Don R. Berlin

Don R. Berlin
Don R. Berlin, September 1940
Born	June 13, 1898 Romona, Indiana
Died	May 17, 1982 (1982-05-18) (aged 83) Middletown, Pennsylvania
Nationality	American
Education	Purdue University
Spouse(s)	Helen Elizabeth Berlin (née Hentz)
Children	Donald Edward Berlin
Parent(s)	Charles N. Berlin, Maude Easter Berlin (née Mull)
Engineering career
Discipline	Mechanical engineering
Employer(s)	Douglas Aircraft Company: 1926–1929 Northrop Corporation: 1929–1934 Curtiss-Wright: 1934–1941 Fisher Body, GM: 1942–1947 McDonnell Aircraft: 1947–1953 Piasecki/Vertol/Boeing: 1953–1963 Curtiss-Wright: 1963–1973 W. Pat Crow Forgings: 1973–1978 E.F. Felt: 1978–1979
Projects	Designed the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, Curtiss SO3C Seamew, Curtiss-Wright XP-55 Ascender and Fisher P-75 Eagle; supervised the design of the Curtiss C-46 Commando and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver
Awards	Honorary Doctorate, Engineering, Purdue University (1953)

Donovan Reese Berlin (June 13, 1898 – May 17, 1982) was an American military aircraft designer and aircraft industry executive. Among the many designs with which he is associated, are the Curtiss P-36 Hawk, Curtiss P-40 Warhawk and Fisher P-75 Eagle. His name is "synonymous with the development of military aviation". He designed aircraft that were safe, rugged and "a pilot's joy."

Berlin was born in Romona, Indiana and in his formative years, lived in Brook, Indiana. He attended Purdue University, graduating in 1921 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

With his introduction to aeronautics, conducting early wind tunnel tests for the U.S. Army Air Corps at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, Berlin subsequently worked for Douglas Aircraft Company starting in 1926 as project engineer and chief draftsman. In 1929, he left Douglas to work at Northrop Corporation where he was assigned to the Northrop Alpha, Gamma and Delta development. In a controversial move, Berlin was released when he and founder Jack Northrop were in disagreement over the wing design of a new fighter. Berlin was quickly hired at Curtiss-Wright in 1934, beginning a long career with the company.

Curtiss-Wright President Ralph Damon hired Berlin, impressed with his experience working with metal construction at Northrop, a key factor in his rapid promotion to Chief Engineer. Berlin's first assignment was as project engineer on the company's new fighter aircraft design, bearing the nomenclature, design number 75. After first competing and losing to the Seversky P-35 in a fighter competition, Berlin persevered and his reconfigured design, initially known as the Y1P-36, and later, P-36 Hawk, won the U.S. Army Air Corps fighter competition in 1937. Consequently, the USAAC ordered 210 P-36A aircraft to serve as a frontline fighter. In 1938 and 1939, the P-36 was one of the premiere fighters of the period.