Sir Barnes Wallis, a radical engineer and his patents

World Patent Information 28 (2006) 20–33

www.elsevier.com/locate/worpatin

Sir Barnes Wallis, a radical engineer and his patents

Brian Spear *

36 Forest Approach, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 9BS, UK

Abstract

Barnes Neville Wallis (1887–1979) was probably Great Britain�s most distinguished 20th century aeronautical engineer, despitebeing largely self taught. He filed 140 GB patents alone between 1917 and 1959 which not only illustrate his own career but alsothrow light on the rise, glory years and later decline of the British aerospace industry.� 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Barnes Wallis; Engineering patents; Historical review; Airships; Geodetic structures; Aeroplane design; Telescopes

1. Early years

He came from a fairly impoverished London middleclass family and, despite a good scientific grounding atChrists Hospital school, left in 1904 at 16 for a menialapprenticeship paid 4 shillings a week (about £20 now)with a company making ships engines, having failedhis London matriculation exam. Not a very promisingstart! Nevertheless after 3 years of routine work hedecided to be a marine engineer (at a time when Britishmarine engineering dominated the world) and trans-ferred to a shipyard in the Isle of Wight where he soongained a place in the drawing office and earned 25 shil-lings week. By 1911, he had finished his apprenticeshipand was working on sea trials for destroyers; later hewas an expert on diesel engines. However, at this stagehe showed no sign of his later distinction.

2. The rise of aviation-airships

Although aeroplanes had made limited progress sincethe Wright Brothers flight in 1903 most thought the fu-

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* Tel.: +44 208 504 8972.E-mail address: [email protected]

ture lay with airships where Germany had its impressiveZeppelins. This alarmed the British Government and in1909 they ordered an airship, the Mayfly, from VickersArmstrongs, Britain�s leading armaments conglomerate.There was no British airship expertise and 2 years� workresulted in the Mayfly breaking its back when emergingfrom her shed. The Board of Enquiry chairman de-scribed it as ‘‘the work of an idiot’’ and the programwas abandoned. One engineer, H.B. Pratt, left Vickersin the aftermath of this fiasco to work alongside Wallisin the shipyard. Shortly afterwards, Germany ordered10 Zeppelins and the British program was rapidly resur-rected, Pratt was recalled and got Wallis a job as anassistant airship designer in September 1913—despitehis lack of pertinent experience few were any betterqualified. He excelled here, taught himself calculus inhis spare time, and became a highly proficient designer.However, the program was dropped in March 1915 andWallis joined the Army (he had previously volunteeredfor the Navy in 1914) where his proudest engineeringachievement was designing the camp drains! Govern-ment changes meant renewal of the airship programand Pratt and Wallis were recalled again. The Britishprogram was bedevilled by departmental infightingand achieved very little but Wallis ended the First WorldWar (WW1) as Britain�s leading airship designer withthe R80. The end of WW1 led to massive defence cuts,

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B. Spear / World Patent Information 28 (2006) 20–33 21

R80 was abandoned in 1921, and Vickers closed its air-ship department. Wallis was given a retainer to pursuehis own interests which he used to get an external Lon-don engineering degree in a year, subsequently teachingmaths in a Swiss school to perfect his French and hope-fully get a job in aviation sales.

3. Patent applications

Meanwhile from 1917 he began filing patents on var-ious aspects of this airship work (see Appendix A). Hisfirst patent (Fig. 1) concerned a portable riveting ma-chine for light structural work, his co-applicant beinga director of Vickers [1].

One of his Patent Agents was Arthur Bloxham,whose sister was Wallis�s step-Mother, and Wallis subse-quently fell for Molly—one of Arthur�s five daughters.As Wallis was 35 to Molly�s 17 her Father strongly dis-

Fig. 1. GB118162—Riveting machine for light structures.

Fig. 2. GB250330—Str

approved of this cradle snatching. Nevertheless theymarried in 1925 and it was a very successful marriage,with 4 children and 20 grandchildren.

4. Airships revived

Despite the success of aeroplanes in WW1 they weresmall, noisy and uncomfortable so there was a wide-spread, if ultimately misguided, belief that airships werethe future for long distance passenger transportation. InBritain this resulted in two programs, the R100 run bythe Vickers backed Airship Guarantee Company whereWallis was made chief designer in 1923, and the R101program started by the brief 1924 Labour Governmentwho approved of government planning and whose pac-ifist wing considered Vickers to be ‘‘merchants ofdeath’’. These rival ‘‘capitalist’’ and ‘‘socialist’’ pro-grams led to considerable political infighting when therewas barely enough technical expertise or money to runone program and the rival German Graf Zeppelin wasachieving worldwide fame in 1928–1929. The outcomeof the airship program supports the view that a smallteam led by someone who knows what they are doingnearly always achieves more than a committee. Wallisgenerally believed that what is aesthetically attractiveis usually more efficient and the R100 had a torpedo likeshape with the passenger/engine cars recessed inside(Fig. 2), [2].

Technically Wallis�s design and practical implementa-tion was superior and R100 completed a successfultrip to Canada in 1930 which led to high hopes ofcommercial success, especially sales to the USA. R101was pressed into a trip to India shortly afterwardsand crashed in France with great loss of life, includingmost of her design team and Lord Thomson, the AirMinister and Labour politician most associated withit. The subsequent recriminations effectively finishedboth British programs though Germany and USAcontinued until the Second World War (WW2) inter-vened. The R100 resulted in 24 GB and 12 US patentsfor Wallis, not just concerned with the structure but

eamlined airship.

Fig. 3. GB281041—Rigid airships in which transverse frame torsion and/or bending of longitudinal girders is avoided.

22 B. Spear / World Patent Information 28 (2006) 20–33

also with all the ancillaries such as engine cars(GB259264), gas valves (GB281419), mooring masts(US1664188), etc. reflecting his desire and aptitude forsolving a wide range of engineering problems. On thestructural design aspect he gradually formed his ideason geodetics which gives particular strength/lightnessfor aeronautical construction. Essentially space framescan be built in curvilinear form, the whole forming anarticulated structure without internal chords, diagonalsor bulkheads and where all members are placed as geo-desics in the boundary surfaces. Rigidly joined oppositehanded geodesics would bear equal but opposite forcesto shear or torsional loading thus greatly increasingstrength.

One of his design team and co-inventors—GB281041(Fig. 3, [3]), US1781100—was Neville Shute Norwaywho later became famous as the novelist Nevil Shute,one of the few engineers to succeed in this field despitehaving engineers as heroes!

5. Aeroplanes again

Wallis had briefly worked on aeroplanes in 1920 andworked part time with Vickers Supermarine from 1928,transferring permanently in 1930 before the end of theairships. Initially he did not get on with his colleague

Mitchell (eventual designer of the Spitfire) and trans-ferred to designing a flying boat yacht and later a fight-er. His prime innovation was in applying geodetics toaircraft to improve strength and decrease weight. Forexample, see Fig. 4, [4].

Despite numerous objections, especially from theAir Ministry, his views eventually prevailed and led tothe Wellesley bomber in 1935 and later the Welling-ton which was a highly successful RAF bomber inWW2, consequently being produced in the largestnumbers. Thanks to its geodetic construction the Wel-lington could absorb a tremendous amount of damageand still get home which made it very popular withits crews who affectionately christened it the ‘‘Wimpy’’.Again he was granted numerous patents in Britainand abroad since, as in the airship program, heworked on all aspects of aircraft structures and ancil-laries. For example gun turret windscreens as shown inFig. 5, [5].

One popular contemporary idea for repelling bomb-ing aircraft was surrounding the target with barrage bal-loons whose securing cables posed a severe hazard toaircraft. In wartime they were generally ineffectual butWallis�s idea (Fig. 6, [6]) was a saw edge on the aircraftwing which could sever the cable!

A radical suggestion but I would not like to havebeen in the plane that tried it!

Fig. 4. GB452726—Improved geodetic bracing members for wings or fuselages of aircraft.

Fig. 5. GB494248—Adjustable windscreens for use with guns, cameras or other instruments mounted on aircraft.


Fig. 6. GB568559—Protecting aircraft from wire obstructions by providing a saw edge to the wings.


6. Bombs and dams

The outbreak of WW2 in 1939 convinced Wallis thata successful bombing campaign was dependent on usingthe largest bombs possible on the largest aircraft and, tothis end, he made a detailed study of high explosives inhis spare moments from continuous development work

Fig. 7. GB937959—Explosive missiles launched f

on the Wellington. He also made detailed studies ofthe German and Italian economies and how bombingcould be made more effective, in particularly by attack-ing the dams which fed the Ruhr, Germany�s industrialpowerhouse. Initially his ideas were rebuffed but, by1942, Britain�s strategic bombing campaign had provedso expensive and ineffectual that the authorities were

rom aircraft with forward spinning motion.


open to any suggestions. At that stage the RAF had nomeans of effectively demolishing the dams so, havingsold the idea, Wallis had to design the bombs and themethod too. He had long been interested in the ballisticsof spheres and knew they could be made to skip alongthe surface of water. He eventually produced a cylindri-cal bomb rotatably suspended below the bomber which,when released at 60 feet above the water, would skipalong the surface hit the dam, sink to its base and ex-plode at this most vulnerable point (Fig. 7, [7]).

This bomb was considered so important that its 2 pat-ents were not published until 1963. The Dam Buster raidsof 16/17 May 1943 were considered largely successfuland Wallis�s reputation was made with the military sothereafter he designed ever bigger and equally successfulbombs until the end of the war, though he found time tofile other aircraft patents. His outstanding war timeachievements earned him surprisingly little official recog-nition, and he was not knighted until 1968. However, hewas made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945, a rare

Fig. 8. GB595464—Control of yaw

honour for an engineer and a powerful endorsement ofhis professional excellence.

7. Rethinking aeroplane design—wild goose and

swallow

Wallis stayed at Vickers as head of an IndependentResearch Department with a wide remit to explore whatinterested him. Characteristically he reconsidered the en-tire basis of aircraft design and explored variable geo-metric designs to devise a wing controlled aeroplanewithout a tail and ailerons (Fig. 8, [8]) which becameknown as Wild Goose.

To bring such a radical project to fruition was beyondthe scope of Vickers alone and, in practical terms, heneeded large scale backing from the government. How-ever, WW2 had left Britain effectively bankrupt with ahuge aircraft industry eager for projects. The resultwas a multiplicity of underresourced and underfunded

ing and pitching of aircraft.


projects, few of which resulted in both technical andcommercial success. The numerous expensive and politi-cally embarrassing failures led to the steady decline of theBritish aerospace industry. Wild Goose became a smallresearch project whose progress was slowed by Wallis�srefusal to risk the life of a test pilot in his prototype, in-stead using a movable launch trolley (e.g. GB673550) fora remote controlled model. After many difficulties WildGoose flew successfully in 1952 and his theories wereproved. However, large scale official support was stillnot forthcoming though he worked on a feasibility studyfor a new RAF bomber based on his theories which be-came known as Swallow. For this he modified the fuse-

Fig. 10. Computer simulatio

Fig. 9. GB894365—Improved delta p

lage design to produce a delta with a large spinerunning down the middle, the wings being pivoted atthe base of the delta. In 1955, an 8 foot rocket propelledmodel performed well and, by 1956, a prototype planecould have been started. However, this coincided withlarge scale defence reviews/economic cutbacks and Swal-low was effectively dead by 1959 (the filing year of 894365[9], his last GB patent—see Fig. 9).

Although Swallow never flew Fig. 10 shows a com-puter simulation [10].

The USA later built the F111 with swing wings (butincluding a tail) with debatable success. Ironically hisinability to push these projects to fruition coincided with

n of Swallow aircraft.

lan form of aerofoil in aircraft.

Fig. 11. GB692140—Launching remotely-controlled missiles with adjustable wings.


Fig. 12. GB798953—Improved paraboloidal dish for radio telescope.


widespread national fame in consequence of the verysuccessful book and film ‘‘The Dam Busters’’.

8. Other later inventions

Meanwhile he still found time for other work; around1950 there was a spate of patents on turret launchedguided missiles (see Fig. 11, [11] for example).

In 1954, he was involved in reducing aircraft radarreflection (GB852881—early stealth technology?) andin 1955 on telescopes (Fig. 12, [12]).

He had been lured onto a GB radiotelescope commit-tee and designed the mounting which was used in onebuilt in Australia in 1961. In fact between 1945 and1960 (aged 58–73 when most of his contemporaries wereretired) he had 42 GB patents alone, being nearly as pro-lific as during his pre-war surge (Fig. 13).

1 Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (UK: Book Club Associates byarrangement with Oxford University Press, 3rd ed. 1979) 364.9. Thefull quotation is �I often feel, and ever more deeply I realize, that fateand character are the same conception�.

9. Endgame

In his final years he still pursued radical technicalideas; short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft, square

shaped aircraft fuselages, and (returning to his nauticalroots) nuclear powered submarine cargo carriers. Fur-thermore he did much lecturing despite his age; while Iwas an engineering student in 1965, he gave us a brilliantlecture which I remember vividly today.

To sum up Wallis was undoubtedly a brilliant selftaught engineer, not only producing a wide range of ori-ginal and often highly radical patentable ideas in a succes-sion of technical fields but, more importantly, having thepersuasiveness and strength of character to sell these rad-ical ideas to others and produce numerous technicallysuperior finished products, many of which were very suc-cessful when financial resources were available. In charac-ter he was not only intelligent, original and hard workingbut an essentially upright personality: patriotic, church-going and respectable. ‘‘Character is destiny’’1 as Novalis

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

1917 26 35 44 53

NUMBER OFPATENTS

Fig. 13. GB patents of Sir Barnes Wallis, 1917–1960.


put it and, in Wallis�s case, his singular character was themainspring of his success.

Appn year Patent number Subject matter

The WW1 airship program

1917 GB118162 Portable riveting machin1917 GB128968 Hole drilling/punching1918 GB131072 Airship mooring ball/soc1918 GB121552 Bracing for aircraft gird

Airship Guarantee Co.

1924 GB233020 Airship shape controlled1924 GB233021 Airship frame1924 GB238981 Airship car suspension1924 GB239300 Airship steering and bala1924 GB239601 Airship protective envelo1924 US1608230 Airship1924 US1658821 Airship1924 US1666112 Airship1924 US1675009 Airship1925 GB249949 Airship mooring mast1925 GB250330 Airship1925 GB250348 Airship outer cover1925 GB252517 Airship mooring mast1925 GB254782 Hollow metal struts for1925 GB254783 Machine makes metal ai1925 GB259264 Airship engine cars1925 GB262511 Curved girders1925 GB262512 Riveting aircraft tubes1925 US1630726 Airship1925 US1637432 Airship1925 US1664188 Airship mooring mast1926 GB271241 Reversing in valve gear1926 GB280327 Airship wires1926 GB281041 Preventing airship torsio1926 GB281419 Automatic gas valve1926 GB282166 Airship engine

Acknowledgment

Permission from Dr. Ian R. Murray (University ofDundee, UK) to include Fig. 10 in this article is grate-fully acknowledged.

Appendix A

The esp@cenet� database provided by the EPO lists140 published GB patents with Barnes Neville Wallisas Inventor/Applicant. There are also 41 US, 19 DE, 4FR, 1 CH and 1 BE listed. Some of these non-GB pat-ents are listed as GB equivalents and the others areprobably related. I have listed them by year of originalapplication as the grant dates vary considerably.

Most of these have as applicants the Airship Guaran-tee Company or various Vickers companies but a few arein Wallis�s name only or have other inventors/applicants.

Other applicants/inventors

e J. McKechnie’’

ket McKechnie/Vickersers ’’

by variable pitch wires

ncingpe

aircraftrcraft tubes

Burney

Temple/Burneynal stress Norway

Burney

(continued on next page)

Appendix A (continued)

Appn year Patent number Subject matter Other applicants/inventors

1926 GB282167 Airship framework1926 GB282518 Airship outer cover stretching1926 GB283635 Airship bag relief valve1926 US1661206 Airship Burney1926 US1713574 Airship1926 US1724440 Airship Burney1926 US1758143 Airship Temple/Burney1926 US1781100 Airship Temple/Burney/Norway1927 GB301343 Bolted joint for flanges1927 GB301347 Connecting tanks

Aircraft

Some of these are in Wallis�s name only though he was clearly working for Vickers1929 GB334405 Frame structures for aircraft wings/fuselages1929 GB341937 Turning aircraft stress-distributing sleeves(equivalents FR703228, DE558900)1929 DE559305 Aircraft1929 DE568607 Aircraft1929 GB342268 Aircraft wing structures1929 US1805964 Turning1929 US1833696 Aircraft wings1929 US1846772 Aircraft frame1930 GB348936 Screwing and tapping for aircraft tubes1931 GB376364 Aircraft framework

Vickers Aviation and later Vickers companies

1931 GB376365 Securing strengthening sleeves for aircraft tubes1931 GB380091 Drilling metal aircraft tubes1931 GB380093 Riveting metal aircraft tubes1931 GB387346 Aircraft gun mounting1931 GB387347 Aircraft wing bracing1931 GB388437 Folding aircraft wings1931 GB388438 Aircraft fuselages with geodetic bracing axes1931 GB392905 Stressed skin aircraft fuselages1931 GB392972 Spring buffered arm for aircraft gun1931 US1891127 Strengthening sleeves for tube ends1931 US1894011 Construction if aircraft fuselage1931 US1913097 Constructing a girder1931 FR701140 Aircraft1931 FR703261 Aircraft1932 GB399555 Aircraft wing construction1932 GB399887 Aircraft tail unit1932 GB406747 Aircraft gun mounting1932 GB406753 Spring hinged adjustable seat for aircraft gun mounting(equivalents US1933197, FR751977, BE395143, DE586033)1932 GB407009 Aircraft wings1932 GB408674 Assembling geodetic aircraft bracing members1932 GB412232 Aircraft wing upper and lower boom construction1932 GB416841 Aircraft gun mounting1932 US1935491 Aircraft gun mounting (equivalents FR753516, BE395477)1932 US1967795 Aircraft cantilever wing1932 US1985649 Aircraft wing construction1933 GB418066 Aircraft biplane wing bracings1933 GB419748 Aircraft control surface balancing




1933 GB426134 Aircraft landing gear1933 GB426268 Single spar aircraft wing has recess for wheel/fuel tank1933 GB429186 Aircraft biplane wing bracing1933 GB429188 Connecting aircraft bracings1933 GB449234 Reversing gearing for aircraft gun mounting1934 GB441084 Windscreen for aircraft nose/tail used as gun mounting1934 GB449236 Aircraft gun mountings1934 GB449237 Aircraft gun mountings1934 US1956480 Aircraft spar bracings1935 GB452726 Geodetic aircraft construction1935 GB465734 Adjustable aircraft cockpit seat1935 GB478955 Aircraft gun mounting1935 GB465733 Combined aircraft windscreen/cockpit cover1935 US2060387 Aircraft structure1936 GB471124 Aircraft wing/fuselage construction1936 GB471123 Boom for cantilever aircraft structure1936 GB479858 Power operated aircraft doors1936 US2115504 Aircraft frame1937 DE675983 Aircraft1937 GB478089 Stressed skin aircraft wing/control surface1937 GB494109 Aircraft gun mounting1937 GB494233 Geodetic aircraft construction1937 GB494248 Mounting aircraft gun through windscreen1937 GB505201 Wing mounted aircraft engine nacelle1937 GB505202 Wing mounted aircraft fuel tanks1937 GB505208 Geodetic aircraft structures1937 GB568559 Aircraft has balloon cable cutters on wings1937 US2234906 Producing geodetic aircraft structures1937 US2157042 Aircraft wing/fuselage1938 GB510164 Retractable aircraft undercarriages1941 GB548287 Aircraft landing gear1941 GB549033 Jointing stressed skin aircraft structure1941 GB561929 Aircraft wing spars1941 GB562301 Aircraft pressure cabins1941 GB578152 Roller bearing track for aircraft gun turret1941 GB573725 Stressed skin aircraft structure1941 GB571719 Aircraft pressure cabin sealing1941 GB565860 Aircraft pressure cabins1941 GB565771 Aircraft wing aerofoil1941 GB565770 Stressed skin aircraft wings1941 US2362951 Aircraft pressure cabin1941 US2365669 Stressed skin aircraft wings/control surfaces1941 US2387219 Aircraft structure1942 GB581142 Aircraft pressure cabins1942 GB574576 Self sealing aircraft fuel tank fabric1942 GB574090 Aircraft surface designed to withstand external air pressure1942 GB572303 Aircraft pressure cabin door1942 GB937959 Aircraft launched missiles1943 GB572816 Range finder for torpedo carrying aircraft1943 GB567900 Aircraft undercarriages1943 GB937960 Discharging missiles from aircraft1943 US2388197 Range finder1944 GB577154 Aircraft cabin

(continued on next page)




1944 GB575392 Geodetic aircraft wing1944 GB580574 Woven metallic skin for airframes1944 DE805498 Aircraft1944 US2455838 Aircraft frame1945 DE820540 Aircraft1945 US2459009 Aircraft body and wing1945 GB595464 Aircraft with adjustable wings to control pitch1945 GB595490 Aircraft lateral and pitch control using movable wings1946 GB595494 Movable aircraft wings1946 US2504767 Aircraft with adjustable wings1947 GB586976 Finding dynamic unbalance of rotary body1947 GB741717 Adjusting aircraft wings1948 GB741718 Adjusting aircraft wings1948 GB741719 Adjusting aircraft wings1949 GB673550 Wheeled aircraft launching trolley1949 GB673551 Releasable attachment for aircraft launching trolley1949 GB692140 Guided missile launching turret1949 GB756019 Controlling movable aircraft wings1949 GB756020 Centrifugal governor for controlling aircraft wings1949 GB759677 Guided missile launched from gun1949 GB759678 Guided missile gas turbine1949 GB759679 Guided missile wing mountings1949 GB759680 Guided missile gas turbine1949 GB741720 Variable sweep back aircraft wings1950 GB764291 Guided missile moved by wing adjustment1950 GB764292 Guided missile automatic pilot1950 GB764395 Guided missile yaw control1950 US2659553 Launching aeroplanes1951 GB731665 Controlling deflection of loaded tubes1953 GB730818 Wheeled aircraft launching carriage1953 GB832181 Swept wing aircraft has flutter reduction1954 GB832606 Aircraft control/stabilisation1954 GB832760 Variable sweep aerodyne wings1954 GB852881 Aircraft shaping to reduce radar reflections1954 US2915261 Variable sweep back aerodyne wings1955 GB798953 Paraboloid reflector in radio telescope1955 GB820166 Telescope mounting1955 GB860823 Aircraft wing fluid pressure end thrust bearings1955 GB861230 Pivotally connected aircraft wings1955 US2922601 Variable sweepback aircraft1955 US2990141 Pivot for variable sweepback aircraft wings1956 GB832761 Aircraft delta plan aerofoil1956 GB832762 Aircraft construction reduces drag ratio1956 GB842363 Mounting engines on aircraft swept back wings1956 GB854459 Moving variable sweep aircraft wings1956 US2969938 Variable sweep back aircraft1957 GB839647 Cooling supersonic aircraft using special skin1957 GB1148492 Controlling aircraft launched gliding bomb1957 DE1083567 Telescope1958 GB857832 Making bearings1958 GB870739 Aircraft swept wing engine mounting1958 GB950400 Adjusting aircraft wings




1958 DE1079465 Aircraft1958 DE1081765 Aircraft1958 DE1081766 Aircraft1958 DE1081767 Aircraft1958 DE1105727 Aircraft1958 DE977750 Aircraft1959 GB885033 Variable sweepwing aircraft1959 GB885105 ’’1959 US2980366 Variable sweepback aircraft1959 GB894365 Aircraft aerofoil1959 US3047255 Swept wing aircraft engine mounting1959 DE1109038 Aircraft1959 DE1110526 Aircraft1959 DE1132000 Aircraft1960 DE1175997 Aircraft1960 CH400785

Date unclear DE1093214 Aircraft


References

[1] McKechnie J [Director, Vickers Ltd.], Wallis BN. Improvementsin or relating to riveting machine. GB Patent Specification 118162.Earliest application date: 29 August 1917.

[2] Airship Guarantee Company, Wallis BN, Denniston C [RetiredLieutenant-Commander, and Member of Parliament]. Improve-ments in or relating to lighter-than-air aircraft. GB PatentSpecification 250330. Earliest application date: 9 January 1925.

[3] Airship Guarantee Company, Wallis BN, Denniston C, NorwayNS, Temple JE. Improvements in or relating to rigid airships. GBPatent Specification 281041. Earliest application date: 17 Septem-ber 1926.

[4] Vickers (Aviation) Ltd. and Wallis BN. Improvements in thestructure of fuselages, wings, and other bodies of aircraft. GBPatent Specification 452726. Earliest application date: 27 Febru-ary 1935.

[5] Vickers (Aviation) Ltd. and Wallis BN. Improvements in andconnected with adjustable windscreens for use in conjunction withguns, cameras and other instruments mounted on aircraft. GBPatent Specification 494248. Earliest application date: 23 April1937.

[6] Vickers (Aviation) Ltd. and Wallis BN. Improvements in orconnected with means for protecting aircraft from wire obstruc-tions. GB Patent Specification 568559. Earliest application date:23 December 1937. [Withheld from publication for several years,under Section 30 of the Patents and Designs Acts, 1907 to 1939.]

[7] Vickers Aircraft Holdings Ltd. [and Wallis BN as inventor].Improvements in explosive missiles and means for their discharge[from aircraft with forward spinning motion]. GB Patent Speci-fication 937959. Earliest application date: 11 August 1942.Publication date: 25 September 1963.

[8] Wallis BN. Improvements in aeroplanes. [Control of yawing andpitching of aircraft] GB Patent Specification 595464. Earliestapplication date: 1 March 1945. Publication date: 5 December1947.

[9] Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd. [and Wallis BN as inventor].Improvements in aeroplanes. [Improved delta plan form ofaerofoil in aircraft] GB Patent Specification 894365. Earliestapplication date: 21 September 1959. Publication date: 18 April1962.

[10] Computer simulation of Swallow aircraft. Prepared by andcopyright with Dr. Iain R. Murray, University of Dundee, UK.

[11] Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd. [and Wallis BN as inventor]. Improvedmeans for launching guided missiles. GB Patent Specification692140. Earliest application date: 29 April 1949. Publication date:27 May 1953.

[12] Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd. [and Wallis BN as inventor].Improvements in [paraboloidal dish for] radio telescopes. GBPatent Specification 798953. Earliest application date: 13 October1955. Publication date: 30 July 1958.

Bibliography

[1] Morpurgo JE. Barnes Wallis. London: Penguin Books; 1973.[2] Brickhill P. The dam busters, London, 1951.[3] Shute N. Slide rule, London, 1954.

Brian Spear is a Chartered Engineer andFellowof the Institution of Electrical Engineers whosecareer was spent in the UK Patent Office. Thisincluded 22 years examining patents relating tocomputers, control systems and telecommuni-cations. He has also spent 10 years on devel-oping computer databases/searching, workingin their commercial search arm-the Search andAdvisory Service, and on IPR lecturing to awide range of organisations. Since retiring hehas completed an M.Sc. in the History of Sci-

ence, Medicine and Technology at Imperial College London.

Sir Barnes Wallis, a radical engineer and his patents

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