Herbert Smith (aircraft designer)

Herbert Smith (1890-1978) was a British aircraft designer.

Smith started his career with the Yorkshire engineering company of Dean, Smith & Grace.[1] He joined the Sopwith Aviation Company as a draughtsman in March 1914 and became Sopwith's chief engineer later that year.[2] Smith designed the Pup, Triplane, Camel, and Snipe. He worked for the Sopwith firm until it dissolved in October 1920.

In February 1921, the Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturing Company in Nagoya invited Smith, along with several other former Sopwith engineers, to assist Mitsubishi in creating an aircraft manufacturing division.[3] Smith and his team moved to Japan, where they designed the B1M, 1MF, and 2MR.[3] Smith returned to England in 1924 and retired from the aviation industry.

Notes

  1. ^ Crampton 1975, p. 228.
  2. ^ Robertson 1970, p. 116.
  3. ^ a b Peattie 2001, p. 24.

References

  • Crampton, John. "Herbert Smith--Aircraft Designer." Air Pictorial: Journal of the Air League of the British Empire, Volume 37, 1975.
  • Peattie, Mark. Sunburst: The Rise of Japanese Naval Air Power, 1909-1941. Annapolis, MD: US Naval Institute Press, 2001. ISBN 1-55750-432-6.
  • Robertson, Bruce. Sopwith – The Man and His Aircraft. London: Harleyford, 1970. ISBN 0-90043-515-1.