Nicholas Comper (29 April 1897 – 17 June 1939) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

aviator and aircraft designer, whose most notable success was the 1930s

Comper Swift The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a British 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company Ltd of Hooton Park, Cheshire. Design and development In March 1929 Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force and form ...

monoplane racer.

Early life

Nicholas Comper was born in Lambeth, London, England, the son of church architect Sir John Ninian Comper. After leaving

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2–19 Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Day school, day and boarding school for Single-sex education, boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a Public school (United Kingdom), public school, it began as the Col ...

, he joined the Aircraft Manufacturing Company (Airco) as an apprentice. He left the company in 1915 to join the Royal Flying Corps, and was trained to fly at

Castle Bromwich Aerodrome Castle Bromwich Aerodrome was an early airfield, situated to the north of Castle Bromwich in the West Midlands of England. The site now falls within the City of Birmingham. History Creation to 1937 A large piece of Warwickshire grassland (Ca ...

. He joined No. 9 Squadron RFC, and was posted to Morlancourt in France, flying

B.E.2 The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including establish ...

c aircraft on reconnaissance missions.Nick Comper official websiteRiding (2003) After

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 ...

, Comper stayed in what was then the

Royal Air Force 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) an ...

, and in 1920 he studied aerodynamics at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

. He spent time with

RAE Farnborough The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), before finally losing its identity in me ...

, and in October 1922 he was posted to

RAF Cranwell Royal Air Force Cranwell or more simply RAF Cranwell is a Royal Air Force station in Lincolnshire, England, close to the village of Cranwell, near Sleaford. Among other functions, it is home to the Royal Air Force College (RAFC), which tra ...

to train engineering officers. One of his pupils was

Frank Whittle Air Commodore Sir Frank Whittle, (1 June 1907 – 8 August 1996) was an English engineer, inventor and Royal Air Force (RAF) air officer. He is credited with inventing the turbojet engine. A patent was submitted by Maxime Guillaume in 1921 fo ...

, the jet engine pioneer. In 1923, Comper and some of his pupils and other members of staff formed the Cranwell Light Aeroplane Club. The Club went on to build four aircraft designed by Comper, named Cranwell C.L.A.2, C.L.A.3, and two examples of the C.L.A.4A.Jackson (1974), pp.30, 294-296, 333, 391-392 In late 1926 he was posted to the

Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment (MAEE) was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Serv ...

(MAEE)

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northea ...

to work on flying boats and seaplanes. In March 1929, having reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant, he resigned his commission to pursue aircraft design ambitions.

Civilian life

In April 1929, he formed the

Comper Aircraft Company The Comper Aircraft Company Ltd was a 1930s United Kingdom, British light aircraft manufacturer. It was based at Hooton Park, Hooton Aerodrome, Cheshire (1929-1933), and Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex (1933-1934). History In April 1929, after leav ...

Ltd, based at

Hooton Park Royal Air Force Hooton Park or more simply RAF Hooton Park, on the Wirral Peninsula, Cheshire, is a former Royal Air Force station originally built for the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as a training aerodrome for pilots in the First World War. ...

Aerodrome near Ellesmere Port in Cheshire. His first design to be built at Hooton was his most successful, the

, a single-seat sporting monoplane. In March 1933, the company moved to

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 ...

near London. The company ceased trading in August 1934. In August 1934, Comper joined with Francis R Walker to form a design consultancy named Comper and Walker Ltd, based in central London. He worked on airliner projects he called ''Dominion'' and ''Commerce''. In December 1936, he renamed the company Comper Aeroplanes Limited, to develop those concepts. In 1938, working from his home in

Walton-on-Thames Walton-on-Thames, locally known as Walton, is a market town on the south bank of the Thames in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey, England. Walton forms part of the Greater London built-up area, within the KT postcode and is served by a wide ran ...

, Comper designed a new training aircraft named the Comper Scamp. The single-seat trial version named the CF.1 Fly was built by students at the Chelsea College of Aeronautical Engineering 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 airfie ...

Aerodrome. On 17 June 1939, in Hythe, Kent, Comper was fatally injured in unusual circumstances. He had been a practical joker, and after he was stopped lighting

firework Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices in ...

s in a

public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

, he went outside. As he bent down to light the firework, a passer-by enquired what he was doing, his reply was that he was an

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

man and was going to blow up the town hall, prompting the passer-by to knock him down. Comper hit his head on the

kerb A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway. History Although curbs have ...

, suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and died later in hospital, aged 42. After Comper's death, the Comper CF.1 Fly was completed with RAF serial T1788 by

Heston Aircraft Company Heston Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer based at Heston Aerodrome, Middlesex, England. Starting in 1934 the company produced a number of aircraft designs beginning with the Heston Phoenix and the Hordern-Richmond Autoplane. ...

, who failed to make it fly with the available engine power. Comper's collaborator on the CF.1 project, Gerard Fane, later developed the concept into a newly designed

Air Observation Post Air Observation Post (AOP) is an aeroplane or helicopter used in the role of artillery spotter by the British Army and Commonwealth forces. In this role, either the pilot of the aircraft or another crew member acts as an observer watching for tar ...

(AOP) aircraft, the Fane F.1/40.Riding (2003)

Aircraft designed and flown

* 1924 - Cranwell CLA.2 * 1925 - Cranwell CLA.3 * 1926 - Cranwell CLA.4 * 1930 -

* 1932 - Cierva C.25 * 1933 - Comper Mouse * 1934 - Comper Streak * 1934 - Comper Kite

Notes

References

*Aitken, Kenneth. February 1994. Fathers of British Aviation No.12: Nicholas Comper. Aeroplane Monthly. IPC Media *Boughton, Terence. 1963. The Story of The British Light Aeroplane. John Murray * *Meaden, Jack & Fillmore, Malcolm. (Winter 2003). The Comper Lightplanes. Air-Britain Archive (quarterly). Air-Britain. *Riding, Richard T. August&September 1978. British Pre-war Ultra-lights No.28: Comper Swift. Aeroplane Monthly. IPC Media *Riding, Richard T. 1987. Ultralights: The Early British Classics. Patrick Stephens *Riding, Richard T. March 2003. Database: Comper Swift. Aeroplane Monthly. IPC Media

External links

Nick Comper official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comper, Nicholas English aviators English aerospace engineers Royal Air Force officers 1897 births 1939 deaths Accidental deaths in England People from Lambeth Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Royal Flying Corps officers British Army personnel of World War I