C. C. Mitchell
{{Short description|Scottish mechanical engineer}}
{{for|the army colonel "Mad Mitch"|Colin Mitchell}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2018}}
File:Colin Campbell Mitchell, sketch by Stephen Dickson.jpg
Commander Colin Campbell Mitchell FRSE MIME OBE (1904–21 January 1969) was a Scottish mechanical engineer also with a very prominent service record in the Royal Navy. He was the inventor of the Aircraft catapult and Aircraft arresting gear used on aircraft carriers.Journal of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers 1968: obituary C C Mitchell He was usually referred to as Commander C. C. Mitchell.
Life
He was born in Edinburgh the son of Mary Agnes Mitchell and her husband, the artist John Campbell Mitchell RSA (1862–1922).{{cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artists/mitchell-john-campbell-18621922|title=John Campbell Mitchell (1862–1922)|website=Art UK|accessdate=2017-09-19}} He was educated at Edinburgh Academy then studied engineering at the University of Edinburgh graduating with a BSc in 1925.
He joined the staff of MacTaggart Scott & Co in Loanhead on graduating and was promoted to Technical Director in 1931. His invention of aircraft arresting gear in 1931 brought him to the attention of the Admiralty. In the Second World War he served in the Royal Navy and reached the rank of Commander. He served as Engineer-in-Chief to the Admiralty. He was one of the investigating officers into the V1 launch sites. After the War he became Director of Brown Brothers & Co on Broughton Road in Edinburgh.{{cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/C._C._Mitchell|title=C. C. Mitchell|website=Graces Guide|accessdate=2017-09-19}}
In 1955 he was the first non-American to win the Newcomen Gold Medal. In 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower awarded him the Medal of Freedom of the United States.
In 1962 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were Sir William Wallace, Ronald Arnold, Charles Patterson and Robert Schlapp.{{cite book|title=Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002|date=July 2006|publisher=The Royal Society of Edinburgh|isbn=0-902-198-84-X|url=https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|access-date=18 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074135/https://www.royalsoced.org.uk/cms/files/fellows/biographical_index/fells_indexp2.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}
He died in Edinburgh on 21 January 1969.
Family
His elder brother, Lt John Patrick Campbell Mitchell, was killed whilst serving in the Royal Flying Corps in the First World War on 21 April 1917 during the Second Battle of Arras. He was only 19. He is buried in Bruay Communal Cemetery Extension.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cwgc.org/find/find-war-dead/results?initial=j%2Bp%2Bc&lastName=mitchell|title = Search Results}}
References
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Category:Engineers from Edinburgh
Category:People educated at Edinburgh Academy
Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Category:Scottish mechanical engineers
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh
Category:20th-century Scottish inventors
Category:Royal Navy personnel of World War II
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