| R. J. Mitchell | |
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R. J. Mitchell, aeronautical engineer |
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| Born | 20 May 1895 [1] Butt Lane, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, England, UK |
| Died | 11 June 1937 (aged 42) United Kingdom |
| Occupation | Aeronautical engineer |
| Spouse | Florence Dayson |
| Children | Gordon Mitchell |
| Parents | Herbert Mitchell[1] |
Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, (20 May 1895 - 11 June 1937) was an aeronautical engineer, best known for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire.
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R.J. Mitchell was born at 115 Congleton Road, Butt Lane, Kidsgrove, Staffordshire, England.[2] After leaving Hanley High School at the age of 16 he gained an apprenticeship at Kerr Stuart & Co. of Fenton, a locomotive engineering works.[1] At the end of his apprenticeship he worked in the drawing office at Kerr Stuart and studied engineering and mathematics at night school.
In 1917, he joined the Supermarine Aviation Works at Southampton. Advancing quickly within the company, Mitchell was appointed Chief Designer in 1919.[1] He was made Chief Engineer in 1920 and Technical Director in 1927. He was so highly regarded that, when Vickers took over Supermarine in 1928, one of the conditions was that Mitchell stay as a designer for the next five years.
Between 1920 and 1936, Mitchell designed 24 aircraft including light aircraft, fighters and bombers. As Supermarine was primarily a seaplane manufacturer, this included a number flying boats such as the Supermarine Sea Eagle, the Supermarine Sea King, the Supermarine Walrus and Supermarine Stranraer. However, he is best remembered for his work on the Supermarine Schneider Trophy series of racing aircraft, culminating in the Supermarine S.6B, and the Supermarine Spitfire.
The S.6B won the Schneider Trophy in 1931 and later broke the world air speed record. Mitchell was awarded the CBE in 1932 for his contribution to high-speed flight. Mitchell's experience with high speed aircraft such as the S.6B prompted the Air Ministry to issue specification F7/30 to Supermarine for the design of a new fighter aircraft.
On 20 February 1932, Mitchell submitted his monoplane Type 224 design. Mitchell referred to the Type 224 as "The Shrew". It first flew on 19 February 1934, but was eventually rejected by the RAF because of its unsatisfactory performance. While the 224 was being built, Mitchell was authorised by Supermarine in 1933 to proceed with new design, the Type 300, an all-metal monoplane that would become the Supermarine Spitfire. This was originally a private venture by Supermarine, but the RAF quickly became interested and the Air Ministry financed a prototype.
Many of the technical advances in the Spitfire had been made by others: the thin elliptical wings were designed by his Canadian aerodynamicist, Beverley Shenstone, and shared some similarities with the Heinkel He 70 Blitz; the under-wing radiators had been pioneered at the RAE, while monocoque construction had been first developed in the United States. Mitchell's genius was bringing it all together with his experience of high speed flight and the Type 224.
The first prototype Spitfire, serial K5054, flew for the first time on 5 March 1936 at Eastleigh, Hampshire. In later tests, it reached 349 mph, consequently, before the prototype had completed its official trials, the RAF ordered 310 production Spitfires. Mitchell is reported to have said that "Spitfire" was "just the sort of bloody silly name they would choose." [3]
In August 1933, Mitchell underwent a colostomy to treat rectal cancer. Despite this, he continued to work, not only on the Spitfire, but also on a four-engined bomber, the Type 317. Unusually for an aircraft designer in those days, he took flying lessons and got his pilot's licence in July 1934.
In 1936 cancer was diagnosed again, and subsequently, in early 1937, Mitchell gave up work, although he was often seen watching the Spitfire being tested. Mitchell went to the American Foundation in Vienna for a month, but died on 11 June 1937 at age 42. His ashes were interred at South Stoneham Cemetery, Hampshire four days later.[4]
Mitchell was succeeded as Chief Designer at Supermarine by Joseph Smith, who was responsible for the further development of the Spitfire. Nevertheless, Mitchell's design was so sound that the Spitfire was continually improved throughout the Second World War. Over 22,000 Spitfires and derivatives were built.
In 1918, Mitchell married Florence Dayson. They had a son, Gordon. While working on the Spitfire at Woolston and Eastleigh, Mitchell and family lived in Portswood, Southampton, at 2 Russell Place.[5]
Mitchell's son, Dr. Gordon Mitchell (1920–2009)[6] was left to tell his father's story in two books, R.J. Mitchell: World Famous Aircraft Designer and R.J.Mitchell: Schooldays to Spitfire. On 5 March 2004, Dr. Mitchell unveiled a 3/4 scale representation of the prototype Spitfire K5054 at the entrance to Eastleigh Airport, Southampton, on the 68th anniversary of its first flight. Gordon Mitchell died on 24 July 2009 in Cheltenham General Hospital two weeks after suffering a fall in his home in the Cotswolds. [7] His wish that his father be given an award for his services to his country was not realised in his lifetime. However, a section of Eastleigh Airport has now been renamed in his father's memory. Mitchell's family attended the dedication of a statue by Stephen Kettle displayed in the Science Museum, where it now occupies a prominent place in the Flight Gallery.[8]
His life and the sacrifices he made to keep going despite pain and impending death were the subject of the 1942 British film, The First of the Few produced and directed by Leslie Howard, with Howard in the starring role of R.J. Mitchell. The film recounts the story of Mitchell's life and how he developed the design for the famous RAF fighter.[9] Mrs. Mitchell and her son Gordon were on the set during much of the production.[10]
| “ | If anybody ever tells you anything about an aeroplane which is so bloody complicated you can't understand it, take it from me: it's all balls. | ” |
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— R. J. Mitchell, advice given about his engineering staff to test pilot Jeffrey Quill during prototype trials.[11]
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