Beatrice Shilling
| Beatrice Shilling | |
|---|---|
Beatrice Shilling and her Norton motorcycle
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|
| Born |
8 March 1909 Waterlooville, Hampshire |
| Died | 18 November 1990 (aged 81) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Manchester University |
| Spouse(s) | George Naylor |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Aeronautical Engineering |
| Institutions |
Institution of Mechanical Engineers Women's Engineering Society |
| Employer(s) | Royal Aircraft Establishment |
| Projects | Rolls-Royce Merlin |
| Significant advance | Aircraft engine |
| Awards | OBE |
Beatrice (Tilly) Shilling OBE PhD MSc CEng (8 March 1909 – 18 November 1990) was a British aeronautical engineer and motor racer. During World War II, she invented "Miss Shilling's orifice", a fix for the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines of the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters, which could lose power or even completely cut-out during certain maneuverers; a significant disadvantage in combat.
Shilling raced motorcycles in the 1930s, and after the war raced automobiles.
Shilling was born at Waterlooville, Hampshire, the daughter of a butcher. At age 14, she bought herself a motorcycle, which she tinkered with; she was already determined to become an engineer. After completing secondary school, she worked for an electrical engineering company for three years, installing wiring and generators. Her employer, Margaret Partridge, encouraged her to study electrical engineering at the University of Manchester; she received a bachelor's degree in 1932 and stayed on for a year to get a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering. Jobs were hard to find in the Depression; she worked as a research assistant for Professor G. F. Mucklow at the University of Birmingham. In 1936 she was hired as a scientific officer by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE), the research and development agency of the Royal Air Force (RAF) in Farnborough, Hampshire. She worked at Royal Aircraft Establishment until her retirement in 1969.
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