Ronald Eric Bishop
| R.E. Bishop | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 February 1903 Kensington |
| Died | 11 June 1989 (aged 86) |
| Nationality | British |
| Spouse(s) | Nora |
| Children | 2 sons |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Aeronautics |
| Employer(s) | de Havilland 1921 – 64 |
| Significant advance | de Havilland Mosquito, de Havilland Comet |
| Awards | Gold Medal, RAeS (1964) |
Ronald Eric Bishop CBE FRAeS (27 February 1903 – 11 June 1989) was the chief designer of the de Havilland Mosquito, one of the most famous aircraft of the Second World War. Bishop also designed the de Havilland Comet jetliner of 1949.
He was born in Kensington.
He joined de Havilland as an apprentice aged 18 in 1921, and would work there for the next forty three years. He joined the company's design office in 1923, .
He became the Chief Designer in 1936, taking over from Arthur Hagg. The first aircraft for which he was responsible was the DH95 Flamingo- the company's first all-metal monoplane. It had a stressed-skin and carried 17 passengers, first flying on 22 December 1938. Winston Churchill used one to journey to France in the early months of the war before Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo).
Also in his design team were:
The outstanding achievement of his design office was the DH.98 Mosquito. It was initially expected to reach 376 mph, but managed 388 mph when first tested – Britain's fastest aircraft at the time - and was known as the Wooden Wonder. It had been conceived in 1938. The Air Ministry was not amenable to the radical and untried idea of an unarmed bomber, and did not fund the design. Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman, of the Air Staff, was interested however and boldly championed the concept. As a result of the scepticism at the time the plane became known as Freeman's Folly. His confidence was shown to be fully justified, as it became the fastest wartime aircraft for two and a half years. The original concept of a fast, unarmed bomber was amply justified in practice with very low loss rates. The plane was officially announced on 26 October 1942, and had been de Havilland's first military plane since the Airco DH.10 of the First World War. On 5 May 1943 its high speed prowess was announced.
After the war he became Design Director on the company's board of directors on 27 December 1946 until February 1964, when he retired. Later that year in October he received the Gold Medal of the RAeS.
...
Wikipedia