Jim Chamberlin
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James Arthur Chamberlin (May 23, 1915 – March 8, 1981) was a Canadian engineer who contributed to the design of the Canadian
Avro Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a Delta wing, delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach number, Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal ...
,
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's Gemini spacecraft and the
Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...
. In addition to his pioneering air and space efforts, he is often cited as an example of Canadian brain drain to the U.S. In the early 1960s, he was one of the key people that proposed and moved that
Lunar Orbit Rendezvous Lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) is a process for landing humans on the Moon and returning them to Earth. It was utilized for the Apollo program missions in the 1960s and 1970s. In a LOR mission, a main spacecraft and a lunar lander travel to lunar or ...
(LOR) was the best option for landing a crew on the Moon, the method eventually used on Apollo lunar landing missions. He left NASA in 1970 and worked for
McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own ...
, in their Houston offices, until his death in 1981.


Early life

Chamberlin was born in
Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...
,
British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
on May 23, 1915, the son of Walter A. Chamberlin and Theresa Goldie. His father was an English-born architect, who was killed at the
Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...
while serving with the Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. His mother, a sister of William Goldie, moved to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
following her husband's death and was later remarried. Chamberlin subsequently attended high school at the
University of Toronto Schools University of Toronto Schools (UTS) is an independent secondary day school affiliated with the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school follows a specialized academic curriculum, and admission is determined by a written exam ...
. Having maintained a keen interest in aircraft from a young age, he built original design model airplanes in his adolescent years, at one point winning a model aircraft contest organized by '' The Mail and Empire.'' Chamberlin later took mechanical engineering degrees at the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
(1936) and
Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...
(1939).


Career

Chamberlin began his engineering career with the British aircraft company (and later ejection seat manufacturers)
Martin-Baker Martin-Baker Aircraft Company Limited is a British manufacturer of ejection seats and safety-related equipment for aviation. The company was originally an aircraft manufacturer before becoming a pioneer in the field of ejection seats. The comp ...
before returning to Canada. He worked on the production of the British
Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...
at Federal Aircraft Ltd. in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
(1940–1941), and later, on training and anti-submarine aircraft as chief engineer at Clarke Ruse Aircraft in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Dartmouth ( ) (Scottish Gaelic, Scottish-Gaelic: Baile nan Loch) is a Urban area, built-up community of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has 101 ...
(1941–1942). His longest tenure began as a research engineer (1942–1945) at Noorduyn Aircraft in Montreal, working on the Norseman and serving in this position until the end of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.


Avro Canada

In February 1946, Chamberlin joined Avro Aircraft Ltd. in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, the Canadian subsidiary of the British
Avro Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...
, itself part of the
Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in list of aircraft manufacturers, aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers ...
Group, where he was chief aerodynamicist on the C102 Jetliner and
CF-100 Canuck The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to en ...
jet interceptor. Later, as chief of technical design for the CF-105
Avro Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a Delta wing, delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach number, Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal ...
jet interceptor, he generated many of the ideas that would make the design famous.Gainor 2001, pp. 19-33. According to Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame, it was under Chamberlin's leadership that the Arrow's technical design team conducted engineering research and applied development techniques that were "a generation or more ahead of those used by other aircraft companies" at the time.


NASA

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 The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
's Space Task Group. This group eventually grew to 32 former Avro engineers, collectively known as the "Avro Group", who joined NASA and become emblematic of what many Canadians viewed as a brain drain to the United States.McArthur, Scott
"James Arthur Chamberlin, 1915–1981."
''Arrow Digital Archives: Arrow Recovery Canada.'' Retrieved: January 4, 2013.
As head of engineering for
Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
, chief designer and NASA's first Project Manager for the Gemini spacecraft built by
McDonnell Aircraft The McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer based in St. Louis, Missouri. The company was founded on July 6, 1939, by James Smith McDonnell, and was best known for its military fighters, including the F-4 Phantom II ...
, 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 Lunar orbit rendezvous (LOR) is a process for landing humans on the Moon and returning them to Earth. It was utilized for the Apollo program missions in the 1960s and 1970s. In a LOR mission, a main spacecraft and a lunar lander travel to lunar or ...
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 The Apollo Lunar Module (LM ), originally designated the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), was the lunar lander spacecraft that was flown between lunar orbit and the Moon's surface during the United States' Apollo program. It was the first crewed s ...
(LM) to descend to the lunar surface.Hansen, James R
"Enchanted Rendezvous: John Houbolt and the Genesis of the Lunar-Orbit Rendezvous Concept."
''NASA-TM-111236: Monographs in Aerospace History Series #4,'' NASA, December 1995. Retrieved: August 13, 2011.
Chamberlin was described by space historian David Baker as "probably one of the most brilliant men ever to work for NASA."Baker 1982, p. 182. Chamberlin left NASA in 1970 to join
McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own ...
Astronautics, where he prepared an ultimately unsuccessful space shuttle bid before becoming technical director for the company's facility at the
Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight in Houston, Texas (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight controller, flight control are conducted. ...
in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, a position he held until his death on March 8, 1981. He and his wife had a son and a daughter.


Honors

NASA awarded Chamberlin its Exceptional Scientific Achievement, Exceptional Service and Exceptional Engineering Achievement medals. Chamberlin was a Professional Engineer of the Province of Ontario, a member of the Institute of Aeronautical Scientists and an Associate Fellow of the Canadian Aeronautical Institute. The
minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...
14148 Jimchamberlin, discovered at
Kitt Peak National Observatory The Kitt Peak National Observatory (KPNO) is a United States astronomy, astronomical observatory located on Kitt Peak of the Quinlan Mountains in the Arizona-Sonoran Desert on the Tohono Oʼodham Nation, west-southwest of Tucson, Arizona. With ...
in 1998, is named in his honor. In 2001, he was inducted into Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2019,
Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (, trading as Canada Post (), is a Canadian Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the operating name of the Post Office Department of the Can ...
issued stamps commemorating Canadian contributions to the
Apollo 11 Apollo 11 was a spaceflight conducted from July 16 to 24, 1969, by the United States and launched by NASA. It marked the first time that humans Moon landing, landed on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module pilot Buzz Aldrin l ...
mission which included Chamberlin's likeness. In the 1997
CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...
miniseries '' The Arrow'', Chamberlin is played by actor
Aidan Devine Aidan Devine is an English–Canadian film actor. Early life Devine was born in England and immigrated with his family to Canada at the age of 15. He studied at Dawson College's Dome Theatre in Montreal, Quebec Quebec is Canada's Li ...
.


References


Bibliography

* Baker, David. ''The History of Manned Space Flight.'' New York: Crown Publishers, 1985, First edition 1982. . * Gainor, Chris. ''Arrows to the Moon: Avro's Engineers and the Space Race.'' Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Apogee Books, 2001, . * Hacker, Barton; James Grimwood. ''On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini.'' Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1977. . * Harvey, Brian. ''Russian Planetary Exploration: History, Development, Legacy and Prospects.'' New York: Springer, 2007. .
"Lunar orbit rendezvous: news conference on Apollo plans at NASA headquarters on July 11, 1962."
''NASA,'' 1962. * Murray, Charles; Catherine Bly Cox. ''Apollo: The Race to the Moon.'' New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989. . * Nelson, Craig. ''Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon.'' New York: Viking, 2009. . * Stewart, Greig. ''Shutting Down the National Dream: A.V. Roe and the Tragedy of the Avro Arrow.'' Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 1991. . * Whitcomb, Randall. ''Cold War Tech War.'' Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Apogee Books, 2008. . * Wilford. John. ''We Reach the Moon: The New York Times Story of Man's Greatest Adventure.'' New York: Bantam Paperbacks, 1973, First edition 1969. . * Woods, W. David. ''How Apollo Flew to the Moon.'' New York: Springer, 2008. .


External links


Arrow Recovery Canada
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlin, Jim 1915 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Canadian engineers Alumni of Imperial College London People from Kamloops University of Toronto alumni NASA people