Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

Francis Rodwell "Rod" Banks CB,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, Hon. CGIA., Hon.

FRAeS 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 Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

, Hon. FAIAA., FlMechE., Flnst Pet., FRSA, CEng., MSAE, (22 March 1898 – 12 May 1985) was a British

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

who was involved in the development of the

internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal comb ...

, as well as special

fuels A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but ...

for the engine, and was one of the people responsible for the development of higher-

octane Octane is a hydrocarbon and also an alkane with the chemical formula C8H18, and the condensed structural formula CH3(CH2)6CH3. Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the location of branching in the carbon chain. One of these isomers ...

fuels.

Early life

Francis Rodwell Banks was born on 22 March 1898, son of Bernard Rodwell and Frances Emily Banks. He married Christine Constance Grant Langlands in 1925, the couple having two daughters. Banks entered the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

at the age of sixteen in 1914. After promotion, he commanded several

coastal motor boat Coastal Motor Boat was a small high-speed British torpedo boat used by the Royal Navy in the First World War and up to end of the Second World War. During the First World War, following a suggestion from three junior officers of the Harwich ...

s, his navy service ending in 1919 while on service in the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

Interwar years

Between the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the subsequent world conflict, Banks was involved in the development of marine

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s, later leading to involvement as a consultant on the problems of various car, airship, and aircraft piston engines. In 1925 he became chief experimental engineer at Peter Hooker Limited, working to develop the 1500HP 178 litre ELS 'Stromboli' airship engine. Before long, having recognised the inadequacy of existing fuels, Banks began working on development of improved fuels. His work concentrated on increasing the

octane rating An octane rating, or octane number, is a standard measure of a liquid fuel, fuel's ability to withstand Compression ratio, compression in an internal combustion engine without causing engine knocking. The higher the octane number, the more compres ...

, which allowed the use of higher

compression ratio The compression ratio is the ratio between the maximum and minimum volume during the compression stage of the power cycle in a piston or Wankel engine. A fundamental specification for such engines, it can be measured in two different ways. Th ...

s, in particular the fuel additive

tetraethyllead Tetraethyllead (commonly styled tetraethyl lead), abbreviated TEL, is an organolead compound with the formula lead, Pb(ethyl group, C2H5)4. It was widely used as a fuel additive for much of the 20th century, first being mixed with gasoline begi ...

. In 1928, he joined the Anglo-American Oil Company and by 1930, had joined Ethyl Gasoline Corporation (export division), which, in 1931, became the Ethyl Export Corporation. This work embraced the principal aero engine and automobile manufacturers in the U.K. and Europe, including the military air forces and commercial airlines. In addition the work covered motor racing fuels. His status was such that he was invited to develop the fuels used in the UK's

Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider, also known as the Schneider Trophy, Schneider Prize or (incorrectly) the Schneider Cup is a trophy that was awarded first annually, and later biennially, to the winner of a race for seaplanes and ...

entrants, his fuel blends contributing to the success of the British entries in 1929 and 1931. At this time, he was also involved in developing the fuels used by

Henry Segrave Sir Henry O'Neal de Hane Segrave (22 September 1896 – 13 June 1930) was an early British pioneer in land speed and water speed records. Segrave, who set three land and one water record, was the first person to hold both titles simultaneou ...

and John Cobb in their

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of Earth not submerged by the ocean or another body of water. It makes up 29.2% of Earth's surface and includes all continents and islands. Earth's land sur ...

and

water speed record The world unlimited water speed record is the officially recognised fastest speed achieved by a water-borne vehicle, irrespective of propulsion method. The current unlimited record is , achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the ''Spirit of Austra ...

attempts. He was also instrumental in solving the problems with the Fiat AS.6 engine, enabling the world records set by the Macchi M.C.72. In 1934 Banks presented a paper on ethyl to the Royal Aeronautical Society, for which he received the Taylor Gold Medal.

World War II

With the coming of war, Banks entered the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

as a junior officer, being sent to work at the

Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its wo ...

(A&AEE) at

Boscombe Down MOD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the south-eastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the D ...

. His previous work having attracted the attention of

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics of the first half of the 20th century ...

, Banks was accredited as a "troubleshooter" and given special powers. Banks was later promoted to

air commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

and was made successively, director general of engine production (DGofEP), and director of engine research and development (DofER&D), with the objective to plan the post-war future of the aero gas turbine for both military use and commercial applications.

Post war

In 1946 Banks rejoined the Ethyl Corporation (Associated Ethyl, at the time), also taking a number of directorships: loaned back as principal director of engine research and development at the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

in 1952, also in 1955 as a director of the

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable ...

, and after the merging of Bristol Aero Engines with

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following t ...

, their overall director of sales in 1959. With the later mergers within the British aircraft industry, Banks became involved with the

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in list of aircraft manufacturers, aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers ...

company, in 1963 becoming assistant managing director and chief executive (civil aircraft) at Hatfield, the former home of the

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...

Company. By 1969 he had become the president 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 Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

Retirement

Banks retired at the age of 70, taking posts as consultants with a number of American

aviation Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

firms, with which he was still active at the age of 80. He died in 1985, at the age of 87.

Honours

* Commander of Legion of Honour (France) *

Commander of the Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

(USA) * Military Order of St. Stanislaus (Imperial Russia),

Publications

*
''Fuels and Engines''
– a 1939 ''

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

'' article by F. R. Banks
''Six of the Best''
a 1969 ''Flight'' article by F. R. Banks

References

External links

The Papers of Air Commodore Francis Banks
held at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Francis Rodwell British automotive engineers 1898 births 1985 deaths Royal Navy officers Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society 20th-century British engineers Royal Navy officers of World War I Royal Navy personnel of the Russian Civil War Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Air Force air commodores Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts