Jim Chamberlin
Encyclopedia
James A. "Jim" Chamberlin (1915–1981) was a Canadian
aerodynamicist who contributed to the design of the Canadian Avro Arrow; and NASA
's Gemini spacecraft
and the Apollo program. In addition to his pioneering air and space efforts, he is often cited as an example of Canadian brain drain
to the U.S.
on May 23, 1915. Having maintained a keen interest in model airplanes during high school at the University of Toronto Schools
, he took mechanical engineering degrees at the University of Toronto
(1936) and Imperial College London
(1939).
aircraft company (and later ejection seat manufacturers) Martin-Baker
before returning to Canada, where he worked on the production of the British Avro Anson
by Federal Aircraft Ltd. in Montreal
(1940–1941), on training and anti-submarine aircraft as chief engineer at Clarke Ruse Aircraft in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
(1941–1942), and on the Norseman
as research engineer at Noorduyn Aircraft
in Montreal.
In 1945, Chamberlin joined Avro Aircraft Ltd.
in Toronto
, the Canadian subsidiary of the British Avro
itself part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, where Chamberlin was chief aerodynamicist on the C-102 Jetliner
and CF-100 "Canuck"
jet interceptor and, later, chief of technical design for the CF-105 Avro Arrow jet interceptor, generating many of the ideas that would make the design famous.
Following the Canadian government's cancellation of the Avro Arrow project in 1959, Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers from Avro who joined NASA
's Space Task Group
. This group eventually grew to 32 former Avro engineers who joined NASA and become emblematic of what many Canadians viewed as a brain drain
to the United States.
As head of engineering for Project Mercury
, chief designer and NASA's first Project Manager for the Gemini spacecraft built by McDonnell Aircraft
, and then troubleshooter on Apollo, Chamberlin played an instrumental role in creating and implementing the first three generations of American crewed spacecraft. .
While designing the Gemini spacecraft in 1961, Chamberlin proposed that Gemini be paired with a “bug” that would land a single astronaut on the Moon. Chamberlin had been impressed with NASA engineer John Houbolt
’s advocacy of Lunar orbit rendezvous
as the method to go to the Moon. Although Chamberlin’s idea of flying Gemini to the Moon was rejected, it helped lead NASA to its decision in 1962 to use Lunar Orbit Rendezvous in the Apollo program, which involved using the Lunar Module (LM) to descend to the lunar surface.
Chamberlin was described by space historian David Baker as “probably one of the most brilliant men ever to work for NASA.”
Chamberlin left NASA in 1970 to join McDonnell Douglas
Astronautics, where he prepared an ultimately unsuccessful space shuttle bid before becoming technical director for the company's facility at the Johnson Space Center
in Houston, a position he held until his death on March 8,1981. He and his wife had a son and a daughter.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
aerodynamicist who contributed to the design of the Canadian Avro Arrow; and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Gemini spacecraft
Project Gemini
Project Gemini was the second human spaceflight program of NASA, the civilian space agency of the United States government. Project Gemini was conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, with ten manned flights occurring in 1965 and 1966....
and the Apollo program. In addition to his pioneering air and space efforts, he is often cited as an example of Canadian brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
to the U.S.
Early Life
James Arthur Chamberlin was born in Kamloops, British ColumbiaBritish Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
on May 23, 1915. Having maintained a keen interest in model airplanes during high school at the University of Toronto Schools
University of Toronto Schools
The University of Toronto Schools is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
, he took mechanical engineering degrees at the University of Toronto
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
(1936) and Imperial College London
Imperial College London
Imperial College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom, specialising in science, engineering, business and medicine...
(1939).
Career
Chamberlin began his engineering career with the BritishUnited 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...
aircraft company (and later ejection seat manufacturers) Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker
Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd. is a manufacturer of ejection seats and safety related equipment for aviation. The company origins were as an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats...
before returning to Canada, where he worked on the production of the British Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
by Federal Aircraft Ltd. in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
(1940–1941), on training and anti-submarine aircraft as chief engineer at Clarke Ruse Aircraft in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
(1941–1942), and on the Norseman
Noorduyn Norseman
The Noorduyn Norseman is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Norseman aircraft are known to have been registered and/or operated in 68 countries throughout the world and also have been based and flown in the Arctic and Antarctic regions.-Design and...
as research engineer at Noorduyn Aircraft
Noorduyn
The Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd., founded by Robert B. C. Noorduyn, was established in Canada in early 1934 by taking over the Curtiss-Reid factory outside of Montreal, Quebec. Work soon started on the Noorduyn Norseman I...
in Montreal.
In 1945, Chamberlin joined Avro Aircraft Ltd.
Avro Canada
Commonly known as Avro Canada, this company started in 1945 as an aircraft plant and became within thirteen years the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, the Canadian subsidiary of the British Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
itself part of the Hawker Siddeley Group, where Chamberlin was chief aerodynamicist on the C-102 Jetliner
Avro Jetliner
The Avro C102 Jetliner was a Canadian prototype medium-range jet airliner built by Avro Canada in 1949. It was beaten into the air by only 13 days by the de Havilland Comet, thereby becoming the second jet airliner in the world, yet the name "Jetliner" was more catchy and for many years all such...
and CF-100 "Canuck"
Avro CF-100
The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck was a Canadian jet interceptor/fighter serving during the Cold War both in NATO bases in Europe and as part of NORAD. The CF-100 was the only Canadian-designed fighter to enter mass production, serving primarily with the RCAF/CAF and in small numbers in Belgium...
jet interceptor and, later, chief of technical design for the CF-105 Avro Arrow jet interceptor, generating many of the ideas that would make the design famous.
Following the Canadian government's cancellation of the Avro Arrow project in 1959, Chamberlin led a team of 25 engineers from Avro who joined NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Space Task Group
Space Task Group
The Space Task Group was a working group of NASA engineers created in 1958, tasked with superintending America's manned spaceflight programs. It was headed by Robert Gilruth andbased at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. After President John F...
. This group eventually grew to 32 former Avro engineers who joined NASA and become emblematic of what many Canadians viewed as a brain drain
Brain drain
Human capital flight, more commonly referred to as "brain drain", is the large-scale emigration of a large group of individuals with technical skills or knowledge. The reasons usually include two aspects which respectively come from countries and individuals...
to the United States.
As head of engineering for Project Mercury
Project Mercury
In January 1960 NASA awarded Western Electric Company a contract for the Mercury tracking network. The value of the contract was over $33 million. Also in January, McDonnell delivered the first production-type Mercury spacecraft, less than a year after award of the formal contract. On February 12,...
, chief designer and NASA's first Project Manager for the Gemini spacecraft built by McDonnell Aircraft
McDonnell Aircraft
The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 16, 1939 by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II, and manned spacecraft including the Mercury capsule...
, and then troubleshooter on Apollo, Chamberlin played an instrumental role in creating and implementing the first three generations of American crewed spacecraft. .
While designing the Gemini spacecraft in 1961, Chamberlin proposed that Gemini be paired with a “bug” that would land a single astronaut on the Moon. Chamberlin had been impressed with NASA engineer John Houbolt
John Houbolt
John Cornelius Houbolt is a retired aerospace engineer. He is generally credited with having effectively promoted the lunar mission mode called Lunar Orbit Rendezvous or LOR. This flight path was first endorsed by Wernher von Braun in June 1961 and was chosen for Apollo program in early 1962...
’s advocacy of Lunar orbit rendezvous
Lunar orbit rendezvous
Lunar orbit rendezvous is a key concept for human landing on the Moon and returning to Earth.In a LOR mission a main spacecraft and a smaller lunar module travel together into lunar orbit. The lunar module then independently descends to the lunar surface. After completion of the mission there, a...
as the method to go to the Moon. Although Chamberlin’s idea of flying Gemini to the Moon was rejected, it helped lead NASA to its decision in 1962 to use Lunar Orbit Rendezvous in the Apollo program, which involved using the Lunar Module (LM) to descend to the lunar surface.
Chamberlin was described by space historian David Baker as “probably one of the most brilliant men ever to work for NASA.”
Chamberlin left NASA in 1970 to join McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer and defense contractor, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. It formed from a merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft in 1967. McDonnell Douglas was based at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport...
Astronautics, where he prepared an ultimately unsuccessful space shuttle bid before becoming technical director for the company's facility at the Johnson Space Center
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's center for human spaceflight training, research and flight control. The center consists of a complex of 100 buildings constructed on 1,620 acres in Houston, Texas, USA...
in Houston, a position he held until his death on March 8,1981. He and his wife had a son and a daughter.