Barry Pemberton Laight (12 July 1920 – 6 October 2012) was a British aerospace engineer, known for his design of the
Spey-engined
Buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 168 ...
, one of the last all-British military aircraft, which left
RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
service in March 1994.
Early life
He was the son of Donald Laight and Nora Pemberton, and was born in Liverpool. His father was a mechanic in the
Royal Flying Corps.
In the 1930s he attended the Johnston School in the
City of Durham, a
grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...
. He later went to Birmingham Central Technical College (later
Aston University
Aston University (abbreviated as ''Aston''. for post-nominals) is a public research university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first ...
), and the
Merchant Venturer's Technical College in Bristol. In July 1937 he was awarded a scholarship from the
Society of British Aerospace Constructors. He would later gain an MSc from the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
.
Career
Hawker Siddeley
He became Chief Engineer at the Hawker division of
Hawker Siddeley (Advanced Projects Group) in 1963, and Director for Military Projects of HSA in 1968. At Hawker Siddeley he worked with
Ralph Hooper on development of the
Harrier for the RAF, and the development of the
Hawk for the RAF too. He worked on the proposed
Hawker Siddeley P.1154
The Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) fighter aircraft designed by Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA).
Development originally started under P.1150, which was essentially a larger and fas ...
, which was cancelled in February 1965.
Harrier Story
/ref>
Personal life
He married Ruth Murton in 1951. They had a son and daughter. He became a member of Mensa in 1945. He was given the Silver Medal of the RAeS in 1963. He became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK and from aroun ...
in 1981.
He lived in Esher
Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole.
Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...
.
References
External links
Future V/STOL Combat Aircraft in 1968
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laight, Barry
1920 births
2012 deaths
Alumni of the University of Bristol
English aerospace engineers
Fellows of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers
Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Mensans
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People from Durham, England
People from Esher
Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal winners
Engineers from Liverpool
Alumni of Aston University