Samuel Dalziel Heron (18 May 1891 – 10 July 1963) was a British born aerospace engineer who made major contributions to the design of piston engines. While working in Britain he carried out the first systematic research into air-cooled cylinders. In the U.S.A he contributed to the design of the Curtiss R1454, invented the sodium cooled

poppet valve A poppet valve (also called mushroom valve) is a valve typically used to control the timing and quantity of gas or vapor flow into an engine. It consists of a hole or open-ended chamber, usually round or oval in cross-section, and a plug, usual ...

and became technical director for aeronautical research for the

Ethyl Corporation Ethyl Corporation is a fuel additive company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, in the United States. The company is a distributor of fuel additives. Among other products, Ethyl Corporation distributes tetraethyl lead, an additive used to make ...

Early life

Sam Dalziel Heron was born on 18 May 1893, in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, England. He attended

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 co-educational, independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Edward Alleyn's College of God's Gift charitable foundation ...

in Dulwich,

Goldsmiths' College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

(London University) and

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, near Newcastle upon Tyne.

Early career in the United Kingdom

During the

First World War 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 ...

, Heron worked at the

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

. From 1915 to 1916 he worked with Professor A.H. Gibson on the first systematic research into the design of air-cooled engine cylinders. They concluded that (1) aluminium should be used for efficient conduction (2) the cylinder head should be in one piece because conduction through metal-to-metal interfaces could not be guaranteed (3) the cylinder head should provide the shortest escape path for heat at the hottest parts across the greatest cross section. Working with Major F. M. Green, they developed the RAF.8. This was a 14-cylinder 300 hp radial engine, which first ran in September 1916. On the breakup of the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1917 he joined

Siddeley-Deasy The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile, aero engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century. It was central to the formation, by merger and buy-out, of the later Armstrong Siddeley Motor ...

. He disagreed with J.D Siddeley over the redesign of the

Siddeley-Deasy Puma The Siddeley Puma was a British aero engine developed towards the end of World War I and produced by Siddeley-Deasy. The first engines left the production lines of Siddeley-Deasy in Coventry in August 1917, production continued until December 1 ...

cylinder head and other design policies. As a result, he resigned and left for the United States in 1921.

Career in the United States

Heron arrived in the United States in 1921 to work on military applications of the two-valve aircooler cylinder. In 1934 he became Director of Aeronautical Research at the Ethyl Corporation in Detroit, a position he held until his retirement in 1946.

Awards

Manley Medal for 'Meritorious contributions to Aircraft Engineering' 1928 Certificate of Merit for Outstanding Fidelity and Meritorious conduct in aid of the war effort against the common enemies of the United States and its Allies in World War II (1948)

Patents

Publications

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References

Cited sources

External links

The Sam D Heron collection at the San Diego Air & Space Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron, Samuel Dalziel English aerospace engineers American aerospace engineers 1890s births 1965 deaths 20th-century American engineers British emigrants to the United States