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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1357.PDF
16 September 1955 471 Mr. Robert Blackburn. This painting — by Bernard Adams — hangs in the Royal Aero Club. The first Blackburn monoplane is represented in the background. WITH the passing of Mr. Robert Blackburn, O.B.E.,A.M.I.C.E., Hon. F.R.Ae.S., chairman of Blackburn andGeneral Aircraft, Ltd., one of the founders and leaders of the British aircraft industry has gone from the aeronauticalscene. He died at Exeter on Saturday last, September 10th, aged 70; he had visited the S.B.A.C. Display on Tuesday and Wednes-day of the same week. His wife and two sons and four daughters survive him.Robert Blackburn was born on March 26th, 1885, and was trained as an engineer. The first reference in Flight to his aero-nautical activity was: "While testing his monoplane on the Marske sands on May 24th, Mr. R. Blackburn, of Leeds, metwith a mishap. He was running the machine along the beach when, through skidding into a hole, the tyre of one of the wheelscame off. Mr. Blackburn at once cut off the ignition, and, as a result of the sudden stoppage, he was thrown from his seat.Fortunately, he escaped injury . . ." The date of that paragraph was May 28th, 1910, though youngBlackburn's first hop (on Saltburn sands, in his native Yorkshire) had been made in the preceding year. His original machine,sometimes known as the "flying bedstead," had been schemed in Paris, while he was in France studying aeronautical progress.It had a number of unorthodox features: notably, the pilot's feet were not used at all, the entire control being effected by the wheel.The second machine, however, was along the fairly conventional lines of the French Antoinette. After the Blackpool meeting of1910 that machine was taken to Filey sands, where B. C. Hucks ROBERT BLACKBURN arrived in due course and took his ticket on it. (He was self-taught,as were many of the early pilots.) For several years Hucks did most of Blackburn's flying, mostly on machines built at BalmRoad, Leeds. Late in 1911 Robert Blackburn designed two all-steel mono-planes for military purposes, and in 1912 came a new single-seater for Mr. Cyril Foggen. It is this same machine which has in recentyears been renovated and repeatedly flown at public and private meetings to the delight of all. These early Blackburns weresturdily constructed, but one of them would weigh less than a smgle airscrew of the Beverley freighter of today. May 1914 brought a small order for B.E.s, and Robert Black-burn took over works at Olympia, Leeds, forming the forerunner of the present company that June. The number of aircraft builtfrom 1914 to 1918 was 235, and more than 200 were produced by sub-contractors in the Leeds area. Blackburn types of the waryears included the "T.B." and "G.P." twin-engined, twin-float biplanes, the Kangaroo twin-engined landplane, and a triplanesingle-seat fighter. First of the naval torpedo carriers was the Blackburd of 1918; later came the Swift, Dart, Ripon, Baffin andShark. Types of the inter-war years are too numerous to detail, but they included flying-boats, landplanes, carrier-bornemachines for a variety of purposes, and floatplanes. Soon after the war the works were moved to Brough, and it was there, in1924, that the great Cubaroo, the largest single-engined machine of its day, took the air. Most famous of the flying-boats was thethree-engined Iris, and at the other end of the scale the Lincock light fighter (the Gnat of its day) demonstrated an excellent per-formance. The Roc and Skua were the first of the "modern" Blackburns and to a Skua fell the distinction of destroying thefirst enemy aircraft of the 1939-45 war. In 1936 the Dumbarton works were established under anarrangement with William Denny and Brothers, and at about the same time the Cirrus Hermes Engineering Company, makers oflight aero engines, was merged with the parent company, which then became known as Blackburn Aircraft, Ltd. World War IIproduction included 200 Sunderlands, 1,700 Swordfish, and a sizeable quantity of Barracudas. Modifications were made on4,000 American naval aircraft. In recent years, following a merger, the name of the companyhas been changed to Blackburn and General Aircraft, Ltd., and production of the Beverley four-engined military transport hasgone ahead for the Royal Air Force. Also in hand is an ambitious programme for a rationalized range of small gas turbines undera French Turbomeca licence. In all these developments Robert Blackburn maintained a closeand benevolent interest; he also did much for the industry in general; he was vice-president of the S.B.A.C. in 1945-46, anda member of the society's management committee in 1950-52. He will be remembered as a quiet and kindly man, and one whoinspired devotion and loyalty among his workers. M.o.S. Appointments THE Ministry of Supply announces that Mr: E. T. Jones, C.B.,O.B.E., has been appointed Director-General of Technical Development (Air) in succession to Mr. G. W. H. Gardner, C.B.,C.B.E., who is to become Director of the Royal Aircraft Establish- ment, Farnborough, on November 1st. Dr. W. Cawood, C.B.E., has been appointed to succeed Mr.Jones as Principal Director of Scientific Research (Air). Helicopter Association Dines A DISTINGUISHED gathering was present to hear Sir OwenWansbrough Jones, Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Supply, propose the toast of the "Helicopter Association" at the Associa-tion's annual dinner, held at the Dorchester Hotel on September 8th. Sir Owen said that he thought the problem of making heli-copters "social" was an important one. They should be well- silenced and their operation should not interfere with the rightsof others. He would like to see the numbers in operation in this country greatly increased. He stressed, however, that timing wasmost important and that those associated with the helicopter industry should make it their business to ensure that the develop-ment of this invention was not too late to be useful. In reply, Lord Douglas of Kirtleside, president of the Associa-tion, referred to the expanding activities—including those of his own Corporation—of a number of British helicopter operators.With a membership of approximately 500, the Association was now moving from strength to strength, but more members werestill wanted, particularly technical members. Lord Douglas also announced that Mr. J. G. Weir, the Association s first president,had recently been elected to be an honorary member. Mr. Stanley Hiller, replying to the toast of "the Guests," spokein eulogistic terms of the outstanding advancements of the British helicopter industry which were in evidence at the S.B.A.C. Show.The rotating-wing field, he said, was likely to see further expan- sion in the near future with the development of new principles andthe appearance of unconventional rotorcraft. Mr. C. H. Tucker ••-*•"•: WE learn with regret of thesudden death in Sydney, New South Wales, on Septem- ber 6th, of Mr. Claud Henry Tucker, O.B.E., director and general manager of the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Australia) Pty., Ltd. A Londoner, Mr. Tucker joined the parent com- pany in 1942 as business manager of the engine division's shadow factory at Corsham and in 1946 moved to Weston- Super-Mare to take up a similar appointment when the com- pany's factory there changed over from the production of Beaufighters to the manufacture of aluminium buildings. When the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Housing), Ltd., was formed later that year, Mr. Tucker was appointed secretary and subsequently became a member of the Board He was appointed general manager of the newly-formed Australian company in 1952 and became a director this year. Mr. Tucker
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