John Kenworthy B.Sc., F.R.Aes (1883–1940) 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 ...

aviation engineer and aircraft designer. John Kenworthy appears in the 1901 Census of Darlington, aged 17, living with four sisters, one brother and his parents George and Ellen Kenworthy at 65 Greenbank Road, Darlington, County Durham. His father was listed as a Schoolmaster. In his early years he was a design assistant 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 ...

formed out of the HM Balloon factory in 1911 at Farnborough, Hampshire. His first design in 1912 was the B.E.3 (Blériot Experimental), also known as the Goldfish because of its horizontal tail fin. He also designed the H.R.E.2 (Hydro Reconnaissance Experimental), a floatplane version of the earlier B.E.2 designed by Geoffrey de Havilland. Following closely in 1912 was the ( B.E.4, B.E.7 and in 1913 the B.E.8) After the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

in 1914, the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(RFC) needed fighter and reconnaissance aircraft from the

and Kenworthy as Chief designer produced the F.E.8 (Fighter Experimental) from 1916, and the R.E.8 (Reconnaissance Experimental), used from 1917. In 1916 he was part of the project team as chief draughtsman who designed the 150 hp

S.E.5 The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fas ...

(Scout Experimental), and its follow up, the

S.E.5a The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the ...

which arrived several months later with the same basic designs, but a more powerful 200 hp engine. In 1917 he left the Royal Aircraft Factory and joined the aircraft division of

Austin Motors The Austin Motor Company Limited was an English manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Li ...

as chief engineer and designer in 1918. He specialised in small light aircraft, designing the prototypes of the

Austin Greyhound The Austin Greyhound was a British two-seat biplane fighter aircraft of World War I built by car manufacturer Austin. Owing to the end of the War and an unreliable engine, it was unsuccessful, only three being built. Development and design I ...

, the

Austin Whippet The Austin Whippet was a British single-seat light aircraft designed and built by the Austin Motor Company just after the First World War. It was a small single-seat biplane, intended to be an inexpensive aircraft for the amateur private pilot, ...

and the

Austin Kestrel __NOTOC__ The Austin Kestrel was a British two-seat biplane designed and built by the Austin Motor Company. Only one aircraft was built. Design and development Designed to enter a 1920 Air Ministry competition the Kestrel was a conventional bip ...

, but were not developed further by

. In 1922 he joined

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. D ...

Works and was chief designer at the Aircraft Disposal Co. (

ADC Aircraft The Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) or Airdisco, was a British firm established in March 1920 to take advantage of the large number of World War I-surplus military aircraft on the market.Gunston 2005, p.7. The company changed name in 1925 to AD ...

) in 1923. By 1930 he had designed the Robinson Redwing, which was built at the Robinson Aircraft Company in Croydon and was designed for flying clubs and private use. In 1931, the Aircraft Company was reconstituted and became the Redwing Aircraft Co Ltd. In 1932, as designer and founder of the company, he was appointed to the Board and the Aircraft Company moved their fleet of twelve aircraft to

Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after ...

. The aerodrome was also purchased and used as the new flying base. In 1934 the Redwing Aircraft Co., moved back to Croydon aerodrome.

Notes

References

A brief biography of John Kenworthy:- Includes a note on the years 1917-1930 while he was at Austin Motors, Westland Aircraft works, the Aircraft Disposal Co and Redwing Aircraft Co Ltd.

External links

Flight-And the Men, Profile-John Kenworthy at Austin Motors
. ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 25 December 1919. Page 1639.
Redwing Aircraft Company
. ''

'', 8 July 1932. Page 634.
Redwing Aircraft Factory
. ''History of Croydon Airport'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenworthy, John 1883 births 1940 deaths English aerospace engineers 20th-century British businesspeople People from Darlington