a pired to be an aeronautical engineer. Since no physician and professor of psychology in the local technical school in Spain offered aeronautical university. His mother was also a physician but engineering, Cierva attended the Special Tech­ did not practice professionally. He entered the nical College in Madrid, which provided the most Naval Academy at St. Petersburg in 1903, but his complete training in mathematics and mechanics interest in engineering caused him to leave the available in Spain. He graduated in 1919 as an service three years later. After a brief period in Ingeriero de Caminos, Canales y Puertos (civil which he studied engineering in Paris, Sikorsky engineer). returned to Kiev and entered the Kiev Polytech­ Cierva's activities in aeronautics date to 1910, nic Institute. Dissatisfied with the practice of when he and some friends built two gliders, which teaching engineering as an abstract science with proved only moderately successful. In the follow­ little relation to practical problems, he left the ing year they built a powered aircraft, which flew following year. surprisingly well. When the Spanish government sponsored a competition for military aircraft, Sikorsky began construction of his first helicop­ Cierva, still an engineering student, decided to ter in 1909, but abandoned it in favor of fixed- design and build a trimotor. The machine was wing aircraft after the first two failed to fly. completed and tested in May 1919, but was Sikorsky's S-l biplane was tested in 1910, and destroyed during tests due to pilot error. The when its engine proved inadequate he redesigned aircraft had shown considerable promise, but it with a more powerful engine to achieve limited Cierva was convinced that the normal practice of success. A series of improved aircraft culminating landing with conventional aircraft was extremely in the S-6 followed in rapid succession. The S-6 hazardous. He turned his attention to rotary wing series established Sikorsky as a potential supplier aircraft and evolved the concept of the autogiro. of military aircraft for the Russian army. His next In the succeeding years he developed his concept aircraft, called Le Grand was the first four-engined both theoretically and experimentally and airplane. It anticipated future multi-engine air­ achieved success in 1923 with a fully controlled craft such as bombers and commercial transports. flight of 4 kilometers. By 1925 he produced an Le Grand was completed and successfully flown in autogiro that demonstrated fully the possibilities 1913. of the system. With the state of national unrest following the Working energetically with manufacturing Russian Revolution and defeat of Germany, Si­ companies in England, the United States, France, korsky saw little future in European aviation and and Germany to produce and promote the auto­ emigrated to the United States in 1919. Finding giro, Cierva was killed in the crash of an air aviation in the United States to be in a state of transport at Croydon Airport, England, on 9 stagnation, Sikorsky banded with a few associates December 1936. and formed their own company, The Sikorsky REFERENCES: 772*? Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim Aero Engineering Corporation. By 1929, the com­ Medal Board of Award, 1964; Kenneth Munson, Helicopters and Other Rotorcraft Since 1907, The Macmillan Co. 1969. pany had become a division of United Aircraft Corporation, had relocated in Bridgeport, Con­ Igor Sikorsky necticut, and was producing twin-engined am­ 1859-1935 phibians in quantity. Sikorsky's American Clipper series pioneered Pan American World Airways Pioneering contributions in fixed-wing aircraft and mail and passenger service, and when they inau­ successful development of the helicopter gurated transpacific and transatlantic service in Few men in aviation can match the span of 1937, Pan American used Sikorsky's four engined personal participation and contribution that Clipper III. NUMBER 4 97

Sikorsky returned to helicopters in the late meant as a political punishment to embarrass 1930's, this time with great success. He produced him. There followed in Germany a period of his first successful helicopter in 1939 and two research and testing on rotary wing aircraft before years later, in an improved version established an the FwGl prototype was introduced in 1936. The international endurance record. He retired as an new helicopter broke all existing international engineering manager of his company in 1957 but helicopter records and made long distance flights. remained active as a consultant until his death at The vehicle's super controllability was convinc­ Easton, Connecticut. ingly demonstrated by the German aviatrix Hanna Reitsch, who flew the machine inside the REFERENCES: The Guggenheim Medalists, The Guggenheim Deutschlandhalle sports stadium in Berlin. Medal Board of Award, 1964; Kenneth Munson, Helicopters and Other Rotercraft Since 1907, The Macmillan Co., 1969. Focke's design was heralded as an extraordi­ nary advancement in this type of aircraft. Con­ Heinrich Focke tinuing to develop helicopters, Focke designed an advanced vehicle as a feeder transport for 1890-1979 Deutsche Lufthansa. By the time it was com­ pleted in 1939, however, it was adopted for a Notable advances in helicopter design military role. Although most of these aircraft were With an interest in aeronautics that predates destroyed by Allied air attacks, one surviving World War I, Heinrich Focke gained recognition aircraft became the first helicopter to fly the as a leader in helicopter design in 1936. A native English Channel in 1945. of Bremen, Germany, he was educated at the REFERENCES: Kenneth Munson, Helicopter and Other Rotor- preparatory school and high school there before craft Since 1907, The Macmillan Co. 1968; Paul Lambermont studying machine engineering at the Technische and Anthony Pine, Helicopters and Autogyros of the World, A. S. Hochschule Hannover. In 1908-1909 he experi­ Barnes and Co., 1959. mented with gliding flight, first with models and Anton Flettner then with a canard-type vehicle, which he called the Ente. He later built a small Ente airplane 1885-1961 equipped with a 50 horsepower engine, which Notable contributions to helicopter technology was flown by Georg Wulf, a noted test pilot. Focke entered the German infantry, but later Anton Flettner's career in aeronautics dates to transferred to a flight group. After crashing in 1905 when, upon completion of his studies at the 1917, he spent the remainder of the war as an Real-Gymnasium in Hoechst am Main and the engineer with the Airplane Ordnance Depart­ State Seminary, he was employed by the Zeppelin ment in Berlin-Adlershof where he worked on Company. He worked on the development of aircraft skis and air brakes. Returning to the remote-control, which was used extensively on Technische Hochschule Hannover in 1920 he many aircraft. obtained his diploma in machine engineering. Born at Eddersheim am Main, Germany, Flett­ Employed as an engineer and department head ner was president of the Flettner Ship Rudder at the Franke Works in Bremen, Focke cooperated Corporation at Rotterdam, Holland, and the with Wulf in design and testing of a new mono­ Flettner Ship Rudder Corporation at Berlin from plane. In 1923, he founded the Focke-Wulf Flug- 1921 to 1926. In 1926, he founded the Anton zeugbau, which produced a long line of aircraft. Flettner Aircraft Corporation in Berlin; and in The Focke-Achgelis GmbH was an offshoot of 1949 he expanded the company to include the the Focke-Wulf Flugzeugbau which was estab­ American Flettner Corporation. lished after Focke had been dismissed from his Developing an interest in rotary-wing aircraft, company by the Nazis in 1933. His dismissal was Flettner designed a torqueless drive helicopter, 98 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

which was destroyed while undergoing tethered as a sargeant and placed him in full charge of tests in 1933. In 1937, he designed the Fl-265, a research. While at McCook, Klemin initiated the helicopter with intermeshing contra-rotating ro­ first scientific method for distributing sand bags tors. Tests of this vehicle proved highly successful during static test of aircraft. He also prepared and provided the experience required to design manuals recommending flight test procedures. the F1-282, Kolibri, an advanced design incorpo­ After the Armistice, Klemin entered the air­ rating the same intermeshing rotor principle. Al­ craft industry before joining the faculty of New though the F1-282 entered production during York University, where, in 1925, he was named World War II, heavy air raids over Germany Guggenheim Professor of Aeronautics. He had prevented completion of the entire order. requested this position so that he might devote After the war, Flettner emigrated to the United his time to research and teaching rather than States where he served as consultant to the Office administration. In 1937, he instituted the first of Naval Research before founding his American course on the theory of rotary wings. Klemin's corporation. students went on to lead in helicopter technology and became chief engineers and research direc­ REFERENCES: Who's Who in World Aviation, volume 2, tors in important organizations throughout the American Aviation Publications Inc. 1958; Paul Lamber- mont and Anthony Pine, Helicopters and Autogyros of the World, country. A. S. Barnes and Company, 1959. Long an expert on rotating wing aircraft and a stalwart advocate of their potential as general Alexander Klemin utility aircraft, Klemin initiated a series of courses in helicopter aerodynamics. He also conducted 1888-1950 wind tunnel studies of helicopters, autogiros, and Notable contributions to helicopter aerodynamics the revolutionary Henrick convertiplane. Kle­ min's paper "Principles of Rotary Aircraft" re­ A native of London, England, Alexander Kle­ sulted in industry-wide approval of NYU's heli­ min received his Bachelor of Science degree from copter and autogiro research. This led to a spe­ London University in 1907. He came to the cialized graduate-level series of courses in the United States in 1914 and enrolled in Jerome aerodynamics and design of rotary-wing aircraft, Hunsaker's aeroengineering course at the Massa­ the first offered anywhere in the world. chusetts Institute of Technology. Graduating During his career, Klemin was consultant to with his Master of Science degree a year later, he the Bureau of Aeronautics, Department of Navy, stayed on at MIT. When Hunsaker left MIT in the U.S. Air Mail Service, the Civil Aeronautics 1916 to head the Navy's Aircraft Division, Kle­ Administration, and numerous aircraft manufac­ min succeeded him as director of MIT's Aero­ turers. He also served with the National Advisory nautics Department. Klemin became a natural­ Committee for Aeronautics before his retirement ized citizen in 1917. When the United States in 1945. entered World War I, Klemin went to McCook REFERENCES: R. P. Hallion, Legacy of Flight: The Guggen­ Field, Ohio, where Colonel Virginius Clark, then heim Contribution to American Aviation, University of Washing­ the commanding officer, took Klemin on board ton Press, 1977.

Rocketry and Space Flight

The Formative Years understanding and sophistication required of liq­ Technology in the early years of the 20th cen­ uid-fueled rockets capable of flight beyond the tury was a long way from achieving a level of sensible atmosphere of Earth. A limited amount NUMBER 4 99 of development had resulted in solid-fuel rockets travel. Later earning a Ph.D. at Clark University, for warfare, signalling, life-saving, and other pur­ his classic report, "A Method of Reaching Ex­ poses, but little serious consideration was given to treme Altitudes," was published in 1919 by the the use of rockets for space flight until the pros­ Smithsonian Institution. Turning from solid to pect became the central preoccupation of Kon- liquid propellants in the 1920's, Goddard success­ stantin Tsiolkovskii. fully fired the world's first liquid-fueled rocket at Tsiolkovskii, a schoolteacher with a hearing Auburn, Massachusetts, on 16 March 1926. With affliction, never built a rocket; yet his grasp of the support from Clark University, the Smithsonian fundamental principles of rocketry and space Institution, and the Guggenheim Foundation, flight was extraordinary. In 1883, he contributed Goddard continued his research with liquid- a vital step in understanding the rocket's poten­ fueled rockets, gyroscopic controls, gimbal steer­ tial, when he proved it would work in the vacuum ing, and jetvane controls at a desert site near of space by the recoil effect of exhaust gases Roswell, New Mexico. In the 1930's, while at this (Gatland, 1975:10). With remarkable vision and site, Goddard developed large and successful a superb appreciation of fundamentals, he pro­ rockets, which anticipated many of the features posed, in 1903, a rocket vehicle fueled by liquid of future rocketry. Unfortunately, Goddard's pi­ hydrogen and liquid oxygen. In later years, he oneering demonstrations of rocket-engine capa­ anticipated the technology of the future with bilities failed to change the negative attitude conceptual illustrations of thrust control, gyros­ toward rocket propulsion that prevailed in scien­ copic stabilization, jet vanes, and the gimbaled tific circles (Malina, 1964:47). nozzle for directional control. Tsiolkovskii's the­ While Goddard's work was certainly an impor­ oretical considerations detailed the advantages of tant milestone on the road to space exploration, staging and laid the foundations for escape from it has been said with some justification that were and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere (Gatland, it not for formation in Germany of the Verein fur 1975:11). Raumschiffart (VfR) in 1927, man would not By 1914, Tsiolkovskii had progressed to the have reached the moon in the decade of the sixties point of predicting pressurized cabins for human (Gatland, 1975:12). Originating as a small ama­ occupants and the use of space suits and airlocks teur rocket group motivated with the spirit of for extra-vehicular activities. He wrote of the science and exploration, the VfR membership possibilities of space-assembled stations and the ultimately embraced a number of personalities yet to be accomplished closed-cycle biological life- whose accomplishments turned the vision of space support systems (Gatland, 1975:11). While his exploration into reality. VfR membership in­ prophecies occurred at a time when the state of cluded such giants as Hermann Oberth, Walter technology was ill-suited and unprepared to Hohmann, Guido von Pirquet, Klaus Riedel and transfer them to the realm of human accomplish­ Willy Ley before being joined by Wernher von ment, many of them were later corroborated and Braun in 1930 (Gatland, 1975:12). Members of extended by others. Given time to incubate and the VfR built a number of experimental liquid- grow, technology finally acquired the expertise fueled rockets, which were launched at their necessary to translate many of Tsiolkovskii's con­ flying field at Tegal, a suburb of Berlin. cepts into practice. Germany in the early 1930's was experiencing Although Tsiolkovskii indulged in theoretical a time of uncertainty brought on both by the speculations, it remained for Robert Hutchings wide-spread Depression and political events fol­ Goddard to provide the world with its first dem­ lowing Adolf Hitler's appointment as Chancellor onstration of a liquid-fueled rocket. As a physics on 30 January 1933. Membership of the VfR student at Worchester Polytechnic Institute, God­ began to decline as bills went unpaid and resist­ dard began to speculate on space exploration and ance to rocket firings within city limits provoked 100 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE police opposition. Finally crushed when the Ge­ various options available, a contract was placed stapo intervened and confiscated all records and for a turbo-pump capable of supplying the re­ equipment, the society ceased to exist. By 1934, quired quantities of alcohol and liquid oxygen. even their flying field had reverted to its former The new pump was ready for production by the function as an army ammunition depot (Gatland, summer of 1940, but the means for driving it was 1975:97). not available until the following year, when the Confronted with the painful alternatives of first peroxide steam generator, using hydrogen abandoning rocket research, with its potential for peroxide and permanganate, was readied for in­ space exploration, and continuing its pursuit in stallation (Gatland, 1975:100). support of military weapons, von Braun chose the Dr. Walter Thiel was entrusted with engineer­ latter as the only available means for salvaging ing the needed thrust chamber improvements. the remnants of the VfR's lofty scientific objec­ Thiel, who was in charge of advanced rocket- tives. He was soon relocated to the Kummersdorf engine design at Kummersdorf, recognized the proving grounds, where he conducted experimen­ Achilles heel of performance to be the injectors tal research on rocket combustion for the army. used to spray the fuel and oxidant into the com­ Given a free hand to develop a progression of bustion chamber. Rather than attempting design experimental rockets, von Braun experienced a of a single large injector, it was decided to design series of disappointing failures. His failures, how­ a system that coupled 18 smaller but well-proven ever, were tempered with enough partial successes injector units. Decidedly more complicated than to retain army interest. (Gatland, 1975:98). a single injector, the coupled system proved to be By 1935, the quickening pace of Hitler's plans highly efficient and was adapted for use in the for aggression led to an enormous increase in operational rocket (Gatland, 1975:101). funds earmarked for construction of improved Remaining, of course, were the critical prob­ research facilities. For rocket research, the im­ lems of guidance and control. To meet the chal- mediate need was for a firing range from which lange of this phase of weapons development, a to launch rockets over more respectable distances. flight mechanics computation office was estab­ Selecting a site near the village of Peenemunde, lished at Peenemunde under Dr. Hermann Steud- construction was started early that year. This ing. Supported by a well-equipped laboratory experimental rocket establishment was completed under Dr. Ernst Steinhoff, analogue computors in April 1937 and manned with a number of and electronic simulators were pressed into service former VfR members who substantially increased to meet the demands of developing suitable guid­ von Braun's work force. Successful firings of the ance and control equipment (Gatland, 1975:101). unguided A-5 were achieved by the summer of Designated the A-4, the prototype weapon was the following year and continued over the next finally readied for flight test in the spring of 1942. two years as different types of control systems After the first two vehicles failed because of a fuel were tested (Gatland, 1975:99). supply malfunction and a structural deficiency, These experiments established the basis for the third A-4, somewhat modified, turned in a design of a long range ballistic weapon of a size flawless performance on 3 October 1942. Reach­ limited only by the practical requirement of ing an altitude of some 85.3 kilometers on a transporting it through railway tunnels. As usual, trajectory that carried the rocket for a distance of increased size leads to more stringent design re­ 190 kilometers, the A-4's performance greatly quirements, which, in this case, were increased exceeded that of any previous rocket vehicle (Gat­ size of thrust chamber and increased propellant land, 1975:102). volume. The latter problem meant changing from Space flight was defined as any performance a pressure-fed propellant system to one dependent beyond an arbitrarily selected altitude of 80.5 on an efficient pump. After investigating the kilometers. Based on that criterion, the A-4's NUMBER 4 101 flight of 3 October 1942 qualifies it as the first Soviet Union and the Allies, which occurred in vehicle to penetrate the reaches of space. How­ the immediate postwar years, added to the sense ever, since such records are seldom of lasting of urgency surrounding military evaluation of the significance, it seems more appropriate to simply V-2's potential. Russia, while not obtaining the state that the A-4's performance established, be­ top German specialists, had indeed acquired a yond question, the possibility of space explora­ number of German rocket engineers and was tion. testing long-range developments of the V-2 (Gat­ Unfortunately, Hitler did not see it that way. land, 1975:113). Pressed into operational service in retaliation for Russian activities in practical rocketry were Germany's convincing defeat in the Battle of headed by Sergei Korolev, who had been involved Britain, the A-4 was redesignated as the V-2 and, with reaction propulsion since the early thirties. in December 1944, was employed to bomb indis- Directing his efforts toward development of long- criminantly London and other allied cities. range winged guided missiles and rockets, Koro­ Branded as a weapon of destruction by Hitler's lev had introduced numerous advances that were maniacal demands for revenge, the V-2, with all widely used in Soviet rocketry. In 1947, Stalin's its potential as a prototype for opening the way personal enthusiasm for military rockets resulted to space exploration, became operational as a in Korolev's appointment as head of a design weapon of destruction. Its entrance in the war group responsible for development of Soviet long- was, however, too late to decisively influence the range missiles. Although Russia's interest in war's outcome. rocket weaponry was known to embrace a variety With the defeat of Germany, both Russia and of projects, the extent of their progress was not America seized the opportunity to bolster their fully appreciated until 1957, when the Pobeda rocket engineering resources by acquiring sea­ class ballistic missile was paraded through Mos­ soned German specialists. Many of the figures cow on mobile transporters hauled by tracked who were instrumental in developing the V-2 vehicles (Gatland, 1975:116). accepted America's offer to continue their work While the Pobeda missile was certainly cause for in the United States. Captured V-2's and rocket military concern, its capability was soon sur­ parts were immediately shipped to the United passed by Korolev's impressive giant, which was States for evaluation in a series of launchings that first launched in August 1957. A multistage began at the White Sands Proving Ground in rocket with an intercontinental range, it was re­ New Mexico on 16 April 1946 with von Braun as ported by the Tass news agency to have reached advisor (Gatland, 1975:111). an "unprecedented" altitude before impacting in Intended principally to obtain an in-depth the target area. On 4 October 1957 Russia evaluation of the rocket's potential as a military shocked the world from complacency by placing weapon, the captured V-2's were fitted with ex­ Sputnik I in Earth orbit. Accomplished by simply periment packages instrumented to explore the adapting Korolev's intercontinental ballistic mis­ fringe of space. This opportunity to actively ex­ sile as a satellite launcher, the feat unmistakedly plore phenomena beyond the sensible atmosphere established Russia's lead in rocket development. profoundly influenced scientific views, particu­ With completion of the V-2 evaluation pro­ larly with regard to the composition and environ­ gram in 1952, America's fledgling space plans mental conditions of the upper atmosphere. The were rich with promise and exciting projects. The White Sands tests also gave military authorities NACA, now long established as the world's lead­ cause to reappraise their posture for defense of ing source of authoritative information on flight the country against a rocket assault capable of technology, had reacted to the recognized need causing immense destruction. for research results pertinent to ballistic reentry. The rapid cooling of relations between the Materials research under the general direction of 102 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Robert Gilruth confirmed the advantage of heat aeronautical and space research and specifically control by ablation, while H. Julian Allen for­ cited the NACA as its nucleus. On 1 October mulated the basis of blunt body theory and Alfred 1958, the NACA was formally abolished and the Eggers worked on the mechanics of ballistic reen­ National Aeronautics and Space Administration try (Anderson, 1976:11). was established. T. Keith Glennan was appointed As part of America's participation in the Inter­ administrator, and Hugh L. Dryden, deputy ad­ national Geophysical Year (IGY) for 1957-58, ministrator (Anderson, 1976:17). plans were formulated to launch a small satellite Within a week after NASA was formed, Glen­ into Earth orbit. Narrowing the competition to a nan committed the agency to Project Mercury and choice between the National Academy of Sci­ set in motion an intense two-year period of or­ ences/Navy proposal (Vanguard) and the Army/ ganization and planning. In February 1960, Con­ Jet Propulsion Laboratory entry (Explorer), the gress was presented with NASA's first ten-year green light was given to the Navy project in order plan. It outlined an ambitious program for to avoid any disruption that could delay the manned and unmanned space exploration, con­ Army's ballistic missile program. Although the tinued aeronautical research, and launch vehicle Navy's proposal was based on the premise of development. Having earlier acquired the Jet using a new booster derived from the Viking proj­ Propulsion Laboratory and its contract staff from ect, the Vanguard was being readied for its first a reluctant Army, Glennan continued his efforts test flights when Sputnik I shattered America's to acquire the Army Ballistic Missile Agency at confidence in its command of technology (Ander­ Huntsville Alabama. On 15 March 1960, son, 1976:12). ABMA's Development Operations Division, As if to add insult to injury, Russian space headed by Werhner von Braun was transferred spectaculars in the months following Sputnik con­ to NASA along with the Saturn launch vehicle tinued to electrify the world while the Vanguard project (Anderson, 1976:22). test vehicle failed dismally. With America's tech­ With Project Mercury underway, other offices nical honor at stake, the Army reacted swiftly, within the newly formed NASA structure contin­ and on 31 January 1958 successfully launched an ued their programs of unmanned space explora­ instrumented Explorer developed by the Army tion. While launch vehicles remained somewhat Ballistic Missile Agency and Jet Propulsion Lab­ unpredictable throughout much of 1959, the suc­ oratory. The experimental package aboard the cess ratio was greatly improved during 1960, satellite included radiation counters intended to resulting in successful launches of Pioneer V, in­ probe the radiation environment of space. When tended for interplanetary exploration, Tiros I, a the counters revealed an abnormally high amount prototype weather satellite and Echo I, a passive of radiation at altitudes of around 966 kilometers, communications satellite. Precursors of the so­ James Van Allen, who had designed the experi­ phisticated scientific and applications satellites ment, interpreted the results to imply the exis­ and planetary probes of the sixties and seventies, tence of a dense radiation belt surrounding Earth these vehicles were instrumental in evolving the at that altitude (Anderson, 1976:14). launch and trajectory insertion technology later used on more ambitious space exploration projects. The Transition to Space The situation surrounding the presidential Recognizing the need for a national space pro­ elections of 1960 was not particularly reassuring gram, Congress passed the National Aeronautics for the infant space program. President-elect, and Space Act (Public Law 85-568), which Pres­ John F. Kennedy had named Jerome Wiesner his ident Eisenhower signed into law on 29 July 1958. science advisor with broad responsibility to chair The act established a broad charter for civilian a committee and apprise him of NASA's pro- NUMBER 4 103 grams. The committee's report took issue with the tend its function to that of a full fledged test Agency's performance and was openly doubtful vehicle. To reduce costs, flight schedules were for its future (Anderson, 1976:28). Then, as if by stretched out and many proposed refinements design, Russia successfully launched Cosmonaut simply abandoned and dropped. By the end of Yuri Gagarin for a single orbit around Earth in 1964, the worst of Gemini's troubles had been Vostok / on 12 April 1961. Russia had gambled resolved. On 19 January 1965 Gemini was deter­ and the United States was unable to match their mined safe for manned flight (i.e., "man-rated") feat with Astronaut Alan Shepard's ballistic flight when the reentry integrity of the heat shield and in a Mercury spacecraft in the succeeding month. operational status of all equipment was con­ Gravely concerned, President Kennedy asked firmed. Gemini henceforth was used primarily to Vice President Lyndon Johnson to determine establish the techniques required of rendezvous, what could be done to gain the initiative and docking, and extravehicular activity (EVA). surpass the Soviet lead in space. James Webb, These activities provided vital experience for as­ NASA's new administrator, proposed a bold plan tronauts, launch crews, control room crews, and escalating America's space commitment. The the tracking network. Gemini greatly advanced plan would focus America's space objective on the technology of fuel cells, environmental control manned lunar exploration. If Russia was to re­ systems, space navigation, and a myriad of other main competitive, both nations would have to technical advances that later proved of immeas­ greatly extend their booster and spacecraft ca­ urable value to the Apollo program (Anderson, pabilities. President Kennedy endorsed the plan 1976:55). and, before a joint session of Congress on 25 May Throughout the Gemini operational period, 1961, proposed a national goal to achieve the Apollo was making steady progress toward its objective within the decade of the sixties. The scheduled goal of becoming man-rated during President's proposal was quickly ratified by Con­ 1967. Then, on 27 January 1967, the program gress. suffered a tragic reversal that threatened to place As the agency responsible for meeting the awe­ the national goal beyond reach. A fire in Block I some challenge of civilization's greatest techno­ command module killed astronauts Virgil Gris- logical endeavor, NASA approached the problem som, Edward White, and Roger Chaffee as they of manned lunar exploration on a war emergency moved through countdown toward a simulated basis. Earlier studies, conducted to measure the launch. Shock and disbelief in the wake of the state of technology readiness, had revealed certain space program's first fatal accident eroded operational unknowns but had concluded that a Congressional confidence in the spacecraft's abil­ lunar mission could be accomplished without ity to fulfill its mission. Months of inquiry and major technological breakthroughs. Once de­ investigation followed as materials and design tailed, the Apollo program and all intermediate faults were isolated and corrected during redesign steps required to fill voids in operational experi­ of an otherwise sound spacecraft. Although the ence were systematically implemented. Since fire delayed scheduling a manned flight in an many of the operational problems would require Apollo for some eighteen months, the technical performance beyond the capability oi Mercury and improvements introduced in the Block II space­ would be grossly expensive to accomplish with craft made it a superior and far safer vehicle Apollo hardware, the decision was made to de­ (Anderson, 1976:57). velop an intermediate capsule. The first manned space flight in the improved Gemini began as a vehicle of expediency to command module was made on 11 October 1968 "scale up" Mercury and provide an effective bridge when Apollo 7 was placed in Earth orbit for an to Apollo. The Gemini program soon developed eleven-day test. With only a year and a half budgetary problems, as engineers sought to ex­ remaining in the decade of lunar commitment, 104 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE bold measures were taken to accelerate the flight support of the Skylab Program, which was origi­ test program and gain the advantage of experi­ nally intended to obtain answers to biological ence at lunar distances. Three flawless flights and questions concerned with the future of manned all systems were pronounced ready to attempt the spaceflight. Budget constraints limited the pro­ ultimate mission of Apollo (Anderson, 1976:68). gram to a single launch of an orbital workshop On 16 July 1969, a Saturn V launched Apollo 11 and three flights with astronauts. Determined to on its historic flight, carrying astronauts Neil obtain as much information as possible from a Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., to the lunar restricted opportunity, NASA devised an ambi­ surface. The third astronaut, Michael Collins, tious experiment schedule. Experiments designed piloted the command module in lunar orbit and to use the Apollo telescope mount covered the performed the exacting tasks required of his soli­ range of solar physics, while other experiments tary station. The crew and all systems performed concentrated on recording Earth resources obser­ superbly. Four days after lift-off a concise message vations and medical data from the three-man from Tranquility Base announced to an anxious crew. Still other experiments explored the influ­ world the stirring news of the lunar module's ence of weightlessness on industrial processes. landing. After checkout, a second message: Arm­ Skylab I, an impressive two-story unmanned strong was on the moon. The first task: set up the orbital workshop was launched by a Saturn V on television camera. Then, joined by Aldrin, the 14 May 1973. Crippled when inadequate pressure two methodically implanted the U.S. flag and venting tore the meteoroid-heat shield away dur­ deployed scientific experiments, which would be ing early ascent, Sky lab's future as a usable space­ left behind. After collecting rock samples for later craft was in serious jeopardy. When the meteoroid laboratory analyses, the two astronauts climbed shield failed, one wing of solar cells was com­ back into the lunar module and prepared for pletely torn from the spacecraft. The other was their departure. The following day the ascent fouled and prevented from deploying (NASA TM module left the moon's barren surface and re­ X-64813). If the immediate news was disquieting, turned to lunar orbit where it rendezvoused with the news from orbit was worse. Loss of the heat the command module. shield had left the workshop with no protection The tension of reentry followed; then splash­ against the unfiltered energy from the sun. Inter­ down in full view of the recovery carrier, Hornet. nal temperatures soared! Soon beyond tolerable The bold national commitment to land men on limits for habitation, the steadily climbing tem­ the moon and return them to Earth in the decade perature approached levels that could destroy of the sixties had been fulfilled. Later flights film and generate poisonous gas. extended the area of lunar investigation to differ­ For ten frantic days ground support teams ent sites and established space technology at an worked around the clock in a desperate scramble unprecedented level of sophistication. to devise appropriate fixes. Two major problems While mankind's thirst to explore the reaches required immediate solution: devise a deployable of space had been whetted by the successful lunar shade to protect the workshop from direct sun­ exploration program, the enormous expenditure light and provide the astronauts with a versatile required to continue the pace had become a tool to release the fouled solar wing. Neither task matter of political concern. Drastic budget reduc­ would be routine in the weightless environment tions imposed in the wake of the manned lunar of space. program forced NASA to reduce or eliminate On 25 May 1973, Skylab _?, consisting of an many of its planned programs in order to provide Apollo command or service module, was orbited. adequate funding to continue space exploration The crew's mission was to assess the damage, try with fewer high-priority programs. to repair the workshop and, if salvable, inhabit The next manned space flights were flown in the workshop and complete as much of the orig- NUMBER 4 105 inal mission as possible. It was a tall order, but reaches of space in less than three-quarters of a when a gas detector revealed no trace of poisonous century? gas, the crew entered and deployed a makeshift parasol. Once shaded, internal temperatures be­ Biographic Sketches gan to drop, but the testy problem of deploying the crippled solar wing remained. Sir William Congreve A crucial test of man's ability to perform useful work in the environment of space occurred on 7 1772-1828 June, when astronauts Conrad and Kerwin left Revolutionary advances in rocket technology the workshop to attempt repair of the snarled solar wing. After a tense struggle they finally A remarkably prolific inventor who may be succeeded in cutting away the wreckage that said to have precipitated the rocket age, William prevented the wing from deploying. Once freed, Congreve was born in Marylebone, Middlesex, the wing deployed slowly. Vitally needed electric England, on 20 May 1772. Aware of earlier war­ power flowed into storage batteries. Raw courage, time uses of rockets in China and India, he was ingenuity, and the dedication of a ground-sup­ prompted to develop them by the Napoleonic port team had pulled a chestnut from the fire. threat of French invasion. With official permis­ The workshop was operational. sion granted by the Ordnance Board, Congreve In comparison, the remainder of the mission began a program of intensive development. He and the follow-on Skylab 3 and 4 were anticlimac- revolutionized fabrication practice and mass-pro­ tic. When completed, the Skylab missions had duced rockets in a variety of calibers and types. amassed such an abundance of astronomical and He also instituted required advances in propel­ earth-resources data that years will be needed to lant technology by using granulation machines analyze them. Biological data showed conclu­ for refining the mechanical mixture of black pow­ sively that, with exercise, no physiological barriers der and pile-driver presses to charge rocket tubes barred the way for space exploration. The ex­ with a uniform and dense propellant. These ad­ ploratory experiments on industrial processing vances resulted in far higher impulses and uni­ also resulted in promising evidence. In the weight­ form burns than had previously been possible. lessness of space, single crystals obtained during Although initially developed as a military solidification were of much better quality and weapon, Congreve rockets found many humane some five times larger than those produced under uses. These included rescue rockets, rockets for the best laboratory conditions on Earth. Once effecting geodetic surveys, and signal rockets for precariously close to disaster, the Skylab program distressed ships. had been rescued and turned into a remarkably REFERENCES: Frank H. Winter, "William Congreve: A successful investment. Bi-Centennial Memorial" Spaceflight, volume 14, number 9 Beyond Skylab lies the vision of true transpor­ (September 1972). tation—Space Shuttle. The concept oi Shuttle prom­ ises a whole new way of space exploration: a way Konstantin E. Tsiolkovskii that may some day soon open the reaches of space to active exploration by nonpilots; a way that 1857-1935 could well be an effective bridge, for those bold Scientific study of rocket dynamics and related problems enough to entertain the notion, to space coloni­ of astronautics zation. How successful Shuttle may prove is a matter of conjecture, but who among us would A Russian pioneer in rocket and space science, have dreamed that flight technology would bring Konstantin E. Tsiolkovskii was born in Ishev- civilization from the sands of Kitty Hawk to the skoye, Ryazan Province, Russia. At the age of 10 106 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE he was handicapped by near deafness resulting speculate on space exploration and travel. He from scarlet fever, an affliction that prevented earned his doctorate at Clark University in 1911 him from continuing normal schooling. Self- and became a member of the Clark faculty. God­ taught, Tsiolkovskii soon developed an interest in dard later attained the rank of full professor. mathematics and physics and avidly read all he Goddard's classic report "A Method of Reach­ could obtain on these subjects. At 16, his father ing Extreme Altitudes," was published in 1919 in sent him to Moscow, where he remained for three the Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, which In­ years attending lectures on chemistry, astronomy, stitution also provided modest monetary support mathematics, and mechanics with the aid of an for his research. He turned from solid to liquid ear trumpet. propellants in the 1920's and in 1926 successfully fired the world's first liquid propellant rocket at In 1882 he moved to the village of Kaluga Auburn, Massachusetts. With support from Clark where he spent the remainder of his life teaching University and the Guggenheim Foundation, school and doing research in aeronautics and Goddard continued his research with liquid fuel astronautics. In the course of his long life the rockets, gyroscopic controls, gimbal steering, and prospect of space flight was to remain his central jet vane control at a desert site near Roswell, New preoccupation and he contributed much to basic Mexico. In the 1930's, while at this site, Goddard astronautics. Although his most valuable contri­ developed large and successful rockets, which an­ butions were made in the theory of reactive pro­ ticipated many of the features of the German pulsion, he also deduced the laws of motion of a V-2 rockets of the future. rocket as a body of variable mass, determined During World War II, Goddard was director rocket efficiency, and developed the fundamental of research for the Bureau of Aeronautics of the principles of liquid propellant engines. Numerous Navy Department. While serving in this capacity technical ideas expressed by Tsiolkovskii have he developed rocket motors and jet-assisted take­ been incorporated in the design of modern rocket off devices for aircraft at his laboratory in Annap­ engines and space vehicles. olis, Maryland. He was engaged in this work at the time of his death on 10 August 1945. His REFERENCES: H. E. ROSS, "K. E. Tsiolkovsky—Selected patents were used by the German government in Works," Spaceflight, volume 11, number 7, July 1969; Ency­ clopaedia Bntanmca, volume 22, William Benton Publisher, its V-2 rocket program and later by the U.S. in 1974; Kenneth Gatland, Missiles and Rockets, Macmillan, its space exploration efforts. In 1962 the National 1975; The Soviet Encyclopedia of Space Flight, MIR Publishers, Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Moscow, 1969. dedicated the Goddard Space Administration Center at Greenbelt in commemoration of God­ dard's extensive contributions to rocketry and Robert Hutchings Goddard space flight. 1882-1945 REFERENCES: Congressional Recognition of Goddard Rocket and Space Museum, National Air and Space Administration, 1970. Pioneering research resulting in the foundations of Encyclopaedia Bntanmca, volume 10, William Benton Pub­ modern developments in rocketry and space flight lisher, 1966; Esther G Goddard and G. Edward Pendray, The Papers of Robert Goddard, 3 volumes, McGraw-Hill Book Robert Hutchings Goddard was born in Company, 1970; Milton Lehman, This High Man, Farrar, Straus and Company, 1963. Worchester, Massachusetts. In 1883 his parents, Nahum and Fannie, moved to Boston where Na- Fridrikh Arturovich Tsander hum worked in a machine shop which he and 1886-1933 another employee purchased. Due to poor health, Goddard's early schooling was largely the conse­ Early contributions to rocket technology and space flight quence of self-education. As a physics student at Inspired by the earlier writing of Tsiolkovskii, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, he began to Fridrikh Arturovich Tsander advanced theories NUMBER 4 107 on rocketry and interplanetary flight to the point ver. Tsander succumbed to the fever on 28 March of practical demonstration. Tsander was born in 1933 at the age of 46. Riga, Russia, where his father, a medical doctor, was employed at the Zoological Museum. Tsan­ REFERENCES: L. K. Korneev, Problems of Flight by Jet Propulsion, NASA TTF-147, National Aeronautics and Space der attended the Riga High School, graduating Administration, 1964; The Soviet Encyclopedia of Space Flight, at the top of his class in 1905. While at high MIR Publishers, Moscow, 1969. school, his astronomy teacher introduced him to an article on space research by Tsiolkovskii, which deeply impressed him. In 1907 he enrolled Hermann Oberth in the mechanical department of the Riga Poly­ 1894- technic Institute, from which he earned an honors degree in engineering. After graduation Tsander Pioneering contributions in rocketry and space flight earned a reputation as the first Russian engineer to devote himself to the practical solution of Hermann Oberth, mathematician and physi­ problems connected with interplanetary flight cist, envisioned manned space exploration in the and rocket technology. early 1920's and pioneered in the development of Throughout his life, Tsander worked inten­ liquid fueled rockets in the 1930's. A school sively in the field of theoretical interplanetary teacher turned scientist, Oberth was born in Si- flight. He also developed a new thermal cycle for biu, on the northern slopes of the transylvanian rocket engines and proposed the use of metals as Alps, at the time a part of the Austro-Hungarian fuel for propulsion. Two of his articles, both Empire. When only two, his father, a medical entitled "Thermal Estimates of a Liquid Rocket doctor moved to Sighisoaro where Oberth at­ Engine" contain estimates of the combustion tended elementary school. An avid reader, he chamber wall temperature and of the chamber's developed a consuming interest in space flight capacity required for full combustion of all fuel from reading Jules Verne's From the Earth to the components. Moon. This diverted his interest from medicine, In 1919, he started work at the aviation factory but, encouraged by his father, he entered the No. 4 "Motor." In order to unify his work on the medical school at the University of Munich. Ob­ development of a spaceship, Tsander joined the erth was still a student when World War I began, staff of Aviatrests Central Bureau of Construction but he was inducted into the army as an infan­ as a senior engineer in 1926. He later (1930) tryman. Wounded, he was transferred to the 22 worked at the Central Institute for Aircraft Motor Field Ambulance Unit, a relatively inactive post, Construction, where he experimented with the which allowed him sufficient time to think about OR-1 jet engine fueled by gasoline and gaseous space flight. air. When, in the following year, a jet-engine Oberth resumed his studies after the war in section was established within the Central Coun­ Germany at Gottingen, Heidelberg, and Klausen- cil of Osoaviakhim, Tsander was appointed its berg; but he dropped all pretense of a career in director. With the formation of the Moscow medicine and concentrated on mathematics, as­ Group for the Study of Jet Propulsion (GIRD) in tronomy, and physics. He attempted to obtain a 1932, Tsander devoted full attention to the de­ doctorate in physics with a dissertation on space velopment of the OR-2 rocket engine. travel, but the topic was considered too radical. Tsander was not destined to see his rockets in By 1922 Oberth had formulated detailed theories flight. His heavy schedule of activities and long regarding the firing of a space projectile and the hours led to serious signs of overwork. When means by which it would escape the earth's grav­ finally persuaded to go to Kislovedsk for rest and itational pull. After a period, during which he treatment, he arrived suffering from typhoid fe­ conducted his private research on rocketry, he 108 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE conducted research on liquid fueled rockets at the the rank of lieutenant. He later specialized in Reich Institute of Chemistry and Technology. electrotechnical engineering at the Montefiore In 1938 Oberth was summoned by the German Institute of Liege, Belgium. government to take part in a rocket research Becoming interested in flight and its related program at the Vienna College of Engineering. technology, in 1902, he published a rigorous treat­ From there he was sent to the University of ment of airship stability, which brought imme­ Dresden to develop a fuel pump for large liquid diate international recognition. Crocco's early fueled rockets. He became a German citizen in work in aeronautics was indicative of his versatil­ 1943 and was transferred to the Peenemunde ity. In addition to design of semi-rigid and rigid Rocket Development Center. With the end of the airships, he conducted theoretical and experimen­ Second World War, Oberth spent several years tal research on aerodynamics, flight mechanics, working as a rocket consultant in Switzerland and airframe structures. He also founded and and Italy before returning to teaching at Nurem­ directed a Research Institute for Aeronautics, berg. Invited to work on guided missiles at the Italy. U.S. Army's Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Ala­ Resigning from his military position in 1920, bama, in 1955, Oberth accepted the position of Crocco served as an advisor to an industrial con­ supervisory physicist until 1958. He then retired cern on the possibilities for commercial aviation and returned to Germany. before becoming director of Italian industry at In addition to his many technical contribu­ the Ministry of National Economy. He returned tions, Oberth did much to popularize the space to aviation in 1926, when he was appointed to a movement through his writings and served as the chair at the School of Aeronautical Engineering. technical advisor on Fritz Lang's Die Frau im A year later he was named director of construc­ Monde, the first movie about space travel. tion with the Air Ministry, and in 1932 became director of aeronautical research. REFERENCES: Current Biography Yearbook, The H.W. Wilson Company, 1957; Fred C. Durant III, "Rockets and Guided Crocco began working with solid and liquid Missiles," Encyclopaedia Bntanmca, volume 19, William Ben­ propelled rockets as early as 1927, an interest ton Publisher, 1966; "Hermann Oberth," Encyclopaedia Bri- carried on by his son, Luigi, an aerospace engi­ tannica, volume 16, William Benton Publisher, 1966; Ray­ neer. In his later years, Crocco's vision extended mond J. Johnson, editor, Above and Beyond, New Horizons to space flight and interplanetary travel. An able Publishers, Inc., 1968; Hermann Oberth, manuscript in Biographical Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smith­ administrator, he was responsible for founding sonian Institution, Washington, D. C; Shirley Thomas, Man several Italian and international societies dedi­ of Space, volume 8, Chilton Company, 1968. cated to rocketry and astronautics.

REFERENCES: Luigi Crocco, "Gaetano Arturo Crocco," Gaetano Arturo Crocco Astonautica Acta, volume 14, number 6 (October 1964); Enci­ clopedia De Aviaciony Astronautica, Edicion Garriga, volume 3, 1877-1968 1972.

Notable contributions in rocket technology Sergei Korolev Gaetano Arturo Crocco's distinguished career 1906-1966 in aeronautics and astronautics brought him rec­ ognition as Italy's leading space scientist. Born in Pioneering design of first space vehicles and booster Naples on 26 October 1877, he initially elected to rockets pursue a military career. After completing his studies at the University of Palermo in 1897 he Responsible for many of the great achieve­ attended the School of Applied Artillery and ments in Soviet space technology, Sergei Korolev Engineering at Turin, graduating in 1900 with was known in Russia as a brilliant scientist and NUMBER 4 109 administrator. The son of a school teacher, he rockets and space vehicles, Eugen Sanger was was born in Zhitomir in the Ukraine. He com­ considered one of Europe's foremost space scien­ pleted his studies in an Odessa vocational school tists. Born in Pressnitz, Bohemia, which is now in for construction workers in 1922 and enrolled in Czechoslavakia, he received his early education the Kiev Polytechnic Institute. In 1926 he trans­ in Hungary and Austria. He later studied at the ferred to the Moscow Technical School of Higher Technische Hochschule at Graz and Vienna ob­ Learning and completed his studies in the De­ taining his doctorate in 1931; his dissertation partment of Aeronautical Engineering in 1929. concerned statics of multiple spar wings. Entering the aviation industry in 1927, he de­ From 1929 to 1935, he published numerous signed gliders and light aircraft before turning to papers on high-speed aerodynamics, rockets, and rocket design and space exploration. gas dynamics. In 1936, he became the first direc­ In 1931, Korolev met Fridrikh Tsander and tor of a German government rocket research es­ collaborated with him to organize the Moscow tablishment at Trauen. Sanger's important book Group for Study of Reactive Motion. In 1932, he Racketenflugtechnik was published in 1933. Sanger was one of the organizers, and later, the head of was one of the first to investigate the use of liquid the Group for Study of Reactive Motion (GIRD), hydrogen as a fuel and to try mixing metal pow­ which built and launched the first Soviet liquid- ders with rocket fuels for increased effectiveness. propellant rocket in August 1933. After founding Both ideas were extensively adopted. the Rocket Research Institute, Korolev was ap­ With his wife, Dr. Irene Bredt, a mathemati­ pointed its deputy director for science. His scien­ cian and physicist, Sanger made a study for a tific and technological ideas were widely used in global bomber, which was published by the Ger­ Soviet rocketry. Korolev headed projects for the man government under the title "Rocket Propul­ development of many ballistic and geophysical sion of Long Range Bombers." This work became rockets, carrier rockets, and the Vostok and Voskhod one of the best known works in space literature series spaceships, the vehicles for the first manned after World War II. The concept, known as the space flight and the first walk in space. The space antipodal bomber, was to have taken off from a rocket systems developed under his guidance supersonic carrier, climb vertically beyond the made possible the launchings of artificial satellites atmosphere, and then reenter and travel along a of the earth and the sun. skip trajectory consisting of successive glides and Korolev was highly respected and won the climbs with diminishing airspeed. This concept esteem of all who worked with him. In 1953 he later influenced design of postwar research air­ was elected a corresponding member of the Acad­ craft in the United States. emy of Sciences of the USSR and in 1958 an After World War II, Sanger worked in France; academician. His outstanding work was marked then in 1954 he went to Stuttgart as head of the by high government awards. He died in January Institute of Jet Propulsion Physics. He later re­ 1966 of a coronary arrest during surgery. turned to lecturing at West Berlin's Technological REFERENCES: N. D. Anoshenko, History of Aviation and University. Cosmonautics NASA IT F-l 1, 430, National Aeronautics and REFERENCES: Author unknown, Obituary, New York Times, Space Administration, 1967; G. V. Petrovich, The Soviet 11 February 1965; Anonymous, "Dr. Eugen Sanger," Journal Encyclopedia of Space Flight, MIR Publishers, Moscow, 1969. of British Interplanetary Society, volume 29 (June 1949).

Eugen Sanger Robert Rowe Gilruth 1905-1964 1913- Achievements in rocket propulsion and the concept of the Achievements in the flying and handling qualities of antipodal bomber which influenced design of postwar aircraft, pilotless aircraft research, and direction of research aircraft Project Mercury A brilliant and inspirational theoretical physi­ Known as a driving force behind the U.S. cist who contributed extensively to the field of manned space-flight program, Robert R. Gilruth 110 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE had already earned international recognition for Arthur Kantrowitz his research on the characteristics of aircraft in 1913- flight when emphasis shifted to space exploration. Significant contributions to the development of shock An aeronautical engineer with both bachelors tube technology and ballistic missile reentry and masters degrees from the University of Min­ nesota, Gilruth was born in Nashwauk, Minne­ Known for his research in physical gas dynam­ sota. After graduation he began his career in ics and particularly for his pioneering application flight research with the National Advisory Com­ of the shock tube to high temperature gas prob­ mittee for Aeronautics at Langley Field in 1937. lems, Arthur Kantrowitz proved crucial to Amer­ Assigned to the Flight Research Division he un­ ican progress in space flight. A member of a dertook investigations related to the flying and talented family of achievers, Kantrowitz was born in the Bronx, New York City. Although an aver­ handling qualities of airplanes. The work culmi­ age student throughout elementary and high nated in a now-classic report, which provided the school, he excelled in science and mathematics. basis for establishing quantitative requirements In 1931, he enrolled at Columbia University as for the flying and handling qualities of military an engineering student, but soon changed his and civil aircraft. major to physics. Receiving his Bachelor of Sci­ Early in 1945 he was selected to create and ence degree in 1934 and his Master of Arts degree establish an organization and facility for con­ in 1936, Kantrowitz joined the NACA research ducting free-flight experiments with rocket-pow­ staff at Langley Laboratories in Hampton, Vir­ ered models at transonic and supersonic speeds. ginia. Here he worked with Eastman Jacobs and His leadership in this activity led to formation of Robert T. Jones on aerodynamics problems until the Pilotless Aircraft Research Division and the 1940 when he took a year's leave to complete NACA Wallops Station launching site. Gilruth's courses for his doctorate. When the United States activities gained international recognition for entered World War II, Kantrowitz interrupted contributions to transonic and supersonic flight his studies and returned to Langley where he and resulted in test techniques that have since contributed significantly to the development of been adopted throughout the Western world. the supersonic diffuser and compressor for jet In 1952 he was designated an assistant director engines. of the Langley Laboratories responsible for re­ Becoming interested in gas dynamics while at search in pilotless aircraft, structures and dy­ Langley he earned his doctorate from Columbia namic loads. Assigned to direct the nation's initial in 1947 with a dissertation on quantum effects in manned space-flight programs in 1958, his con­ gas dynamics. Upon invitation from Professor tributions to the Mercury Project made him best William Sears, he accepted an associate profes­ qualified to head the Manned Spacecraft Center sorship at Cornell University's School of Aero­ when that facility was established in 1961. Gil­ nautical Engineering prior to completing his doc­ ruth's leadership has been largely responsible for torate. With a subsidy of research contracts from the Office of Naval Research he began to develop this country's rapid progress in manned space the knowledge of high temperature gases, which flight. was later to prove so useful to reentry problems. Becoming aware of the reentry problem that REFERENCES: Official NASA Biography; "Man-In-Space Avco Corporation was having with the intercon­ Chief," New York Times, 9 July 1969; Maxine A. Faget, "Dr. tinental ballistic missile, Kantrowitz was able to Robert Rowe Gilruth Biography," in The Eagle Has Returned, duplicate the conditions in his shock tube at Proceedings of the Dedication Conference of the International Space Hall of Fame, Ernst A. Steinhoff, editor, volume 43, American Cornell. He reduced his teaching load and un­ Astronautical Society, 1976. dertook to put his theory into practice. NUMBER 4 111

In 1956, after Avco had established the Avco of the first liquid oxygen-gasoline rocket engines Everett Research Laboratory in which he could in Germany. conduct his studies, Kantrowitz left Cornell to In 1934, Riedel became an engineer with the devote himself exclusively to his work. When firm of Siemans Apparate and Maschinen GmbH Avco's Research and Development Division in­ in order to get further involved in the expanding troduced Avcoite and it was successfully used on field of rocket technology. While with the com­ the RVX 1-5 nose cone, Kantrowitz's theoretical pany he developed the first water-cooled liquid expectations were confirmed within engineering fueled rocket. In 1937, Riedel became director for accuracy. Arthur Kantrowitz had received many ground equipment at Peenemiinde's Rocket De­ awards for his lasting contributions to reentry velopment Center. While returning home on the technology. night of 4 August 1944, Riedel was killed in an

REFERENCE: Current Biography, H. W. Wilson, Co., 1966. automobile accident. REFERENCE: Resume of Klaus Riedel, manuscript in Bi­ Klaus Riedel ographical Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smith­ sonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 1907-1944

Significant contributions to rocketry and rocket engine Wernher von Braun technology 1912-1977 Credited with design and development of the Pioneering achievements in rocketry culminating in first water-cooled liquid-fueled rocket, Klaus Rie­ space, lunar, and interplanetary exploration del was born in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on 2 August 1907. The son of Lieutenant Commander Wernher von Braun, a talented engineer and Alfred Riedel, he attended the Gymnasium at proponent of space exploration, contributed sub­ Wilhelmshaven, but transferred to the Askanische stantially to the program for manned exploration Gymnasium in Berlin during the war in order to of the moon undertaken by the United States. He become eligible for entry in the Real Gymnasium was one of three sons born to Baron Magnum in Wilhelmshaven. Riedel's aspiration to become von Braun, a cabinet member of the Weimar an engineer was seriously disrupted by the death Republic, later minister of agriculture, and a of his mother in 1919 and of his father in 1921. banker. Wernher von Braun was born in Wirsitz, Completing his secondary education in 1923, Rie­ Germany on 23 March 1912. In 1925 he acquired del became a volunteer with the Kapler Werken a copy of Die Rakete zu den Planetenrdumen (The in order to gain practical experience. Recognizing Rocket into Interplanetary Space) by rocket pi­ his determination to become an engineer, his oneer Hermann Oberth, which proved little short uncle, Carl Riedel, encouraged him to apprentice of inspirational. with the firm of Loewe and Company. He entered Enrolled in the Berlin Institute of Technology, into a formal apprenticeship agreement with the where he assisted Oberth in liquid-fueled rocket company in October 1923. motor tests, von Braun joined the German Society While working as an apprentice, Riedel at­ for Space Travel. Graduating from the Institute tended night school and, upon completing his with the degree of Bachelor of Science in me­ apprenticeship, in 1927, he attended a private chanical engineering in 1932, he entered Berlin school in Berlin. He then audited the course of University. With the aid of a research grant from study in mechanical engineering at the Techn­ the Army Ordnance Department, von Braun con­ ische Hochschule in Berlin. In 1929, he joined tinued his rocket research at a small development Herman Oberth's rocket development team as a station. In 1934 he received a doctorate in physics rocket engineer and contributed to development with a dissertation on rocket engines. Upon grad- 112 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

uation he became technical director of the Rocket physics at the University of Tubingen in 1936 Development Center at Peenemunde. While at with a dissertation on the ionization rate of cosmic Peenemunde von Braun participated in develop­ rays. Upon graduation he joined the faculty of ment of the V-2 rocket and the supersonic aircraft the Berlin Institute of Technology as an assistant missile Wasserfall. Under his leadership, the level professor in the Physics Department. Inducted of rocket and missile technology at Peenemunde into the German army in 1941 as a private in the was advanced beyond that of any other nation. infantry, he spent two years in the military before Surrendering to U. S. troops at the end of being ordered to Peenemunde as a member of the World War II, von Braun and the entire rocket rocket development team headed by Wernher development team were brought to the United von Braun. States, where they continued their research activ­ From the end of World War II until 1950, he ities with the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps at Fort worked with the von Braun team for the U.S. Bliss, Texas. Named technical director of the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps at Fort Bliss, Texas. When Army ballistic weapon program at Huntsville, the team was transferred to Redstone Arsenal at Alabama, in 1959, he actively engaged in devel­ Huntsville, Alabama, in 1950, Stuhlinger was opment of the Redstone, Jupiter-C, Juno, and Persh­ assigned as director of the Research Projects Lab­ oratory of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency. In ing missiles. 1960, the von Braun group transferred to NASA, In 1955, von Braun became a U.S. citizen. with Stuhlinger remaining director of the Mar­ When the Soviet Union launched the Sputnik shall Center Research Projects Laboratory (later satellites in 1957, von Braun was given authority the Space Sciences Laboratory), Huntsville, Ala­ to mount a competitive effort. The first U.S. bama. He was named associate director for sci­ satellite, Explorer I was launched in 31 January ence in 1969. 1958 by von Braun and his Army team. With Stuhlinger has come to be recognized as the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space nation's leading spokesman for electric rocket Administration, von Braun was named director propulsion systems, as well as for his pioneering of the Marshall Space Flight Center in Hunts­ contributions in space vehicle design, satellites, ville. While in that capacity he led the develop­ and instrumentation. ment effort that produced the Saturn I, IB and V He has received many honors and awards for launch vehicles. The Saturn V vehicle was used to his achievements in astronautics. He retired from launch the successful flights to explore the lunar Federal service in 1975 and is currently working surface. at the Center for Energy and Environmental In July 1972, von Braun retired from NASA to Studies, University of Alabama in Huntsville. become corporate vice-president for engineering REFERENCES: Author unknown, Official NASA Biog­ and development with Fairchild Industries, Inc. raphy; B. J. Casebolt, "A Physicist Retires, Work Doesn't End," Huntsville Times, 1 February 1976; Ernst Stuhlinger, REFERENCES: Fred C. Durant III, "Missiles and Rockets," manuscript in Biographical Files, National Air and Space Encyclopaedia Bntanmca, volume 19, William Benton Pub­ Museum, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. lisher, 1966; Erik Bergaust, Wernher von Braun, National Space Institute, 1976. Charles Stark Draper Ernst Stuhlinger 1901- 1913- Development of inertial guidance systems and their application to commercial air transportation and space Electrical propulsion systems for space vehicles exploration Born in Niederrimbach, Wiirttemberg, Ger­ Born in Windsor, Missouri, Charles Stark many, Ernst Stuhlinger received his doctorate in Draper had originally intended to pursue a career NUMBER 4 113 in medicine. After graduating from Stanford Uni­ accomplished within visual contact of the aircraft versity with a degree in psychology, he registered carrier deployed to retrieve the crew. at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in elec­ More than an educator, scientist, and inventor, trochemistry and earned his Bachelor of Science Draper's technical and administrative leadership degree in that field in 1926. Upon completion of have established him as preeminant in the field his work at MIT, he accepted a commission with of inertial technology. the Army Air Corps and took flight training at REFERENCES: Robert Duffy, "Dr. Charles Stark Draper Brooks Field, Texas. He returned to MIT to Biography" in The Eagle Has Returned, Proceedings of the Dedi­ pursue a Master of Science degree in 1928, where cation Conference of the International Space Hall of Fame, Ernst A. one year later he was appointed as research as­ Steinhoff, editor, volume 43, American Astronautical Soci­ sistant. He was made a research associate in 1930 ety, 1976; American Men and Women of Science, 12th edition, R. B. Bowker Co. 1972; Who's Who in World Aviation and while teaching courses in aircraft instrumentation Astronautics, volume 2, American Aviation Publications, and working toward a doctorate in physics with 1958. a minor in mathematics. He was awarded his doctorate in 1938. Frank Malina Draper had met Elmer Sperry, Sr., earlier and 1912- had worked with him to invent, build, and test unconventional flight instruments. In 1939 Early work in the practical application of liquid and Sperry Gyroscope provided financial support for solid rocketry to sounding rockets, jet assisted take-off Draper's navigational work by sponsoring a proj­ (JA TO) and early ballistic missiles ect to make new gyroscopic turn indicators. Al­ A co-founder with Theodore von Karman of though successfully developed, there was no im­ Aerojet General Corporation, Frank Malina was mediate need for the instruments until the onset born in Brenham, Texas. Educated in mechanical of World War II, when Draper's rate of turn engineering, he received his Bachelor of Science indicator became the basis for gyroscopic gun- degree from the Agricultural and Mechanical sights. Draper continued to develop gunsights College of Texas (now Texas A & M University). and later missile fire-control systems for the mil­ Upon graduation he received a scholarship to itary until 1957. continue study at the California Institute of Tech­ Concurrent with his fire control work, Draper nology and obtained his Master of Science in continued to work on inertial guidance systems mechanical engineering in 1935, a Master of Sci­ for air navigation. His efforts culminated with ence in aeronautical engineering in 1936 and, in the demonstration of the first full inertial trans­ 1940, his doctorate in aeronautical engineering. continental flight from Massachusetts to Califor­ While at Caltech, Malina had the opportunity nia in 1953. As a consequence, military aircraft of working with von Karman and his senior staff and submarines were using inertial equipment in at GALCIT (Guggenheim Aeronautical Labora­ the early 1960's, and commercial aircraft adopted tory, California Institute of Technology). At the them in the 1970's. time, the Laboratory was conducting studies on As head of the Instrumentation Laboratory at the problems of high-speed flight and the limita­ MIT, Draper committed the Laboratory to its tions of engine-propeller propulsion were begin­ most dramatic undertaking when he proposed to ning to be recognized. Malina proposed a pro­ design an inertial navigation guidance and con­ gram of research on rockets to von Karman, who trol system to be used aboard the Apollo space­ gave permission to pursue it at GALCIT without craft. The remarkable accuracy of Draper's guid­ funding. This early rocket work attracted consid­ ance systems was demonstrated to a world-wide erable interest, and in 1938 Consolidated Aircraft audience when splashdown of the Apollo 11 was Company approached GALCIT for information 114 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE on rocket-assisted take-off of large aircraft. In networks were established and the scientific sat­ answering the inquiry, Malina concluded that ellite network was updated and expanded. He the rocket was admirably suited for this purpose. also directed establishment of the Gemini network, It was not until 1943, however, that liquid pro­ the plans for the Apollo network and organization pellant rocket engines built at Aerojet-General of a NASA world-wide cable and radio commu­ Corporation were tested in a Consolidated Air­ nication system. craft Company flying boat. Buckley was later appointed associate admin­ In 1942 Malina and von Karman founded istrator of NASA's Office of Tracking and Data Aerojet General Corporation, but Malina re­ Acquisition, where he continued to oversee plan­ mained active with GALCIT, where he was in­ ning, development, and direction of the ground strumental in working on research with sounding instrumentation system. Retiring from NASA in rockets, particularly the WAC Corporal. 1968, he continued to serve as special assistant to the administrator. REFERENCES: Frank Malina, manuscript in Biographical Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Insti­ REFERENCES: NASA News Release Nos. 68-17 (26 January tution, Washington, D. C; Who's Who in World Aviation and 1968), 59-107 (25 March 1959). Astronautics, volume 2, American Aviation Publications, 1958. Arthur C. Clarke 1917- Edmund S. Buckley 1904- Originator of the concept of the communications satellite

Development of range instrumentation, tracking A truly prophetic figure with an intense interest networks, and data acquisition systems vital to flight in space and its exploration, Arthur C. Clarke is research and space exploration perhaps best known as the author of over 40 books and numerous articles on science fiction. Born in Fitchberg, Massachusetts, Edmund S. Clarke was born on 16 December 1917, in the Buckley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in town of Minehead, in Somerset, England. Edu­ electrical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic cated at Huish's Grammar School in Taunton, he Institute in 1927. Buckley joined the National entered the British civil service in 1936 as auditor Advisory Committee for Aeronautics at Langley in the H. M. Exchequer and Audit Department. Research Center in 1930. In 1943, he was named With the onset of World War II, Clarke joined chief of the Instrument Research Division. While the Royal Air Force and became an instructor at in this capacity, he was responsible for the devel­ the radar school. After working awhile on early- opment and construction of electrical, mechani­ warning radar systems, he was assigned to work cal, optical, and electronic instruments in support on installation of the first ground controlled ap­ of research in wind tunnels, specialized laborato­ proach landing system. It was during this period ries, and in-flight vehicles, including high-speed that he conceived his idea for a communications research aircraft and rockets. Buckley was largely satellite. His paper, written in 1945, describes in responsible for development of the NASA Wal­ detail the geostationary satellite system now used lops Island rocket test area and for the flight and by all commercial communication satellites. ground instrumentation used at the NASA Flight Early in 1946, Clarke managed to get a grant Research Center, California. and entered King's College, London. He gradu­ In 1959, he was named assistant director for ated two years later with a Bachelor of Science Space Flight Operations of the National Air and degree in pure and applied mathematics and Space Administration. Under his direction, the physics with first class honors. Shortly after grad­ Project Mercury, and lunar and interplanetary uation he accepted a position as assistant editor NUMBER 4 115 of Science Abstracts, but within a year turned to full the effects of oxygen deficiency upon the heart. time writing. Since 1954, Clarke has been en­ Returning to Wiirzburg in the fall of 1929 he gaged in underwater exploration on the Great resumed his lectures in flight physiology. When Barrier Reef of Australia and the coast of Ceylon. the German Aeromedical Research Institute was Clarke became widely known to the general established in Berlin in 1935, Strughold was ap­ public when he and Stanley Kubrick wrote 2001: pointed director and began an investigation into A Space Odyssey. A frequent lecturer, Clarke has the effects of oxygen deficiency. With the Allied received many awards and honors for his writings occupation of Germany in 1945, Strughold was and contributions to the field of aerospace com­ taken prisoner but released to head an aero­ munications. nautical project at the University of Heidelberg under American direction. REFERENCES: "Profiles," New Yorker Magazine. 9 August 1969; Biography of Arthur C. Clarke, manuscript in Bio­ In 1947 Strughold emigrated to the United graphical Files, National Air and Space Museum, Smithson­ States to accept a position on the staff of the Air ian Institution, Washington, D. C; Current Biography, H. W. Force School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Wilson Co., 1966. Field, Texas. Using a variety of equipment, Strug­ hold and others investigated the effects of high Hubertus Strughold speed, oxygen deficiency, decompression, and ul­ traviolet rays on animals and men. Appointed 1898- chief scientist of the Aerospace Medical Division Signiflcant contributions in space medicine in 1962, he continued research on the visual problems of space flight and the effect of orbital Internationally recognized as the father of flight on the day-night cycles of the human body. space medicine, Hubertus Strughold has made He has authored more than 170 professional pa­ significant contributions to such space travel pers on physiology, aviation, and space medicine problems as weightlessness, visual disturbances, and has written several books. Strughold has and disruption of normal time cycles. The son of received numerous awards for pioneer research in a local school principal, he was born in Westtiin- space medicine. nen in the Province of Westphalia, Germany. REFERENCE: Current Biography Yearbook, The H. H. Wilson After graduating from the Gymnasium in Hamm Company, 1966. in 1918, he studied the natural sciences at the Universities of Gottingen and Munich and re­ William Randolph Lovelace ceived his Doctor of Philosophy degree in physi­ ology at the University of Miinster in 1922. The 1907-1965 following year he received his Doctor of Medicine Pioneering work in aerospace medicine and development degree from the University of Wiirzburg. After of advanced high-altitude breathing devices receiving his degree he remained at Wiirzburg as a research assistant. A brilliant surgeon and imaginative researcher, Impressed with the transoceanic flight of William Randolph Lovelace successfully com­ Charles Lindbergh in 1927, Strughold recognized bined his love for flying with his devotion to flight as an area in which physiological problems medicine. Born in Springfield, Missouri, he spent would be encountered. He immediately began most of his youth in New Mexico, where his assimilating all available literature on the subject physician-uncle inspired him to pursue a career of high altitude physiology and initiated research as a surgeon. Lovelace attended high school in on sensor motoric tests in a low pressure chamber. Alburquerque, New Mexico, entered medical In 1928 he came to the United States on a school at Washington University in St. Louis, and Rockefeller Foundation fellowship and studied after graduation continued his studies at Harvard 116 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

University where he received his Doctor of Med­ became standard equipment for both military icine in 1934. After serving his internship at and commercial aviators. Bellevue Hospital he entered the Mayo Founda­ In 1947 he helped found the Lovelace Foun­ tion in Minnesota. In 1940 he was awarded his dation for Medical Education and Research at Master of Science in surgery from the University Albuquerque, which pioneered in aerospace med­ of Minnesota. ical studies. In addition to other vital activities, Lovelace had learned to fly as a medical stu­ this foundation devised the first physical tests for dent and with his keen interest in aviation he prospective astronauts and developed computer became chief of the Aero Medical Laboratory at techniques for medical diagnosis and research. Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio, in 1943. It was while Lovelace died, with his wife and their pilot, in in this capacity that he personally tested bail-out an aircraft accident near Aspen, Colorado. At the oxygen equipment while testing his theories for time of his death he held a reserve assignment high altitude survival. He made a hazardous with the Air Force at the rank of brigadier gen­ jump from an altitude of 40,500 feet (12,100 m) eral. He was promoted to the rank of major to perfect the parachute technique of delayed general posthumously. opening that helped hundreds of flyers thereafter. REFERENCES: Obituary, Astronautica Acta, volume 12, num­ Lovelace was awarded the Collier Trophy in 1940 ber 2 (1966); John F. Loosbrock, Obituary, Air Force Maga­ zine, 20 December 1965; NASA News Release, number 63- for his part in developing the first advanced high- 274 (13 December 1963); Who's Who in Space 1966-1967, altitude breathing device, the oxygen mask which Space Publications Incorporated, 1965. Literature Cited

Anderson, Frank W., Jr. Gilmor, C. Stewart 1976. Orders of Magnitude. 100 pages. Washington, D.C: 1971. Coulomb and the Evolution of Physics and Engineenng in National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Eighteenth-Century France. 328 pages. New Jersey: Anderson, R. G. Princeton University Press. 1946. History of Rotary Wing in the United States. The Grahame-White, Claude, and Harry Harper American Helicopter Quarterly, 1(1): 26-38. 1911. The Aeroplane Past, Present and Future. London: T. Anonymous Werner Laurie. 1911. [On Aircraft Fatalities and Their Causes.] The Gray, George W. Aeronautical Journal, July: 125. 1948. Frontiers of Flight. 362 pages. New York: Alfred A. Armytage, W. H. G. Knopf. 1961. A Social History of Engineenng. 350 pages. New York: Hallion, Richard P. Pitman Corporation. 1972. Supersonic Flight. 248 pages. New York: The Atwater, Gordon I. MacMillan Company. 1974. Petroleum. Encyclopaedia Bntanmca, 14:164-189. 1977. Legacy of Flight. 292 pages. Seattle: University of Chicago: Willian Benton Publisher. Washington Press. Bryan, G. H. In Prep. To Study the Problems of Flight: The Creation 1911. Stability in Aviation. 192 pages. London: Macmillan of the National Advisory Committee for Aero­ and Co., Ltd. nautics. Bryant, Lynwood. Hart, Clive 1967. The Beginnings of the Internal Combustion En­ 1972. The Dream of Flight. 193 pages. New York: Win­ gine. In Melvin Kranzberg and Carrol W. Pursell, chester Press. Jr., editors, Technology and Western Civilization, 1: Hoff, Nicolas J. 648-664. New York: Oxford University Press. 1967. Thin Shells in Aerospace Structures. Aeronautics and Crouch, Tom D. Astronautics, February:26-45. 1979. Engineers and the Airplane. In Richard P. Hallion, Hunsaker, J. C. editor, The Wright Brothers: Heirs of Prometheus, 1915. Experimental Analysis of Inherent Longitudinal pages 3-19. Washington, D. C: Smithsonian In­ Stability for a Typical Airplane. In First Annual stitution Press. Report of the National Advisory Committee for Aero­ Delear, Frank J. nautics, pages 25-75. Washington, D. C: National 1961. The Story of the Helicopter. 35 pages. Connecticut: Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. [Also Sikorsky Aircraft, A Division of United Aircraft printed as NACA Technical Memorandum, 1.] Corporation. Johnson, S. Paul Durand, W. F. 1974. History of Aviation. Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2:380- 1953. Adventures: A Life Story. 212 pages. New York: 406. Chicago: William Benton Publisher. McGraw-Hill Book Company. Jones, B. M. Ege, Lennart 1929. The Streamline Airplane. The Journal of the Royal 1974. Balloons and Airships. 234 pages. New York: The Aeronautical Society, May:358-385. Macmillan Company. Jones, R. T. Gatland, Kenneth 1977. Recollections from an Earlier Period in American 1975. Missiles and Rockets. 256 pages. New York: The Aeronautics. Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics, pages Macmillan Company. 1-11. Giacomelli, R., and E. Pistollesi Judge, Arthur W. 1963. Historical Sketch. In W. F. Durand, editor, Aero­ 1917. The Design of Aeroplanes. 242 pages. London: Sir dynamic Theory, 1:305-394. New York: Dover. Isaac Pitman and Sons, Ltd. Gibbs-Smith, Charles H. Junkers, Hugo 1970. Aviation. 316 pages. London: Her Majesty's Sta­ 1923. Metal Aeroplane Construction. Journal of the Royal tionery Office. Aeronautical Society, 28:406-449. 117 118 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Lanchester, F. Schlaifer, Robert, and S. D. Heron 1907. Aerodynamics. 442 pages. London: A. Constable & 1950. Development of Aircraft Engines and Fuels. 753 pages. Co., Ltd. Boston: Harvard University Press. 1908. Aerodonetics. 433 pages. London: A. Constable & Schuman, Louis, and Goldie Back Co., Ltd. 1930. Strength of Rectangular Flat Plates under Edge Malina, Frank S. Compression. In Sixteenth Annual Report of the Na­ 1964. Origins and First Decade of the Jet Propulsion tional Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, pages 515- 538. Washington, D. C: National Advisory Com­ Laboratory. In Eugene M. Emme, editor, History mittee for Aeronautics. of Rocket Technology, pages 46-66. Detroit: Wayne Taylor, C. Fayette State University. 1971. Aircraft Propulsion: A Review of the Evolution of 1974. MSFC Skylab Orbital Workshop. Marshall Space Aircraft Piston Engines. Smithsonian Annals of Flight Center, NASA Technical Memorandum, X- Flight, 4:134 pages. 64813, (1): 562 pages. Taylor, John W. R. McFarland, Marvin W. 1968. Helicopters and VTOL Aircraft. 93 pages. Garden 1953. The Papers of Wilbur and Orville Wright. Volumes 1 City: Doubleday and Company. and 2, 1278 pages. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Timoschenko, Stephen P. Co. 1953. History of Strength of Materials. 452 pages. New York: Miller, Ronald, and David Sawers McGraw-Hill Book Company. 1970. The Technical Development of Modern Aviation. 351 von Karman, Theodore pages. New York: Praeger Publishers. 1924. Die Mittragenda Breite. Beitrage zur lechnischen Me- Munson, Kenneth chanik, pages 114-127. 1968. Helicopters and Other Rotorcraft Since 1907. 178 pages. 1954. Aerodynamics. 203 pages. Ithaca: Cornell University New York: The Macmillan Company. Press. NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics) Wagner, H. 1915. First Annual Report of the National Advisory Committee 1929. Structures of Thin Sheet Metal: Their Design and for Aeronautics. 303 pages. Washington, D. C: Na­ Construction. National Advisory Committee for Aero­ tional Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. nautics Technical Memorandum, 490: 25 pages. Nayler, J. L., and E. Ower Warner, E. P. 1923. Factors of Safety. National Advisory Committee for 1965. Aviation: Its Technical Development. 290 pages. Lon­ Aeronautics Technical Memorandum, 242:1-6. don: Vision Press, 1965. Weyl, A. R. North, John D. 1965. Fokker, the Creative Years. 420 pages. London: Put­ 1923. The Case for Metal Construction. The Journal of the nam and Company, Ltd. Royal Aeronautical Society, 28 (January):3-25. Williamson, Harold F., and Arnold R. Daum Rae, John B. 1959. The American Petroleum Industry. 864 pages. Evans- 1967. The Invention of Invention. In Melvin Kranzberg ton, 111: Northwestern University Press. and Carrol W. Pursell, Jr., editors, Technology in Zienkiewicz, O D. Western Civilization, 1:325-336. New York: Oxford 1971. The Finite Element Method in Engineenng Science. 521 University Press. pages. London: McGraw-Hill Book Company. Name Index

(Names and page numbers in italics indicate biography)

Ackeret, Jakob, 23, 42 Clark, Henry, 39 Farman, Maurice, 33 Ader, Clement, 6 Clark, Sara, 39 Finsterwalder, S., 18, 37 Aldrin, Edwin, Jr., 104 Clark, Virginius, 39, 98 Flettner, Anton, 97 AIford, William J., Jr., 93 Clarke, Arthur C, 114 Focke, Heinrich, 97 Allen, H Julian, 49, 102 Coanda, Constantine, 45 Fokker, Anthony, 72, 74, 80, 81 Armstrong, Neil, 104 Coanda, Henri, 45 Fourier, Jean Baptiste Joseph, 2 Arnold, Henry H. "Hap", 23, 60 Codornice, Maria, 95 Arnstein, Karl, 11, 15 Collins, Michael, 104 Garcia, Mr., 13 Congreve, William, 105 Gagarin, Yuri, 103 Gibbs-Smith, Charles, H., 72 Back, Goldie, 74 Conrad, Charles, 105 Gibson, A. H., 53 Balzer, Stephen, 52, 63 Crocco, Gaetano Arturo, 108 Giffard, Henri, 50 Beacham, Thomas Edward, 57 Crocco, Luigi, 108 Gilruth, Robert Rowe, 24, 101, 109 Bechereau, Louis, 71, 78 Crossfield, Scott, 24 Glauert, Hermann, 38 Becker, John V, 48 Curtiss, Glenn Hammond, 52, 77 Glennan, T. Keith, 102 Bell, Alexander Graham, 17 Goddard, Fannie, 106 Bell, Lawrence, 90 Daimler, Gottlieb, 51,61, 62 Goddard, Nahum, 106 Benz, Karl, 51,62 d'Arlandes, Marquis, 12 Goddard, Robert Hutchings, 99, 106 Bernard, Adolphe, 78 da Vinci, Leonardo, 94 Goring, Hermann, 89 Bernoulli, Daniel, 25, 26 de Bergerac, Savinien Cyrano, 9 Graham-White, Claude, 70 Birkigt, Marc, 53, 64, 78 DeFrance, Smith J., 49 Griffith, Alan Arnold, 58, 59, 68 Bleriot, Louis, 45, 78 de Havilland, Geoffrey, 79 Grigorovich, Dimitri, 83 Boechi, Alfred, 55 de Havilland, Geoffrey, Jr., 79 Grissom, Virgil, 103 Bosch, Robert, 51 de Havilland, John, 79 Gusmao, Laurenco de, 9 Bossart, Karel Jan, 92 de Lana-Terzi, Father Francesco, 9 Guggenheim, Daniel, 32 Bredt, Irene, 109 Deperdussin, Armand, 18 Breguet, Louis, 78, 94 de Rochas, Alphonse Beau, 61 Hamlin, Benson, 91 Browning, John, 17, 28 Doolittle, James, 86, 87 Handasyde, George H, 87 Bryan, George Hartley, 18, 35 Dorand, Rene, 94 Handley Page, Frederick, 41,1'4 Bryan, Robert Purdie, 35 Dormer, Claudius, 73, 82 Hargrave, Lawrence, 76 Bryant, Lynwood, 50 Douglas, Donald, 75 Heinemann, Edward, 88 Buckley, Edmund S., 114 Draper, Charles Stark, 112 Heinkel, Ernst, 59, 67 Busemann, Adolf, 47 Dryden, Hugh Latimer, 43, 102 Hele-Shaw, Henry Selby, 57 Byrd, Richard, 65 Dumont, Henrique, 13 Henson, William, 27, 50 Dunne, John William, 34, 80 Heron, Sam D., 53, 54, 55, 64 Caldwell, Frank W.,51, 58, 66 DuPont, Elouthere Irenee, 5 Hill, Geoffrey, T. R., 19, 35 Camm, Sydney, 87 Diirr, Ludwig, 11, 14 Hitler, Adolf, 75, 99, 100, 101 Capper, John, 35 Hohmann, Walter, 99 Cavendish, Henry, 9 Earhart, Amelia, 65 Hooke, Robert, 1 Cayley, George, 16, 17, 26, 28 Edison, Thomas, 93 Horton, Riemar, 89 Chaffee, Roger, 103 Eggers, Alfred, 102 Horton, Walter, 89 Chamberlin, Clarence, 65 Eiffel, Alexandre Gustav, 17, 31, 38 Hunsaker, Alma, 37 Chandler, M. E., 56 Eisenhower, Dwight D., 102 Hunsaker, Jerome Clark, 20, 34, 37, 98 Chandler, M. G, 56 Emmons, Paul, 91 Hunsaker, Walter, 37 Chanute, Octave, 5, 7, 28, 29, 30, 77 Esnault-Pelterie, Robert, 77 Charles Jacques-Alexandre-Cesar, 9, 10, 12 Jacobs, Eastman, 43, 110 Cierva y Codornice, Juan de la, 94, 95 Fairey, Charles Richard, 79 Johnson, Clarence L. ("Kelly"), 60, 91 Cierva y Penafiel, Juan de la, 95 Farman, Henri, 33 Johnson, Lyndon, 103

119 120 SMITHSONIAN STUDIES IN AIR AND SPACE

Jones, Benedict, 36 Midgeley, Thomas, 55 Santos-Dumont, Alberto, 11, 13 Jones, Bennett Melville, 19, 36 Mitchell, Billy, 84 Schroeder, R. W., 67 Jones, Edward Tomkins, 54 Mock, Frank C, 56 Schuman, Louis, 74 Jones, Robert T., 25, 48, 110 Monge, Gaspard, 2 Sears, William, 110 Joukovsky, Nikolai. See Zhukovski, Montgolfier, Etienne Jacques, 9, 10, 12 Sechler, Ernest E., 74, 90 Nikolai Y. Montgolfier, Michel Joseph, 9, 10, 12 Seguin, Laurent, 53, 63 Judge, Arthur W., 70 Montgolfier, Pierre, 12 Seguin, Louis, 63 Julliot, Henri, 11, 13 Morgan, George Cadogen, 26 Shepard, Alan, 103 Junkers, Hugo, 72, 73, 74, 81, 82 Moss, Sanford, 55, 66 Sikorsky, Igor, 95, 96 Mueller, Max, 59, 60 Slater, Samuel, 5 Kantrowitz, Arthur, 110 Munk, Max, 21,34 Smeaton, John, 26 Kennedy, John F., 102, 103 Smith, Stanley, 91 Kerwin, Joseph, 105 Newton, Isaac, 1,2, 16, 25, 26 Sommerfeld, Arnold, 41 Kettering, Charles F., 55 North, John D., 72, 73 Sperry, Elmer Ambrose, Sr., 86, 113 Kindleberger, James H.,91 Northrop, John K, 39, 60, 90 Sperry, Mary, 86 Klemin, Alexander, 98 Sperry, Stephen Decater, 86 Korolev, Sergei, 101, 108 Oberth, Hermann, 99, 107, 111 Stack, John, 24, 46, 90 Kotcher, Ezra, 23, 24, 46, 91 Otto, Nikolaus August, 51, 61, 62 Stanley, Robert, 91 Kubrick, Stanley, 115 Steinhoff, Ernst, 100 Kuhn, Paul, 75 Pascal, Blaise, 1 Stephenson, George, 4 Kutta, Martin Wilhelm, 17, 18, 19, 37 Pavlecka, Vladimir H., 60 Steuding, Hermann, 100 Penaud, Alphonse, 6, 26, 27 Stringfellow, John, 27, 50 Lachmann, Gustav, 19, 41 Phillips, Horatio, 28 Strughold, Hubertus, 115 Lagrange, Joseph Louis, 2 Piccard, Auguste, 15 Stuhlinger, Ernst, 112 Lanchester, Frederick William, 18, 32 Piccard, Helene, 15 Lang, Fritz, 108 Piccard, Jean, 15 Tank, Kurt, 89 Langen, Eugen, 61, 62 Piccard, Jules, 15 Taylor, Charles E., 52 Langley, Samuel Pierpont, 7, 30, 52, 63 Pilatre de Rozier, J. F., 12 Taylor, Geoffrey I., 69 Lawrance, Charles Lanier, 53, 54, 65 Pilcher, Percy Sinclair, 6 Telford, Thomas, 4 Lebaudy, Pierre, 11, 13 Platz, Reinhold, 72, 81 Thayer, Sylvanus, 5 Lebaudy, Paul, 11, 13 Pohl, R. W., 59 Thiel, Walter, 100 Leduc, Rene-Henri, 68, 69 Poisson, Simeon-Denis, 2 Tizard, Henry T., 59 Leibnitz, Gottfried von, 1, 2, 26 Polhamus, Edward, 92, 93 Tsander, Fridrikh Arturovich, 106, 109 Lenoir, Etienne, 50, 61 Polikarpov, Nikolai, 63, 83 Tsiolkovskii, Konstantin E., 99, 105, 106, Levavasseur, Leon, 52 Poyer, Harlan, 90 107 Lewis, David John, 48 Prandtl, Ludwig, 17, 18, 19, 21, 32, 41, 43 Turnbull, Wallace Rupert, 57, 58 Lewis, George William, 21, 22, 42 Pratt, H. B., 88 Ley, Willy, 99 Price, Nathan, 60 Van Allen, James, 102 Lilienthal, Otto, 6, 17, 29, 30, 37 Priestley, Joseph, 12 Verne, Jules, 107 Lindbergh, Charles, 65, 115 Verville, Alfred, 84 Link, Edwin A., 85 Rateau, Augusta, 55 Voisin, Gabriel, 33, 45 Link, George, 86 Reitsch, Hanna, 98 von Braun, Magnum, 111 Lippisch, Alexander, 45, 89 Rentschler, Frederick B., 54 von Braun, Wernher, 99, 100, 101, 102, Loening, Grover, 85 Reynolds, Osborne, 40, 41 Ul Lorin, Rene, 68 Riabouchinsky, Dimitri Pavlovitch, 17, 31 von Karman, Helene, 44 Lovelace, William Randolph, 115 Riedel, Carl, 111 von Karman, Maurice, 44 Riedel, Klaus, 99, 111 von Karman, Theodore, 24, 44, 74, 90, 113, Mach, Ernst, 40 Robbins, Benjamin, 26 114 Malina, Frank, 1/3 Robert, Anna-Jean, 10, 12 von Ohain, Hans, 59, 60, 67 Manly, Charles Matthew, 52, 63 Robert, M. N, 10, 12 von Pirquet, Guido, 99 Maxim, Hiram, 6 Roebling, John A., 5 von Zeppelin, Ferdinand, 11, 14, 82 Maybach, Wilhelm, 51, 61, 62 Rohrbach, Adolf, 73, 82 Mead, George J., 54 Ruchonnet, 71 Wagner, Herbert, 59, 73 Means, James, 7 Walcott, Charles D., 20, 34 Merrill, Joshua, 51 Sandstrom, Roy, 91 Walker, George, 26 Meusnier, J. B. M., 10 Sanger, Eugen, 109 Wallis, Barnes, 88 NUMBER 4 121

Warsitz, Erich, 59 Weisner, Jerome, 102 Wright, Wilbur, 7, 8, 13, 17, 28, 29, 30, Webb, James, 103 Willet, Helen Sperry, 86 32, 52, 56, 78 Weick, Fred E., 22, 84 Willgoos, Andrew V. D., 54 Wulf, George, 97 Weisbach, Julius, 3 Williams, W. S., 18, 35 Wells, H. G, 35 Wilson, Woodrow, 19 Yeager, Charles, 24, 40 Wenham, Francis Herbert, 6, 17, 28 Woods, Robert J., 90 Whitcomb, Richard T, 24, 25, 47 Wright, Milton, 30 Zahm, Albert F., 33, 38 White, Edward, 103 Wright, Orville, 7, 8, 13, 17, 26, 28, 29, Zahm, Jacob, 33 Whittle, Frank, 59, 60, 67 30, 45, 52, 56, 78, 85 Zhukovski, Nikolai Yegorovitch, 18, 19, 37

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If several "figures" are treated as components of a single larger figure, they should be designated by lowercase italic letters (underlined in copy) on the illus­ tration, in the legend, and in text references: "Figure 9b," If illustrations are intended to be printed separately on coated stock following the text, they should be termed Plates and any components should be lettered as in figures: "Plate 9b." Keys to any symbols within an illustration should appear on the art and not in the legend. A few points of style: (1) Do not use periods after such abbreviations as "mm, ft, yds, USNM, NNE, AM, BC." (2) Use hyphens in spelled-out fractions: "two-thirds." (3) Spell out numbers "one" through "nine" in expository text, but use numerals in all other cases if possible. (4) Use the metric system of measurement, where possible, instead of the English system. (5) Use the decimal system, where possible, in place of fractions. (6) Use day/month/year sequence for dates: "9 April 1976." (7) For months in tabular list­ ings or data sections, use three-letter abbreviations with no periods: "Jan, Mar, Jun," etc. Arrange and paginate sequentially EVERY sheet of manuscript—including ALL front matter and ALL legends, etc., at the back of the text—in the following order: (1) title page, (2) abstract, (3) table of contents, (4) foreword and/or preface, (5) text, (6) appendixes, (7) notes, (8) glossary, (9) bibliography, (10) index, (11) legends.