Robert Henry Widmer (May 17, 1916 – June 20, 2011) was an American

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

who specialized in designing aircraft for the military. He spent his career working for

Convair Convair, previously Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, was an American aircraft-manufacturing company that later expanded into rockets and spacecraft. The company was formed in 1943 by the merger of Consolidated Aircraft and Vultee ...

which became

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

, then Lockheed, and then

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

. His feisty personality and at times insubordinate attitude at one time led company leaders to strongly consider firing him. However, his brilliance at envisioning and designing desirable aircraft years before there was even a market for them led to his appointment as Vice President for science and engineering for all of General Dynamics. Born in

Hawthorne, New Jersey Hawthorne is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 19,637, an increase of 846 (+4.5%) from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census coun ...

, Widmer earned degrees from

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

and the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

. He began his career working for the California division of Convair, initially as a designer of marine aircraft. He eventually joined the company's main branch in

Fort Worth, Texas Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

, where he notably designed the

Convair B-58 Hustler The Convair B-58 Hustler, designed and produced by American aircraft manufacturer Convair, was the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The B-58 was developed during the 1950s for the United States Air Force (USAF) Strategic Air ...

which was the first

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

's bomber capable of Mach 2. He went on to lead the design teams for the

General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabiliti ...

and the

General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superio ...

. In 1983 he was awarded the Reed Aeronautics Award by the

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecra ...

. The award credited him with leading the design of four major Air Force aircraft, the B-36, B-58, F-111, and F-16, and for "pioneering the eras of supersonic cruise and fly-by-wire computerized flight control". In 1962, he was awarded the Spirit of St. Louis Medal by the

American Society of Mechanical Engineers The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing edu ...

for his work on the B-58. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame. Widmer died in Fort Worth, Texas in 2011 at the age of 95.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widmer, Robert 1916 births 2011 deaths American aerospace engineers California Institute of Technology alumni Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute alumni American people of Swiss descent