Ronald Eric Bishop

Ronald Eric Bishop
Born	Ronald Eric Bishop (1903-02-27) 27 February 1903 Kensington, London, England
Died	11 June 1989(1989-06-11) (aged 86) St Albans, England
Occupation	Aeronautical engineer
Years active	1921–1964
Known for	Lead designer of the de Havilland Mosquito and de Havilland Comet
Notable work	de Havilland Mosquito, de Havilland Comet

Ronald Eric Bishop CBE FRAeS (27 February 1903 – 11 June 1989), often known as R. E. Bishop, was a distinguished British aeronautical engineer who served as the lead designer of the de Havilland Mosquito, a renowned aircraft from the Second World War. He was also responsible for creating the pioneering jet airliner, the de Havilland Comet, introduced in 1949.

Early life

Born in Kensington, London, England, Bishop was the son of Mr A.R.A. Bishop, who resided at 34 Warrior Square in St Leonards-on-Sea, Sussex.

Career

Beginning his career at de Havilland in 1921 as an apprentice at age eighteen, Bishop dedicated over four decades to the company. By 1923, he had advanced to joining their design department.

In 1936, he ascended to the position of Chief Designer, succeeding Arthur Hagg. His inaugural project in this role was the DH.95 Flamingo, notable as de Havilland's first all-metal monoplane featuring stressed-skin construction and seating for seventeen passengers. The aircraft's maiden flight occurred on 22 December 1938. Notably, Winston Churchill utilized one of these planes for travel to France during the early phase of World War II prior to the Dunkirk evacuation (Operation Dynamo).

His design team included key figures such as:

• Charles Walker, serving as chief engineer
• Richard Clarkson, who specialized in aerodynamics and later designed the Hawker Siddeley Trident (de Havilland DH121)
• A.P. Wilkins
• William Tamblin (later honored with an OBE), credited with designing the wing structures of both the Mosquito and Comet

Wartime

From 1938 onward, Bishop’s design office achieved its most notable success with the DH.98 Mosquito. Originally envisioned as an unarmed bomber capable of reaching speeds around 376 mph, it ultimately surpassed expectations by exceeding 400 mph (640 km/h). This performance outpaced most contemporary aircraft, including the famed Supermarine Spitfire, establishing it as Britain's fastest aircraft during that period and earning it the nickname Wooden Wonder.

Despite skepticism from the Air Ministry—which was hesitant about funding a radical unarmed bomber made primarily from wood—Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman became a strong advocate for the project. Due to official doubts, the aircraft was sometimes referred to as Freeman's Folly. Nevertheless, Freeman’s support proved well-founded as the Mosquito remained the fastest combat aircraft for two and a half years during wartime. The concept of relying on speed rather than armament resulted in remarkably low loss rates in operational use.

The official announcement of this military aircraft came on 26 October 1942, marking de Havilland’s first military design since the First World War’s Airco DH.10 Amiens. Its exceptional speed capabilities were publicly recognized on 5 May 1943.

The jet age

Following World War II, Bishop was appointed as design director and joined the company's board of directors on 27 December 1946, a position he held until his retirement in February 1964. In October of the same year, he was honored with the RAeS Gold Medal.

Bishop was present at the scene during the DH110 accident in September 1952, known as the 1952 Farnborough Airshow crash.

In December 1954, Tim Wilkins succeeded him as head of design at de Havilland.

By November 1958, Bishop had advanced to the role of deputy managing director.

On 10 June 1997, he was commemorated on a 37p postage stamp as part of a special series.

Designs

File:DH98 Mosquito bomber.jpg

DH98 Mosquito ML963 of 571 Squadron in September 1944

Among the aircraft attributed to his leadership were:

• Flamingo
• Mosquito
• Hornet
• Vampire – notable as the first fighter aircraft to surpass 500 mph
• Dove – a twin-engine propeller-driven airliner introduced in 1945
• Venom – an evolution of the Vampire
• Heron – a four-engine propeller airliner launched in 1950
• DH.108 – recognized as Britain’s initial swept-wing jet, mainly designed by John Carver Meadows Frost, and the first British plane to break the sound barrier
• DH106 Sea Vixen
• Comet – the world’s pioneering jet airliner introduced in July 1949, which inaugurated transatlantic jet service in October 1958; its design influenced the development of the Nimrod, remaining operational until 1973

Personal life

In 1936, Bishop wed Nora Armstrong (1904–1991) in Rochford. The couple had two sons, one born in 1947. He was awarded the CBE during the 1946 Birthday Honours. His residences included Fieldgate on Redbourn Lane (B487) in Hatching Green, Harpenden, followed by South Holme also on B487, and later Oakhurst Avenue in Harpenden.

His son was Richard Armstrong Bishop.

Bishop passed away in June 1989 in St Albans, aged 86.

File:G-APDC DH106 Comet 4 G-APFH B707-436 BOAC LHR 02SEP63 (6812607529).jpg

G-APDC DH106 Comet 4 photographed in September 1963

See also

• List of de Havilland Mosquito operators
• List of surviving de Havilland Mosquitos
• Roy Chadwick, creator of the Lancaster
• Frank Halford, developer of DH jet engines
• Teddy Petter, designer of the Canberra

External links

• Flight Global September 1983
• Der Spiegel

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