William Helmore
Encyclopedia
Air Commodore William Helmore Ph.D.
, M.S
., F.C.S.
, F.R.Ae.S
., CBE
(1 March, 1894 - 18 December, 1964) was an engineer who had a varied and distinguished career in scientific research with the Air Ministry
and the Ministry of Aircraft Production during the Second World War, as a broadcaster, and for two years as Member of Parliament
for Watford
1943–1945
.
, the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
.
Helmore served In the First World War as a gunner
and then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps
, as an observer and pilot. One result of this experience was his book “Cavalry of the Air”. After the war he went to Christ's College
at Cambridge
and obtained a first class (honours) degree in mechanical sciences.
and developed his interest in scientific research in aviation. He was also involved in the development of aerial refuelling
, serving as copilot and hose handler on Sir Alan Cobham’s
pioneering flight from Portsmouth
, England
to India
on 22 September 1934, also inventing the electrolytic process of forming flame or explosion traps.
In 1931 Helmore was awarded the Groves Prize for Aeronautical Research.
Helmore retired from the R.A.F. at his own request in 1937 to devote himself to research at Cambridge, but be returned to the active list in August, 1939. His appointments included Wing Commander (1 July 1935 Air Commodore (1 March 1937), Honorary Group Captain (21 May 1941) and Honorary Air Commodore.
Turbinlite
was a 2,700 million candela
(2.7 Gcd) searchlight
fitted in the nose of a number of experimental radar
equipped Douglas Havoc night fighter
s by the British
during the early part of World War II
and around the time of The Blitz
. The light was intended to be used to illuminate attacking enemy bomber
s for defending fighter
s accompanying the Havoc to then shoot down.
Unfortunately certain practical difficulties brought the idea to nothing, but much of his work was subsequently incorporated in the Leigh light
, an antisubmarine aircraft searchlight, which with the aid of radar was particularly deadly to Admiral Doenitz’s
U-Boats.
For the last four years of the war he was technical adviser to the Ministry of Aircraft Production, and was responsible for a number of other valuable inventions and, in 1942, he was selected as one of the eight members of the Brabazon Committee
(which was responsible among other things for the conception of the giant Brabazon aircraft).
Helmore’s contribution, to Britain’s war effort was not confined to scientific research. He had earlier broadcast such events as the Schneider Trophy
air races and reviews, and during the war his accounts of the RAF’s work were heard frequently. His most notable commentary was when he broadcast an eye-witness account of the D-Day landings
in Normandy
, the first 'live', (recorded live onto transcription disc for transmission later), broadcast from over the invasion fleet on 6 June 1944, reporting overhead from an RAF
Mitchell bomber.
Helmore was Conservative
Member of Parliament
(MP) for Watford
1943–1945
.
, a scientific consultant to ICI
and director-general of the Aluminum Association.
In 1947 Helmore was invited by the Minister for Civil Aviation
to become the chairman of the Brabazon Committee
, to consider the certification of aircraft and approval of equipment. In addition he was the vice-chairman of a committee set up to review the licensing, recruitment and training of civil aviation personnel.
Helmore was a keen yachtsman, owning the schooner Allegro from 1929 to 1963.
Helmore married twice. His obituary in The Times
records that he left two sons and three daughters of his first marriage but other reports say he had four children, Peter, Patrick, Peggy and Pamela. Peggie, his eldest daughter married Cuthbert Scott in 1942.
, Assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries
Ltd
, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd
, Assigned to H.M.Hobson (Aircraft and Motor) Components Limited
, Assigned to H.M.Hobson (Aircraft and Motor) Components Limited
, Assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries
Ltd
, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd
, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, M.S
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
., F.C.S.
Chemical Society
The Chemical Society was formed in 1841 as a result of increased interest in scientific matters....
, F.R.Ae.S
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
., CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1 March, 1894 - 18 December, 1964) was an engineer who had a varied and distinguished career in scientific research with the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
and the Ministry of Aircraft Production during the Second World War, as a broadcaster, and for two years as Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Watford
Watford (UK Parliament constituency)
Watford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
1943–1945
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
.
Early life
William Helmore was educated at Blundell's SchoolBlundell's School
Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school located in the town of Tiverton in the county of Devon, England. The school was founded in 1604 by the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the time, and relocated to its present location on the...
, the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
Woolwich
Woolwich is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.Woolwich formed part of Kent until 1889 when the County of London was created...
.
Helmore served In the First World War as a gunner
Gunner (rank)
Gunner is a rank equivalent to Private in the British Army Royal Artillery and the artillery corps of other Commonwealth armies. The next highest rank is usually Lance-Bombardier, although in the Royal Canadian Artillery it is Bombardier....
and then transferred to the Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
, as an observer and pilot. One result of this experience was his book “Cavalry of the Air”. After the war he went to Christ's College
Christ's College, Cambridge
Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.With a reputation for high academic standards, Christ's College averaged top place in the Tompkins Table from 1980-2000 . In 2011, Christ's was placed sixth.-College history:...
at Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
and obtained a first class (honours) degree in mechanical sciences.
Post WWI
In 1922 Helmore was granted a permanent commission in the R.A.F.Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
and developed his interest in scientific research in aviation. He was also involved in the development of aerial refuelling
Aerial refueling
Aerial refueling, also called air refueling, in-flight refueling , air-to-air refueling or tanking, is the process of transferring fuel from one aircraft to another during flight....
, serving as copilot and hose handler on Sir Alan Cobham’s
Alan Cobham
Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC was an English aviation pioneer.A member of the Royal Flying Corps in World War I, Alan Cobham became famous as a pioneer of long distance aviation. After the war he became a test pilot for the de Havilland aircraft company, and was the first pilot for the newly...
pioneering flight from Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on 22 September 1934, also inventing the electrolytic process of forming flame or explosion traps.
In 1931 Helmore was awarded the Groves Prize for Aeronautical Research.
Helmore retired from the R.A.F. at his own request in 1937 to devote himself to research at Cambridge, but be returned to the active list in August, 1939. His appointments included Wing Commander (1 July 1935 Air Commodore (1 March 1937), Honorary Group Captain (21 May 1941) and Honorary Air Commodore.
World War II
As senior scientific adviser to the Chief of Air Staff from 1939, Helmore was chiefly concerned with defeating the night bomber. Helmore worked on the development of the Helmore/GECThe General Electric Company plc
The General Electric Company or GEC was a major British-based industrial conglomerate, involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications and engineering. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It was renamed Marconi Corporation plc in 1999 after its defence arm,...
Turbinlite
Turbinlite
The Helmore/GEC Turbinlite was a 2,700 million candela searchlight fitted in the nose of a number of British Douglas Havoc night fighters during the early part of the Second World War and around the time of The Blitz....
was a 2,700 million candela
Candela
The candela is the SI base unit of luminous intensity; that is, power emitted by a light source in a particular direction, weighted by the luminosity function . A common candle emits light with a luminous intensity of roughly one candela...
(2.7 Gcd) searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
fitted in the nose of a number of experimental radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
equipped Douglas Havoc night fighter
Night fighter
A night fighter is a fighter aircraft adapted for use at night or in other times of bad visibility...
s by the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
during the early part of 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...
and around the time of The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
. The light was intended to be used to illuminate attacking enemy bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s for defending fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
s accompanying the Havoc to then shoot down.
Unfortunately certain practical difficulties brought the idea to nothing, but much of his work was subsequently incorporated in the Leigh light
Leigh light
The Leigh Light was a British World War II era anti-submarine device used in the Second Battle of the Atlantic.It was a powerful carbon arc searchlight of 24 inches diameter fitted to a number of the British Royal Air Force's Coastal Command patrol bombers to help them spot surfaced...
, an antisubmarine aircraft searchlight, which with the aid of radar was particularly deadly to Admiral Doenitz’s
Karl Dönitz
Karl Dönitz was a German naval commander during World War II. He started his career in the German Navy during World War I. In 1918, while he was in command of , the submarine was sunk by British forces and Dönitz was taken prisoner...
U-Boats.
For the last four years of the war he was technical adviser to the Ministry of Aircraft Production, and was responsible for a number of other valuable inventions and, in 1942, he was selected as one of the eight members of the Brabazon Committee
Brabazon Committee
The Brabazon Committee was a committee formed on 23 December 1942 to investigate the future needs of the British Empire's civilian airliner market...
(which was responsible among other things for the conception of the giant Brabazon aircraft).
Helmore’s contribution, to Britain’s war effort was not confined to scientific research. He had earlier broadcast such events as the Schneider Trophy
Schneider Trophy
The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931...
air races and reviews, and during the war his accounts of the RAF’s work were heard frequently. His most notable commentary was when he broadcast an eye-witness account of the D-Day landings
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
in Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
, the first 'live', (recorded live onto transcription disc for transmission later), broadcast from over the invasion fleet on 6 June 1944, reporting overhead from an RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Mitchell bomber.
Helmore was Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) for Watford
Watford (UK Parliament constituency)
Watford is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
1943–1945
United Kingdom general election, 1945
The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to...
.
Post war
After the war Helmore entered industry, being technical director to CastrolCastrol
Castrol is a brand of industrial and automotive lubricants which is applied to a large range of oils, greases and similar products for most lubrication applications...
, a scientific consultant to ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
and director-general of the Aluminum Association.
In 1947 Helmore was invited by the Minister for Civil Aviation
Secretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
to become the chairman of the Brabazon Committee
Brabazon Committee
The Brabazon Committee was a committee formed on 23 December 1942 to investigate the future needs of the British Empire's civilian airliner market...
, to consider the certification of aircraft and approval of equipment. In addition he was the vice-chairman of a committee set up to review the licensing, recruitment and training of civil aviation personnel.
Helmore was a keen yachtsman, owning the schooner Allegro from 1929 to 1963.
Helmore married twice. His obituary in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
records that he left two sons and three daughters of his first marriage but other reports say he had four children, Peter, Patrick, Peggy and Pamela. Peggie, his eldest daughter married Cuthbert Scott in 1942.
Patents
, Assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
Ltd
, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd
, Assigned to H.M.Hobson (Aircraft and Motor) Components Limited
, Assigned to H.M.Hobson (Aircraft and Motor) Components Limited
, Assigned to Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
Ltd
, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd
, Assigned to CCWakefield &Co Ltd