Francis Rodwell Banks

Air Commodore Francis Rodwell "Rod" Banks CB, OBE, Hon. CGIA., Hon. FRAeS, Hon. FAIAA., FlMechE., Flnst Pet., FRSA, CEng., MSAE, (22 March 1898 – 12 May 1985) was a British engineer who was involved in the development of the internal combustion engine, as well as special fuels for the engine, and was one of the people responsible for the development of higher octane fuels.

Francis Rodwell Banks was born on 22 March 1898, son of Bernard Rodwell and Frances Emily Banks. He married Christine Constance Grant Langlands in 1925, the couple having two daughters.

Banks entered the Royal Navy at the age of sixteen in 1914. After promotion, he commanded several coastal motor boats, his navy service ending in 1919 while on service in the Caspian Sea during the Russian Revolution.

Between the First World War and the subsequent world conflict, he was involved in the development of marine diesel engines, later leading to involvement as a consultant on the problems of various car, airship, and aircraft piston engines. In 1925, he became chief experimental engineer at Peter Hooker Limited, working to develop the 1500HP 178litre ELS 'Stromboli' airship engine. Before long, having recognised the inadequacy of existing fuels, Banks was working on the development of improved fuels, concentrating on increasing the octane rating, which allowed the use of higher compression ratios, in particular the fuel additive tetraethyllead. In 1928, he joined the Anglo-American Oil Company and by 1930, had joined Ethyl Gasoline Corporation (export division), which, in 1931, became the Ethyl Export Corporation. This work embraced the principal aero engine and automobile manufacturers in the U.K. and Europe, including the military air forces and commercial airlines. In addition the work covered motor racing fuels. His work was such that he was invited to develop the fuels used in the UK's Schneider Trophy entrants, his fuel blends contributing to the success of the British entries in 1929 and 1931. At this time, he was also involved in developing the fuels used by Henry Segrave and John Cobb in their land and water speed record attempts. Banks gave a paper on ethyl in 1934, to the Royal Aeronautical Society, for which he received the Taylor Gold Medal.

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