Richard Clarkson
{{Short description|British aeronautical engineer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox engineer
|image =
|image_size =
|alt =
|caption =
|name = Richard Clarkson
|nationality = British
|citizenship =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1904|7|14}}
|birth_place = London
|death_date =
|death_place = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1996|10|7|1904|7|14}}
|education = Clayesmore School
|spouse = Sylvia Paice
|parents =
|children = 1 daughter
|discipline = Aeronautics
|institutions = RAeS
|practice_name =
|employer = de Havilland (1925–1963)
Hawker Siddeley (1963–1968)
|significant_projects =
|significant_design = Hawker Siddeley (DH) 121 Trident
|significant_advance = de Havilland Mosquito
|significant_awards =
}}
Richard Milroy Clarkson OBE FCGI FRAeS (14 July 1904 – 7 October 1996) was a British aeronautical engineer with de Havilland, then Hawker Siddeley. He led the design of the HS121 Trident wing, certain features of which were subsequently used for the Airbus A300 wing in the late 1960s.
Early life
He attended Clayesmore School in Dorset.
Career
=de Havilland=
He joined de Havilland at Edgware in 1925.
He was responsible for the aerodynamics of the de Havilland Mosquito.[https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1943/1943%20-%201245.PDF Flight International May 1943] The first Mosquito W4050 flew in November 1940. He became Head of Aerodynamics in 1935, and Assistant Chief Engineer in 1941.[https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1952/1952%20-%201146.PDF Flight International April 1952]
=Hawker Siddeley Aviation=
He was responsible for the aerodynamics of the DH.121 Trident and his team later designed the wing for the Airbus A300.
He retired in February 1969.[https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1969/1969%20-%201502.html Flight International February 1969]
Personal life
He married Sylvia Paice in 1940, and they had one daughter. He received the OBE in the 1950 New Year Honours. In April 1964 he became a Fellow of City and Guilds.[https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1964/1964%20-%200995.PDF Flight International April 1964] He received the Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1966. From the Royal Society he received the Mullard Award in 1969 for his work on the Trident.[https://www.flightglobal.com/FlightPDFArchive/1969/1969%20-%202893.PDF Flight International 1969]
He died in Somerset in 1996.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-richard-clarkson-1313795.html Independent obituary]
See also
- A. H. Tiltman, another de Havilland designer
- Tim Wilkins OBE, Chief Designer for de Havilland
References
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{{S-ttl|title= Research Director of de Havilland Aircraft (a division of HSA from 1963)|years=1958–1968}}
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{{De Havilland aircraft}}
{{Hawker Siddeley aircraft}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Richard}}
Category:De Havilland Mosquito
Category:English aerospace engineers
Category:Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Category:People educated at Clayesmore School