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Frederick William Page | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 February 1917 |
| Died | 29 May 2005 (aged 88) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Engineer |
| Spouse | Kathleen de Courcy |
| Children | 1 daughter, 3 sons |
| Parent(s) | Richard Page, Ellen Potter |
| Engineering career | |
| Discipline | Aerospace |
| Institutions | Royal Aeronautical Society |
| Projects | English Electric Lightning |
| Significant design | BAC TSR-2 |
| Awards | British Gold Medal for Aeronautics (1962), Gold Medal of the Royal Aeronautical Society (1974) |
Sir Frederick William Page CBE FRS FREng (20 February 1917 - 29 May 2005) was an English aircraft designer. He had large involvements with two British aircraft projects - the Lightning and the TSR2.
Early life edit
Freddie Page was born in Wimbledon, London on the same day as Bob Feilden, another Cambridge-educated aerospace engineer, who went to become an important member of the Power Jets team with Sir Frank Whittle. His father was a chauffeur who had been killed in the First World War and he was brought up by his mother. He gained a scholarship to Rutlish Grammar School in Merton. From there he went to St Catharine's College, Cambridge in 1935, and gained a Double First in the Mechanical Science Tripos.
Career edit
Hawker edit
He wanted to work in the aerospace industry, and began at Hawker Aircraft in Kingston upon Thames in 1938, working under Sydney Camm, and helped design the Hurricane II, the Typhoon and the Tempest.
English Electric edit
He joined the aircraft division of English Electric in Preston (Warton) in 1945 as Chief Stressman, working under W.E.W. Petter (Teddy Petter), and helped to design the Camberra, which first flew in May 1949. In 1949 he became Assistant Chief Designer, then Chief Engineer in 1950 when Teddy Petter left the company for Folland.
From 1950 he worked on the P1 prototype, which became the Lightning, Britain's only supersonic jet fighter. The P1A first flew in August 1954, becoming the first European fighter aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds. The Lightning first flew in April 1957, entering service in June 1961. 340 were produced.
In 1959 he became the Chief Executive of the newly-formed English Electric Aviation. The TSR2 contract had been signed in March 1959, with Vickers-Armstrongs (based in Weybridge) taking an equal share. The TSR2 was designed in response as a replacement for the Canberra under the GOR339 requirement, and was also intended to bring together the component companies of what became BAC.
BAC edit
In January 1960, the company merged with Vickers-Armstrongs and the Bristol Aeroplane Company to become British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Here he became the Chief Engineer of the BAC TSR-2 project. In April 1965, this project was cancelled by Denis Healey, in the first budget of the new Labour government, and the very moment when the project was overcoming its initial problems.
Around the same time in 1966, BAC formed an agreement with Breguet Aviation (of France) to build the SEPECAT Jaguar. He became the co-Chairman (with a corresponding French executive) of the SEPECAT company (Société Européenne de Production de l'Avion d'École de Combat et d'Appui Tactique) from 1966-73. The Jaguar first flew in September 1968.
From 1965 he was Managing Director and from 1967 Chairman of the military aircraft division of BAC and later from 1972 he was also the Chairman of the commercial aircraft division.
When Panavia Aircraft GmbH was formed from BAC, Fiat and Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm in 1969 in Munich, he became Chairman in 1977. 872 Tornados were produced for the respective three countries, having first flown in August 1974.
British Aerospace edit
When British Aerospace was formed, when BAC merged with Hawker Siddeley and Scottish Aviation, he was Chairman and Chief Executive from 1977 until 1982, when he retired.
Personal life edit
He was appointed CBE in 1961, and knighted in 1979. He became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1977 and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1978. [1]
When he retired from the Board of British Aerospace in 1983, he moved to Christchurch, Dorset. He died of the Myelodysplastic syndrome on 29 May 2005. He had married Kathleen Edith de Courcy, a 24 year old ARP warden, on 6 July 1940 who died in 1993. They had three sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Gordon, became Chairman of Cobham plc.
See also edit
- Sir Frederick Handley Page, no relation
References edit
- ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
External links edit
Category:1917 births Category:2005 deaths Category:People from Wimbledon Category:Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Category:English aerospace engineers Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Category:Fellows of the Royal Society