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Aviation History
1954
1954 - 0252.PDF
116 FLIGHT, 29 January 1954 IN MEMORY OF R. J. MITCHELL Vickers-Supermarine Designer, in R.Ae.S. Lecture, Pays Tribute to his Predecessor A R. J. Mitchell—on early portrait. FILM, books and articles since the war have all helped to make R. J. Mitchell into something of a legendary figure, not only in aviation, but in the eyes of the general public as well. This has happened to others who have played an important part in their country's history, but seldom so deservedly as in the case of the man who is always gratefully remembered by the British people as "the designer of the Spitfire." The value of his work, not only in rela tion to the Spitfire, but to other aircraft as well, received a most authoritative assess ment on Thursday of last week, when the first Mitchell Memorial Lecture was delivered before the Royal Aeronautical Society by Mr. Joseph Smith, C.B.E., F.R.Ae.S., A.M.I.Mech.E., chief designer to Vickers - Armstrongs' Supermarine works. The selection of a venue was as appropriate as the choice of speaker: though one of the Society's "main" fixtures, the lecture was given, under the auspices of the R.Ae.S. Southampton branch, at Southampton University—in the part of England in which Mitchell gained his fame. The lecture, incidentally, was the second of the Society's "memorial" series; the Rex Pierson Lecture was given in 1952, and the next—to be given in the Bristol area—will recall the achievements of F. S. Barnwell. Before the delivery of the lecture the president of the Society, Sir William Farren, was welcomed, as were the other guests, and a report was given by Mr. D. B. Smith on the activities of the Southampton branch and the organization of the lecture. The University gymnasium, where the lecture was delivered, was filled to capacity by visitors, admirers and friends of R. J. Mitchell who had travelled from all parts of the country; by the members repre senting at least five aircraft organizations in the area; and by visiting members from the newly formed Boscombe Down branch. During the course of the lecture a remarkable recording of Mitchell's voice was broadcast. The lecturer began by saying that, with recollections of fourteen years of contact with Mitchell, he felt rather in the position of a son speaking of his late father; and, indeed, Mitchell certainly was the "father" of the present Supermarine design team. Reginald Joseph Mitchell, the eldest of five children of a Yorkshire schoolmaster, was born at Talke, near Stoke-on-Trent, in 1895. The boy, at an elementary school at Longton, and later at Hanley High School, early developed a mechanical mind, and boyhood friends recall that one of his principal hobbies was the making of model aeroplanes. At the age of sixteen he left school and was apprenticed to an engineering firm, Kerr Stuart and Co., engaged on locomotive produc tion. He passed through the shops as an engineering apprentice and finally into the drawing office. He became a skilled mechanic, keen enough to install a lathe in his bedroom. During this period he attended evening technical classes and later became a part-time teacher in one of the technical colleges. In 1917, at the age of 22, he applied for and obtained a job with Hubert Scott-Payne at the Supermarine Aviation Works, Southampton. Mr. J. Smith delivering the Memorial Lecture. The Spitfire model is a reminder of the magnificent contribution made by the lecturer himself to the development of Mitchell's famous fighter. Scott-Payne first gave his new employee a job as his personal assistant, but in the middle of 1918 transferred him as assistant to Mr. Leach, the works manager. When Mr. Hargreaves, chief designer, left the firm in 1919, Mitchell returned to the drawing office as chief designer, and in 1920, at the age of 25, was also appointed chief engineer. It was about this period that he married the headmistress of Dresden Junior School, and began a happy domestic life which lasted till his death. His son, Gordon, was born in 1921. In 1923, Scott-Payne left Supermarine for other spheres in the aeronautical world, and the management of the enterprise was taken over by Sqn. Cdr. James Bird, who had joined the company in 1919. Bird gave Mitchell his head, and he remained chief engineer and chief designer until 1928. The firm was then taken over by Vickers, and shortly after, Mitchell was appointed director and chief designer, which position he held until his death in 1937. He was elected a Fellow of the R.Ae.S. in 1929, and was an associate member of the Institute of Civil Engineers. In 1932 his services to his country were recognized by his appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. He was a member of the Air League and a founder-member of the Hampshire Aeroplane Club, where he learned to fly, obtaining his pilot's licence in 1934. Having given his audience the background of Mitchell's career—'which we have summarized in the foregoing paragraphs—the lecturer now turned to his subject's personality. "R. J.," he said, "was a well-built man, pleasant-faced, of medium height and fair colouring, with a very determined chin. He possessed great charm, an engaging smile which was often in evidence and which transformed his habitual expres sion of concentration. He was rather shy with strangers, although preserving an outwardly easy manner, and only when one came to know him well did his chief characteristics become evident." Foremost among these characteristics was a clear-thinking ability to create, which made him a designer in the truest sense of the word. This creative ability was the driving force of his life. The next most important characteristic was his capacity for leadership. He never shirked full responsibility, and his technical integrity was unquestioned. He won the complete respect and the confidence of his staff, in whom Immediately below is the Supermarine Competition Amphibian which, in 1920, was awarded a special Air Ministry prize. This machine was described by Mr. Smith as Mitchell's first success. Indicative of his versatility is the dainty lightplane on the right, the Sparrow (in monoplane form).
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