Richard Walker (engineer)
Richard Walter Walker (27 December 1900 - June 1982) FRAeS was a British aerospace engineer, and main designer for jet aircraft of Gloster Aircraft Company.
Early life
He was born in 1900 in Bradford.
Career
In 1924 he joined the Royal Aircraft Establishment as a draughtsman.
Hawker Aircraft
He was in charge of designing the metal wing for the Hawker Hurricane.
Gloster Aircraft
He joined Gloster in January 1937 as Assistant Chief Designer.
He would visit the Power Jets company in Leicestershire with Ivor James and Jack Lobley. He was Assistant-Designer of Gloster Aircraft when it built its first jet aircraft.[1] He also worked with Herbert Steventon. In July 1943 he took over full responsibility for the F9/40 project, of what became the Gloster Meteor.
In 1948 he became Chief Designer of Gloster Aircraft, succeeding W G Carter who became Gloster's Technical Director.
In the early 1950s he designed the Gloster G.A.5 from F4/48, powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Sapphire[2] This was first flown on 26 November 1951 by Squadron Leader Bill Waterton AFC from the former RAF Moreton Valence south of Gloucester, mostly in the west of Haresfield and now directly on the M5 motorway south of junction 12 (B4008). Gloster's General Manager at the time was Percy Crabbe.
Personal life
His daughter is Ingrid Twissell, born in 1943, who married in 1972.[3] He had another daughter in 1945, and two sons.
He died in 1982 in Gloucester.
See also
- Jet Age Museum, aviation heritage museum in Gloucestershire for Gloster Aircraft
References
- Jet Pioneers: Gloster and the Birth of the Jet Age
- Empire of the Clouds: When Britain's Aircraft Ruled the World
- Gloster Aircraft Company, Derek James
| Business positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by George Carter |
Chief Designer of Gloster Aircraft 1948-1964 |
Succeeded by company absorbed into Hawker Siddeley |