Antonio Ferri
Encyclopedia
Antonio Ferri was an Italian
scientist, prominent in the field of aerodynamics
, with a specialization in hypersonic
and supersonic
flight.
Born in 1912 in Norcia
, Italy
, from 1937 he conducted research in Guidonia Montecelio
, where the most prominent and advanced research on high-speed aerodynamics was taking place. Among the work he conducted there were spectacular experiments in 1939–1940 with supersonic wind tunnel
s.
During World War II
, in the period of the Italian Social Republic
(or Salò Republic), three days after the Germans
occupied Rome
on 10 September 1943, Ferri bluffed his way back into the facility at Guidonia, destroyed equipment, filled a trunk with documents, secluded his wife and family near his family home in the Apennine Mountains
(from which they later moved on to an Adriatic
fishing village), and took to the hills with an anti-Fascist
guerrilla band.
He eventually made his way to Rome
after it was liberated by the Allies
, where he made contact with OSS
agent Moe Berg
and began to work with him translating key documents from the trunk, also passing on his knowledge of the achievements of German science during the war.
The facilities at Guidonia were destroyed in the course of the fighting. In 1944, Ferri was brought to the leading American research center in his field, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
in Langley, Virginia
, where he continued as a major figure in his field.
In the immediate postwar period, he studied the use of a biconvex wing profile
for high-speed aircraft and developed the Schlieren
Flow Visualization method of predicting the impact of shock wave
s on aircraft wings. He then turned at length to the problem of atmospheric reentry
, hypersonic thermofluid
dynamics, as applied to the study of supersonic and hypersonic jet engine
s. He also conducted important studies in the fields of supersonic combustion
and aerodynamic heating
of high speed aircraft. In all these areas, he made key contributions to the advancement of aerospace engineering.
In 1956 he founded the General Applied Science Laboratory
.
Ferri died in 1975 on Long Island
, New York
, USA.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
scientist, prominent in the field of aerodynamics
Aerodynamics
Aerodynamics is a branch of dynamics concerned with studying the motion of air, particularly when it interacts with a moving object. Aerodynamics is a subfield of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, with much theory shared between them. Aerodynamics is often used synonymously with gas dynamics, with...
, with a specialization in hypersonic
Hypersonic
In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic. Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above...
and supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
flight.
Born in 1912 in Norcia
Norcia
Norcia is a town and comune in the province of Perugia in southeastern Umbria, located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a subrange of the Apennines with some of its highest peaks, near the Sordo River, a small stream that eventually flows into the Nera...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, from 1937 he conducted research in Guidonia Montecelio
Guidonia Montecelio
Guidonia Montecelio is a town and comune in the province of Rome, Lazio, central Italy.- Geography :The community of Guidonia Montecelio lies to the north-east of Rome, some kilometres from the Grande Raccordo Anulare - a ring-shaped motorway which forms a circle around the capital...
, where the most prominent and advanced research on high-speed aerodynamics was taking place. Among the work he conducted there were spectacular experiments in 1939–1940 with supersonic wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
s.
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...
, in the period of the Italian Social Republic
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic was a puppet state of Nazi Germany led by the "Duce of the Nation" and "Minister of Foreign Affairs" Benito Mussolini and his Republican Fascist Party. The RSI exercised nominal sovereignty in northern Italy but was largely dependent on the Wehrmacht to maintain control...
(or Salò Republic), three days after the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
occupied Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on 10 September 1943, Ferri bluffed his way back into the facility at Guidonia, destroyed equipment, filled a trunk with documents, secluded his wife and family near his family home in the Apennine Mountains
Apennine mountains
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains or Greek oros but just as often used alone as a noun. The ancient Greeks and Romans typically but not always used "mountain" in the singular to mean one or a range; thus, "the Apennine mountain" refers to the entire chain and is translated "the Apennine...
(from which they later moved on to an Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
fishing village), and took to the hills with an anti-Fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
guerrilla band.
He eventually made his way to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
after it was liberated by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
, where he made contact with OSS
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
agent Moe Berg
Moe Berg
Morris "Moe" Berg was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II...
and began to work with him translating key documents from the trunk, also passing on his knowledge of the achievements of German science during the war.
The facilities at Guidonia were destroyed in the course of the fighting. In 1944, Ferri was brought to the leading American research center in his field, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was a U.S. federal agency founded on March 3, 1915 to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958 the agency was dissolved, and its assets and personnel transferred to the newly created National Aeronautics and...
in Langley, Virginia
Langley, Virginia
Langley is an unincorporated community in the census-designated place of McLean in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States.The community was essentially absorbed into McLean many years ago, although there is still a Langley High School...
, where he continued as a major figure in his field.
In the immediate postwar period, he studied the use of a biconvex wing profile
Airfoil
An airfoil or aerofoil is the shape of a wing or blade or sail as seen in cross-section....
for high-speed aircraft and developed the Schlieren
Schlieren
Schlieren are optical inhomogeneities in transparent material not visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to produce high-quality lenses devoid of these inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneities are localized differences in optical path length that cause light deviation...
Flow Visualization method of predicting the impact of shock wave
Shock wave
A shock wave is a type of propagating disturbance. Like an ordinary wave, it carries energy and can propagate through a medium or in some cases in the absence of a material medium, through a field such as the electromagnetic field...
s on aircraft wings. He then turned at length to the problem of atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric reentry
Atmospheric entry is the movement of human-made or natural objects as they enter the atmosphere of a celestial body from outer space—in the case of Earth from an altitude above the Kármán Line,...
, hypersonic thermofluid
Thermofluids
Thermal fluids is a branch of science and engineering divided into four sections:*Heat transfer*Thermodynamics*Fluid mechanics*CombustionThe term consists of two words: "Thermal", meaning heat, and "fluids", which refers to liquids, gases and vapors. Pressure, volume, and density all play an...
dynamics, as applied to the study of supersonic and hypersonic jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
s. He also conducted important studies in the fields of supersonic combustion
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
and aerodynamic heating
Aerodynamic heating
Aerodynamic heating is the heating of a solid body produced by the passage of fluid over a body such as a meteor, missile, or airplane. It is a form of forced convection in that the flow field is created by forces beyond those associated with the thermal processes...
of high speed aircraft. In all these areas, he made key contributions to the advancement of aerospace engineering.
In 1956 he founded the General Applied Science Laboratory
General Applied Science Laboratory
The General Applied Science Laboratory is an American aerospace company, known as a pioneer of hypersonic propulsion.-Description:The General Applied Science Laboratory was founded in 1956 by Antonio Ferri and became a developer and testing house for advanced propulsion systems.Another early...
.
Ferri died in 1975 on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA.