R. J. Mitchell
R. J. Mitchell, aeronautical engineer
Born	20 May 1895 Butt Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme, United Kingdom
Died	11 June 1937 United Kingdom
Occupation	Aeronautical engineer
Spouse	Florence Dayson
Children	Gordon Mitchell

Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, (May 20, 1895 - June 11, 1937) was an aeronautical engineer, best known for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire. Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Butt Lane is a Suburb of Kidsgrove in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire. Newcastle-under-Lyme, known simply as "castle" to many local people is a Market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Founded in 1866 The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the entire global Aerospace Events 325 - The First Council of Nicaea &ndash the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church is held Year 1895 ( MDCCCXCV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Aerospace engineering is the branch of Engineering behind the design construction and science of Aircraft and Spacecraft. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

Early years

R. J. Mitchell was born in a small terraced house on Congleton Road in the village of Butt Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme, in England. In Architecture and City planning, a terrace(d or row house or townhouse (though the latter term can also refer to Patio houses Butt Lane is a Suburb of Kidsgrove in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire. Newcastle-under-Lyme, known simply as "castle" to many local people is a Market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal ^[1] After leaving Hanley High School at the age of 16 he gained an apprenticeship at Kerr Stuart & Co. of Fenton, a locomotive engineering works. Kerr Stuart & Co Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England. Fenton is one of the Six Towns of the Stoke-on-Trent conurbation which were federated in 1910 At the end of his apprenticeship he worked in the drawing office at Kerr Stuart and studied engineering and mathematics at night school.

Aviation career

In 1917, he joined the Supermarine Aviation Works at Southampton and in 1918, was appointed Chief Designer at Supermarine. Supermarine was a British aircraft manufacturer that become famous for producing a range of sea planes and the legendary Supermarine Spitfire fighter Southampton ( IPA /ˌsaʊθˈhæmptən/ is the largest city in the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England 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. Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 2004

Between 1920 and 1936, Mitchell designed 24 aircraft including light aircraft, fighters, bombers, several sea-planes and flying boats such as the Supermarine Walrus. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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 Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider " (commonly called Schneider Trophy, or prize or cup was a prize competition for Seaplanes Announced by The Supermarine S6B was a racing seaplane developed by Reginald Mitchell for the Supermarine company in order to win the Schneider Trophy in 1931 WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

The S. 6B won the Schneider Trophy in 1931 and later broke the world air speed record. The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider " (commonly called Schneider Trophy, or prize or cup was a prize competition for Seaplanes Announced by Mitchell was awarded the CBE in 1932 for his contribution to high-speed flight. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British Order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. Mitchell's experience with high speed aircraft such as the S6B prompted the Air Ministry to issue specification F7/30 to Supermarine, primarily a sea-plane manufacturer, for the design of a new fighter aircraft. The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force. This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM specifications for Aircraft.

Spitfire

On 20 February 1932, Mitchell submitted his Type 224 design. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. The Supermarine Type 224 was a design submitted by Reginald Mitchell for a Royal Air Force (RAF competition to select a new fighter in 1934. 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. Events 197 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. While the 224 was being built, Mitchell was authorised by Supermarine in 1933 to proceed with a new design, the Type 300, an all-metal monoplane that would become the Supermarine Spitfire. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout 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 similar to those of the Beverley Shenstone, the under-wing radiators had been pioneered at the RAE, while monocoque construction had been first developed in the United States. The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE England, was a British research establishment latterly under the UK Ministry of Defence Monocoque, from the French for single ( mono) and shell ( coque) is a construction technique that supports structural load by using an object's external The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Mitchell's genius was bringing it all together with his experience of high speed flight and the Type 224.

The still unpainted Spitfire protoype, K5054, shortly before its first flight

The first prototype Spitfire, K5054, (left) flew for the first time on 5 March 1936 at Eastleigh. A serial number is a unique Number assigned for Identification which varies from its Successor or Predecessor by a fixed discrete Integer Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a Year 1936 ( MCMXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Eastleigh is a former Railway town in Hampshire, England, and the main town in the Eastleigh borough. 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 that "Spitfire" was "just the sort of bloody silly name they would choose. " ^[2]

Later years

Late in 1933, Mitchell underwent a colostomy to treat rectal cancer. A colostomy is a surgical procedure that involves connecting a part of the colon onto the Anterior abdominal wall, leaving the patient with an opening on the Colorectal cancer, also called colon cancer or large bowel cancer, includes Cancerous growths in the colon, Rectum and Despite this, he continued to work, not only on the Spitfire, but also on a four-engined bomber, the Type 317. Unusual for an aircraft designer in those days, he took flying lessons and got his pilot's licence in July 1934.

In 1936, he was diagnosed with cancer again. Mitchell gave up work in early 1937, though he was often seen watching the Spitfire being tested. He went to the American Foundation in Vienna for a month, but died in June 1937. Vienna ( in Wien; see also other names) is the Capital of Austria, and is also one of the nine States of Austria. His life and the sacrifices he made to keep going despite pain and impending death were the subject of the 1942 Leslie Howard film The First of the Few. Leslie Howard ( April 3, 1893 - June 1, 1943) was an English stage and Academy Award nominated Film The First of the Few, (known as Spitfire in the United States) is a 1942 British film, starring and directed by Leslie The film created some myths. In particular, Mitchell did not work himself to death; he led a full life, and was working mainly on the bomber project in his final years.

Mitchell was succeeded as Chief Designer at Supermarine by Joseph Smith, who was responsible for the further development of the Spitfire. Joseph ("Joe" Smith was an English Aircraft Designer who took over as Chief Designer for Supermarine 's upon the death of R Nevertheless, Mitchell's design was so sound that the Spitfire could be continually improved throughout the Second World War, whereas its contemporary, the Hawker Hurricane, quickly became obsolete. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Over 22,000 Spitfires and derivatives were built.

Personal life

In 1918, Mitchell married Florence Dayson. They had a son, Gordon, who wrote a biography of his father called R. J. Mitchell: Schooldays to Spitfire. While working on the Spitfire at Woolston and Eastleigh, Mitchell and family lived in Portswood, Southampton, at 2 Russell Place. Portswood is a Suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England.

Quotes

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Mr. Mitchell, Designer of the Spitfire - In Memory of a Brilliant Mind
• Awareness campaign for RJ Mitchell
• BBC Local Heroes
• Stoke-on-Trent's Spitfire
• R J Mitchell Primary School, in the London Borough of Havering
• The Spitfire Site
• Supermarine Spitfire prototype
• Spitfire website