Richard Milroy Clarkson OBE FCGI FRAeS (14 July 1904 – 7 October 1996) was a British aeronautical engineer with de Havilland, then Hawker Siddeley. He led the design of the HS121 Trident wing, certain features of which were subsequently used for the

Airbus A300 The Airbus A300 is a wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Airbus. In September 1967, aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom, France, and West Germany signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a large airliner. West ...

wing in the late 1960s.

Early life

He attended

Clayesmore School Clayesmore School is an independent school for boys and girls, aged 2 – 18 years, in the village of Iwerne Minster, Dorset, England. It is both a day and boarding school and is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference (H ...

in Dorset.

Career

de Havilland

He joined de Havilland at Edgware in 1925. He was responsible for the aerodynamics of the de Havilland Mosquito. The first Mosquito ''W4050'' flew in November 1940. He became Head of Aerodynamics in 1935, and Assistant Chief Engineer in 1941. HS-Trident-516

Hawker Siddeley Aviation

He was responsible for the aerodynamics of the DH.121 Trident and his team later designed the wing for the Airbus A300. He retired in February 1969.

Personal life

He married Sylvia Paice in 1940, and they had one daughter. He received the OBE in the 1950 New Year Honours. In April 1964 he became a Fellow of City and Guilds. He received the Gold Medal of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, ...

in 1966. From the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

he received the

Mullard Award The Mullard Award is awarded annually by the Royal Society to a person who has "an outstanding academic record in any field of natural science, engineering or technology and whose contribution is currently making or has the potential to make ...

in 1969 for his work on the Trident. He died in Somerset in 1996.Independent obituary
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References