Colin Campbell Mitchell, sketch by Stephen Dickson

Commander Colin Campbell Mitchell

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This so ...

MIME OBE (1904–21 January 1969) was a Scottish mechanical engineer also with a very prominent service record in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

. He was the inventor of the

Aircraft catapult An aircraft catapult is a device used to allow aircraft to take off from a very limited amount of space, such as the deck of a vessel, but can also be installed on land-based runways in rare cases. It is now most commonly used on aircraft carrier ...

and Aircraft arresting gear used on aircraft carriers. He was usually referred to as Commander C. C. Mitchell.

Life

He was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

the son of Mary Agnes Mitchell and her husband, the artist

John Campbell Mitchell John Campbell Mitchell ARSA (1861 – 15 February 1922) was a late 19th and early 20th century Scottish landscape artist. He specialised in broad open views such as moorland or beaches. Life He was born John Mitchell'' on Shore Street in Campbe ...

RSA (1862–1922). He was educated at

Edinburgh Academy The Edinburgh Academy is an independent day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, which was opened in 1824. The original building, on Henderson Row in the city's New Town, is now part of the Senior School. The Junior School is located on Arboretum Roa ...

then studied engineering at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

graduating with a BSc in 1925. He joined the staff of MacTaggart Scott & Co in

Loanhead Loanhead is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, in a commuter belt to the south of Edinburgh, and close to Roslin, Bonnyrigg and Dalkeith. The town was built on coal and oil shale mining, and the paper industries. History Loanhead was a tiny villa ...

on graduating and was promoted to Technical Director in 1931. His invention of aircraft arresting gear in 1931 brought him to the attention of the Admiralty. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served in the Royal Navy and reached the rank of Commander. He served as Engineer-in-Chief to the Admiralty. He was one of the investigating officers into the V1 launch sites. After the War he became Director of Brown Brothers & Co on Broughton Road in

. In 1955 he was the first non-American to win the Newcomen Gold Medal. In 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower awarded him the

Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

of the United States. In 1962 he was elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

. His proposers were Sir William Wallace,

Ronald Arnold Ronald Nathan Arnold (23 December 1908 – 30 December 1963) PhD (Sheffield) MS (Illinois) DSc (Glasgow 1943) DEng (Sheffield 1947) MIMechE MICivilE was a distinguished British engineer. Life Born in Glasgow on 23 December 1908, he was scho ...

, Charles Patterson and

Robert Schlapp Robert Schlapp FRSE (18 July 1899 – 31 May 1991) was a 20th century British physicist and mathematician of German descent. He was affectionately known as Robin Schlapp. Life He was born in Edinburgh on 18 July 1899, the youngest of three ch ...

. He died in Edinburgh on 21 January 1969.

Family

His elder brother, Lt John Patrick Campbell Mitchell, was killed whilst serving in the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

on 21 April 1917 during the

Second Battle of Arras The Battle of Arras (also known as the Second Battle of Arras) was a British Empire, British offensive on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the First World War. From 9 April to 16 May 1917, British troops attacked German Empi ...

. He was only 19. He is buried in Bruay Communal Cemetery Extension.

References

1904 births 1969 deaths Engineers from Edinburgh People educated at Edinburgh Academy Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish mechanical engineers Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 20th-century Scottish inventors Royal Navy personnel of World War II {{Scotland-engineer-stub