Frederick Alan Irving Muntz BA FRAeS (7 June 1899 – 7 March 1985) was a British consulting aeronautical engineer.Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920-2008; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2007 http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whowaswho/U167465, accessed 23 Nov 2010

Early years

Alan Muntz was the son of Major Irving Muntz and Jessie Challoner. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, gaining a BA in Mechanical Sciences. In 1918, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he served in France as a

2nd Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

with the 432nd Field Company,

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

. In 1927, he learned to fly in an

Avro 548 The Avro 548 was a civil trainer aircraft built in Britain after World War I. Its design was based extensively on Avro's 504 military aircraft, but it had an inline engine and a third seat. The prototype, designated 545, first flew with a Curti ...

of the Henderson School of Flying at

Brooklands Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England, United Kingdom. It opened in 1907 and was the world's first purpose-built 'banked' motor racing circuit as well as one of Britain's first airfields, ...

aerodrome.

Professional life

In 1928, Muntz co-founded Airwork Ltd with

Nigel Norman Air Commodore Sir Henry Nigel St Valery Norman, 2nd Baronet, (21 May 1897 – 19 May 1943) was a consulting civil engineer and Royal Air Force officer during the first half of the 20th century.Heston Aerodrome Heston Aerodrome was an airfield located to the west of London, England, operational between 1929 and 1947. It was situated on the border of the Heston and Cranford areas of Hounslow, Middlesex. In September 1938, the British Prime Minister, Ne ...

that was active in private, commercial and military aviation until its closure in 1947. In the same period, architect Graham Dawbarn joined the pair to form an airport consultancy firm called Norman, Muntz & DawbarnSherwood (1999) In 1932, he co-founded Misr Airwork SAE, with Talaat Harb Pasha, Banque Misr, Cairo. In 1933, he helped R.E. Grant Govan to found Indian National Airways Ltd. In 1937, he founded Alan Muntz & Co. Ltd to develop the

Pescara Pescara (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Pescàrë; nap, label= Pescarese, Piscàrë) is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 119,217 (2018) residents (and approxim ...

free-piston engine A free-piston engine is a linear, 'crankless' internal combustion engine, in which the piston motion is not controlled by a crankshaft but determined by the interaction of forces from the combustion chamber gases, a rebound device (e.g., a piston i ...

system and other inventions. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Alan Muntz & Co was involved in many projects, including

Turbinlite The Helmore/ GEC Turbinlite was a 2,700 million candela (2.7 Gcd) searchlight fitted in the nose of a number of British Douglas Havoc night fighters during the early part of the Second World War and around the time of The Blitz. The ...

. Alan Muntz & Co, and its aircraft consultant

L.E. Baynes Leslie Everett Baynes, AFRAeS (23 March 1902 – 13 March 1989) was an English aeronautical engineer. Early life Born at Barnes, Surrey, on 23 March 1902 the son of James and Florence Baynes. Baynes was educated at Gresham's School, Norfolk, le ...

, was responsible for the design and development of the

Youngman-Baynes High Lift The Youngman-Baynes High Lift was a British experimental aircraft of the 1940s. It was a single-engine, low-wing monoplane with a fixed tailwheel undercarriage. Development The High Lift was a "one-off" experimental, flying test-bed for the ...

aircraft that first flew in 1948.

Family life

In 1923, Alan Muntz married Mary Lee Harnett, daughters Scilla I. Muntz (born 1925) and Jasmine M.I. Muntz (born 1927), son Colin Lee Irving Muntz (23 March 1929 – 25 April 1953).The Times, Monday, 27 Apr 1953; pg. 3; Issue 52606. Colin Muntz, while a flying officer with

No. 600 Squadron RAF No. 600 (City of London) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force is a squadron of the RAF Reserves. It was formed in 1925 and operated as a night fighter squadron during the Second World War with great distinction. After the war, 600 Squadron went on t ...

, was killed in the crash of

Gloster Meteor F.8 The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turbojet engines, pioneered ...

fighter WF747 at Chelsfield, Kent. In 1934, he married Lady Margaret Frances Anne Vane-Tempest-Stewart (1910–1966), daughter of

Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry Charles Stewart Henry Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry, (13 May 1878 – 10 February 1949), styled Lord Stewart until 1884 and Viscount Castlereagh between 1884 and 1915, was a British peerage, peer and politician. He is best ...

. In 1948, he married Marjorie Mary Helena Strickland.

Notes

References

*Meaden, Jack. Autumn 2007. "The Youngman-Baynes Flap" Air-Britain Archive (journal). UK:

Air-Britain Air-Britain, traditionally sub-titled "The International Association of Aviation Enthusiasts", is a non-profit aviation society founded in July 1948. As from 2015, it is constituted as a British charitable trust and book publisher. History Air-Brit ...

. p. 2007/111. *Sherwood, Tim. 1999. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911–1946. Heritage Publications (Hounslow Library) {{DEFAULTSORT:Muntz, Alan 1899 births 1985 deaths People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge English aerospace engineers Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society