Philip Dalton

Lt. Philip Dalton (1903 - 25 July 1941[1]) was a United States military scientist. Dalton is best known for his invention of several slide-rule flight computers, the most famous being the E6B.[2]

Invention

As a graduate of Cornell University and serving as a US Naval Reserve Pilot, Dalton took an interest in slide-rule flight computers. His first models were designed in the early 1930s but it was not until 1932 that the first revision of the E-6B, originally known as the "Dalton Dead Reckoning Computer", came into existence.[2]

Death

On October 30, 1940, Dalton was recalled to active duty and assigned to Naval Air Station Anacostia, across the river from Washington, DC to help train naval aviators. On July 24, 1941, Dalton and Harry Lee Rogers, Jr., a student pilot were killed when their aircraft crashed near Hybla Valley, Virginia. By this time, Dalton's devices were in widespread use by all aviation branches of the US and British military services. [3]

References

  1. ↑ "The Charleston Gazette - Friday, July 25, 1941". Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Historical Trivia: The Dalton E-6B Flight Computer". Retrieved 2007-07-27.
  3. ↑ Smith, Keith. "Philip Dalton: The Lost Navigator". Retrieved 10 November 2014.