William Burdette McLean was a United States Navy

United States Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 physicist

Physicist

A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...

, who conceived and developed the heat-seeking Sidewinder

AIM-9 Sidewinder

The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...

 missile. The Sidewinder was the first truly effective air-to-air missile

Air-to-air missile

An air-to-air missile is a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. AAMs are typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled...

; its variants and upgrades are still in active service.

The son of a Protestant clergyman, McLean attended Caltech, where he took three degrees in physics, finishing with a doctorate in 1939.
During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, McLean worked on ordnance equipment and testing at the National Bureau of Standards in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 Following the war, he moved to the Naval Ordnance Test Station (NOTS), Inyokern, California (now the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake

- About : is part of under Commander, Navy Installation Command and is located in the Western Mojave Desert region of California, approximately north of Los Angeles. Occupying three counties – Kern, San Bernardino and Inyo – the installation’s closest neighbors are the cities of Ridgecrest,...

), where he led the project team developing the Sidewinder missile from 1945 to 1954. In April 1954, he was appointed technical director, the senior civilian position at the Station, a position which he held till 1967.

For his work on the Sidewinder, he was awarded $25,000 and a plaque from President Eisenhower. He then served as technical director for the Navy's submarine-warfare research center in San Diego until 1974.

McLean was married to Edith LaVerne "LaV" McLean (died December 19, 2007).

The Memorial Award for Dr. William B. McLean was established in 1968, to
recognize creativity in employees who furthered the mission at China Lake with significant inventions.
In 2008, the Navy announced that the dry cargo ship USNS William McLean

USNS William McLean (T-AKE-12)

USNS William McLean is a of the United States Navy, named in honor of William McLean. The contract to build William McLean was awarded to National Steel and Shipbuilding Company on 12 December 2008. William McLean was launched on 16 April 2011, sponsored by Dr...

(T-AKE-12) would be named in honor of Dr. McLean.
On 16 April 2011, the ship was launched, sponsored by Dr. McLean's niece, Margaret Taylor.