John Fozard
Encyclopedia
Prof John William Fozard OBE FRS FREng
FRAeS
FAIAA
(1928–1996) was a British aeronautical engineer who helped to design the Hawker Siddeley Harrier.
, west of Heckmondwike
, having earlier lived on Holme Street in Millbridge.
He was educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School
in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He gained a BScEng from Hull Municipal Technical College in 1948 (an external degree awarded by the University of London). From the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield
he gained a DCAe (Diploma in Aeronautics) in 1950, under Prof Sir Robert Lickley (who designed the Fairey Delta 2
).
He would later tell American visitors at the Hawker plant on Lower Ham Road next to the River Thames
at Kingston upon Thames
that Yorkshire was the Texas of the UK.
in Brough
in 1943 as an engineering apprentice.
He worked for Hawker Siddeley from 1950, working under Sydney Camm. In the late 1950s he was working on the supersonic successor to the company's Hawker Hunter
, the P.1121
, and the twin-seat P.1129. Although advanced designs for their time, these projects were cancelled by the infamous 1957 Defence White Paper
, and Hawker concentrated all work on the (previously unimportant) P.1127.
From October 1963 he was Chief Designer of the P.1154
, which was cancelled in February 1965 (with the BAC TSR-2
). He was Chief Designer of the Harrier from 1965–78, taking over from Ralph Hooper
. The Harrier entered service with the RAF (at RAF Wittering
) in August 1969. The first Sea Harrier (XZ451 - FRS.1) was handed to the Royal Navy
's Fleet Air Arm
on 18 June 1979, at a ceremony at BAe Dunsfold
(the site had been owned by Hawker Siddeley from 1950), later to be based at RNAS Yeovilton. This version of the Harrier had been given the definitive go-ahead (funding) on 15 May 1975 by Roy Mason
, the Barnsley-born Defence Secretary, after receiving earlier government indifference.
The Pegasus engine
, which was integral to the aircraft design, was designed by Gordon Lewis
and Sir Stanley Hooker
.
From 1984-7 he was Divisional Director of Special Projects at the Military Aircraft Division of British Aerospace
, Weybridge. In February 1989 he retired from BAe. He later became the Director of the National Air and Space Museum
, the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History
, from 1988-9.
From 1986-7 he was the President of the Royal Aeronautical Society
. He became FRAeS in 1963.
.
He was awarded the OBE in 1981. He died from liver failure
, aged 68.
Royal Academy of Engineering
-Overview: is the UK’s national academy of engineering. The Academy brings together the most successful and talented engineers from across the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and promote excellence in engineering....
FRAeS
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
FAIAA
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics is the professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA was founded in 1963 from the merger of two earlier societies: the American Rocket Society , founded in 1930 as the American Interplanetary Society , and the Institute...
(1928–1996) was a British aeronautical engineer who helped to design the Hawker Siddeley Harrier.
Early life
He was the son of John Fozard and Eleanor Paulkitt. He was brought up on the Firthcliffe Estate at Littletown, Liversedge, KirkleesLittletown, Liversedge, Kirklees
Littletown is a suburb of Liversedge, West Yorkshire, in the north of England. Much of the town centre was demolished in the 1960s for road widening....
, west of Heckmondwike
Heckmondwike
Heckmondwike is a small town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, which is located geographically at the centre of West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge, it is part of Cleckheckmondsedge, a name invented by J.B. Priestley to represent a West Riding...
, having earlier lived on Holme Street in Millbridge.
He was educated at Heckmondwike Grammar School
Heckmondwike Grammar School
Heckmondwike Grammar School is a state selective, coeducational grammar school providing free education, located in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, England.-Admissions:...
in the West Riding of Yorkshire. He gained a BScEng from Hull Municipal Technical College in 1948 (an external degree awarded by the University of London). From the College of Aeronautics, Cranfield
Cranfield University
Cranfield University is a British postgraduate university based on two campuses, with a research-oriented focus. The main campus is at Cranfield, Bedfordshire and the second is the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom based at Shrivenham, Oxfordshire. The main campus is unique in the United...
he gained a DCAe (Diploma in Aeronautics) in 1950, under Prof Sir Robert Lickley (who designed the Fairey Delta 2
Fairey Delta 2
The Fairey Delta 2 or FD2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced by the Fairey Aviation Company in response to a specification from the Ministry of Supply for investigation into flight and control at transonic and supersonic speeds.The aircraft was the first to exceed 1000mph, and...
).
He would later tell American visitors at the Hawker plant on Lower Ham Road next to the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
at Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames
Kingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
that Yorkshire was the Texas of the UK.
Career
He joined Blackburn AircraftBlackburn Aircraft
Blackburn Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that concentrated mainly on naval and maritime aircraft during the first part of the 20th century.-History:...
in Brough
Brough, East Riding of Yorkshire
Brough , or Brough-on-Humber, is a small town in the civil parish of Elloughton-cum-Brough in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town has a population of around 7,000.-Location:...
in 1943 as an engineering apprentice.
He worked for Hawker Siddeley from 1950, working under Sydney Camm. In the late 1950s he was working on the supersonic successor to the company's Hawker Hunter
Hawker Hunter
The Hawker Hunter is a subsonic British jet aircraft developed in the 1950s. The single-seat Hunter entered service as a manoeuvrable fighter aircraft, and later operated in fighter-bomber and reconnaissance roles in numerous conflicts. Two-seat variants remained in use for training and secondary...
, the P.1121
Hawker P.1121
-Bibliography:*Mason, Francis K. Hawker Aircraft Since 1920. London. Conway Maritime Press Ltd, 1991. ISBN 0 85177 839 9...
, and the twin-seat P.1129. Although advanced designs for their time, these projects were cancelled by the infamous 1957 Defence White Paper
1957 Defence White Paper
The 1957 White Paper on Defence was a British white paper setting forth the perceived future of the British military. It had profound effects on all aspects of the defence industry but probably the most affected was the British aircraft industry...
, and Hawker concentrated all work on the (previously unimportant) P.1127.
From October 1963 he was Chief Designer of the P.1154
Hawker Siddeley P.1154
The Hawker Siddeley P.1154 was a planned supersonic vertical/short take-off and landing fighter aircraft designed by Hawker Siddeley Aviation . Developed alongside the subsonic and smaller Hawker Siddeley P.1127/Kestrel, the P.1154 was derived from the P.1150. The P.1150 proposal did not meet NATO...
, which was cancelled in February 1965 (with the BAC TSR-2
BAC TSR-2
The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a cancelled Cold War strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation for the Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
). He was Chief Designer of the Harrier from 1965–78, taking over from Ralph Hooper
Ralph Hooper
Ralph Spenser Hooper OBE FREng FRAeS is an English aeronautical engineer, recognised mostly for his work on the Harrier, specifically in relation the marriage between the Pegasus engine and the layout of the aircraft, allowing it to safely hover with margins of stability.-Career:He is sometimes...
. The Harrier entered service with the RAF (at RAF Wittering
RAF Wittering
RAF Wittering is a Royal Air Force station within the unitary authority area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. Although Stamford in Lincolnshire is the nearest town, the runways of RAF Wittering cross the boundary between Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire....
) in August 1969. The first Sea Harrier (XZ451 - FRS.1) was handed to the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
's Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
on 18 June 1979, at a ceremony at BAe Dunsfold
Dunsfold Aerodrome
Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh, was built by the Canadian Army and civilian contractors as a Class A Bomber Airfield for Army Co-operation Command...
(the site had been owned by Hawker Siddeley from 1950), later to be based at RNAS Yeovilton. This version of the Harrier had been given the definitive go-ahead (funding) on 15 May 1975 by Roy Mason
Roy Mason
Roy Mason, Baron Mason of Barnsley, PC is a British Labour politician and former Cabinet minister.He was born in Royston, and grew up in Carlton, Barnsley in South Yorkshire...
, the Barnsley-born Defence Secretary, after receiving earlier government indifference.
The Pegasus engine
Rolls-Royce Pegasus
The Rolls-Royce Pegasus is a turbofan engine originally designed by Bristol Siddeley, and now manufactured by Rolls-Royce plc. This engine is able to direct thrust downwards which can then be swivelled to power a jet aircraft forward. Lightly loaded, it can also manoeuvre like a helicopter,...
, which was integral to the aircraft design, was designed by Gordon Lewis
Gordon Lewis
Gordon Hale Lewis is a Welsh former rugby union and professional rugby league footballer of the 1960s and '70s who at club level has played rugby union for Swansea RFC, and at representative level has played rugby league for Great Britain, and Wales, and at club level for Leigh, playing at , i.e...
and Sir Stanley Hooker
Stanley Hooker
Sir Stanley George Hooker was a jet engine engineer, first at Rolls-Royce where he worked on the earliest designs such as the Welland and Derwent, and later at Bristol Aero Engines where he helped bring the troubled Proteus and Olympus to market, and then designed the famous Pegasus.Stanley George...
.
From 1984-7 he was Divisional Director of Special Projects at the Military Aircraft Division of British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
, Weybridge. In February 1989 he retired from BAe. He later became the Director of the National Air and Space Museum
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution holds the largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft in the world. It was established in 1976. Located in Washington, D.C., United States, it is a center for research into the history and science of aviation and...
, the Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History
Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History
The Charles A. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History, also known as the Lindbergh Chair, is a one-year senior fellowship hosted by the U.S. National Air and Space Museum , to assist a scholar in the research and composition of a book about aerospace history...
, from 1988-9.
From 1986-7 he was the President of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
. He became FRAeS in 1963.
Personal life
He married Mary Ward in 1951. They divorced in 1985. They had two sons. He later married Gloria Roberts in 1985, and they lived in Alexandria, VirginiaAlexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
.
He was awarded the OBE in 1981. He died from liver failure
Liver failure
Acute liver failure is the appearance of severe complications rapidly after the first signs of liver disease , and indicates that the liver has sustained severe damage . The complications are hepatic encephalopathy and impaired protein synthesis...
, aged 68.
External links
- Telegraph obituary
- History of the Harrier
- Guardian obituary, 20 July 1996, page 32
- Times obituary, 24 July 1996, page 19