Sir Alwyn Douglas Crow (10 May 1894 – 5 February 1965) was a British scientist involved in research into ballistics, projectiles and missiles from 1916 to 1953. At

Fort Halstead Fort Halstead was a research site of Dstl, an executive agency of the UK Ministry of Defence. It is situated on the crest of the Kentish North Downs, overlooking the town of Sevenoaks, southeast of London. Originally constructed in 1892 as part ...

he developed the

Unrotated Projectile The Unrotated Projectile (UP) was a British anti-aircraft and ground-bombardment rocket of the Second World War. A 7-inch version was developed for the Royal Navy by Alwyn Crow of the Projectile Development Establishment of the Ministry of Supp ...

an antiaircraft weapon for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, used in the early period of World War II when the supply of anti-aircraft guns was limited. His obituary in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' called him a ''Rocket Projectile Pioneer''. He was born in London, and educated at Queens' College, Cambridge. In World War I he was commissioned in the East Surrey Regiment, was injured in 1916, and Mentioned in Despatches. In 1917, he was appointed to the staff of the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich. He was Director of Ballistics Research at Woolwich 1919–1939, Chief Superintendent of Projectile Development 1939-40, then Director and Controller of Projectile Development 1940-45, then Director of Guided Projectiles at the Ministry of Supply 1945–1946. He was in Washington, D.C. as Head of Technical Services to the British Joint Services Mission to Washington from 1946 to 1953. He retired in 1953, became a consultant and in 1960 settled in the United States with his second wife.

Honours

He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the

1918 Birthday Honours The 1918 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, 3 June a ...

and made a Commander of the Order in the 1937 Coronation Honours. He was knighted in 1944.

References

Sources

* Obituary ''A Rocket Projectile Pioneer'' in ''The Times'', London of 6 February 1965 p.10. * ''Who was Who 1965'' (A&C Black, London) 1894 births 1965 deaths British scientists Rocket scientists Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Ballistics experts Weapons scientists and engineers British Army personnel of World War I East Surrey Regiment officers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Institute of Physics Knights Bachelor {{UK-scientist-stub