Thomas Somerville RIP

Kyt · Jun 23, 2009

Thomas Somerville: aeronautical engineer | Times Online Obituary

On the outbreak of the Second World War, Tommy Somerville was working at the Aerodynamics Department of the Royal Aeronautical Establishment Farnborough. At that time he was concerned with testing high-speed aircraft, including the battle-winning Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. Later in the war he was to switch to low-speed techniques, in particular the precision landing of troop-carrying gliders in strictly confined areas.

He was on honeymoon camping alongside the Wye in Wales when urgently recalled to Farnborough to address the glider problem. The invasion of Sicily in July 1943 had taught the Allies some harsh lessons over the use of gliders for delivering troops close to their objectives. These were to be applied for the invasion of Normandy in June 1944, but the coup-de-main operations to capture two bridges over Caen Canal and the River Orne, on the left flank of the Allied bridgehead, and the Merville coastal gun battery facing Sword landing beach all called for exceptionally precise landings.

Somerville devised and tested a system for the release of two 14-feet parachutes from a container under a glider’s tail just before touchdown. A Horsa glider carrying 29 infantrymen could land within 100 yards using this device. The six Horsas that delivered the coup-de-main parties of Royal Engineers and the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry within a few yards of the Caen Canal and Orne bridges were fitted with parachute arresters. They landed at 0016 hours on D-Day — June 6, 1944 — for what was to prove a totally successful surprise operation.

Less fortunately, high winds disrupted the glider approach to the Merville gun battery and five tow ropes snapped over the Channel, causing the heavier weapons and explosives required for the operation to be lost. This did not reflect on the efficiency of Somerville’s parachutes. The battery was taken by elements of the 9th Parachute Battalion dropped outside the perimeter.

While the parachute arrested-landing device was being tested, Somerville would fly aboard the Horsa as an observer. One burst a tyre on landing at Blackbushe airport, swerved off the runway and came to an abrupt halt in soggy ground. The stop was so abrupt that the wooden wings of the glider maintained their forward momentum, separating from the fuselage. D-Day was the first operational use of the arrester-parachute system with UK aircraft. It was later adapted to slow the landings of high-speed jet fighters, such as the Hawker Hunter, the Tornado and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Thomas Victor Somerville was born in Ewell, Surrey, the son of Thomas Somerville, who worked for the Royal Mint. He was educated at Dorking High School, where he excelled academically, also on the sports field, and King’s College London, from where he graduated with a BSc in mathematics in 1936. He stayed on for a physics degree while representing his college at athletics, cricket and football.

During his early years with the Wind Tunnel Division at Farnborough he was concerned with research and development of the DH98 Mosquito aircraft. Much of this work was done with Chrystelle Fougère, whom he later married.

Together, they reduced the vibration and tail buffeting that plagued early versions of the Mosquito by extending the Merlin engine nacelles beyond the trailing edge of the wings. Somerville’s younger brother, Group Captain Keith Somerville, an experienced Mosquito pilot with the Pathfinder force, considered the aircraft “man’s finest achievement in wood engineering”.

In 1946 Somerville joined the Project Division of Aerodynamics, which was responsible for research on future aircraft designs and assessment of operational requirements, principally for the RAF. He continued research on landing parachutes and the comparison of fighter and unarmed bomber performance at high supersonic speeds, working with J. R. B Illingworth in 1947 and with K. C. Moore on engine and aircraft drag in 1950 and with A. L. Courtney on the importance of profile drag in modern aircraft in 1951.

He was promoted to head the Project Division in 1954 and pursued the factors affecting the general design and performance of supersonic aircraft working with J. R. Collingbourne in 1955. Further studies in 1960 on vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and short take-off and landing (STOL) paved the way for the introduction of the world’s first VTOL fighter, the Hawker Harrier (P1127).

On appointment to Director of Future Aircraft Systems (Ministry of Aviation) in 1964, he became more involved with international co-operation on aeronautical research and development, frequently representing the British Government at meetings with the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa). He served on the Aerospace Applications Studies Committee of the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development of Nato from 1971.

He was highly regarded nationally and internationally for his contribution to understanding between the armed services and industry. He became the Director of Future Aircraft Systems with the MoD (Procurement Executive) before his retirement in 1976, when he was appointed CBE for his services to aeronautical research.

He was a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and a member of the Performance, Civil and Propulsion Committees of the Aerodynamics Research Council. Although reserved, possibly because of a lifelong stammer, he had a wry sense of humour and a wide range of friends.

He married Chrystelle Fougère in 1943. She survives him, with a son and two daughters.

Thomas Somerville, CBE, aeronautical engineer, was born on March 8, 1916. He died on April 30, 2009, aged 93
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Antipodean Andy · Jun 23, 2009

Certainly a man who left his mark on history - drag chutes, the Harrier, improving the Mossie, being instrumental in the success of the Pegasus Bridge landing. RIP.

Whenever I see an aircraft show its knickers (drag chute), I'll think of Somerville.

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