Thomas Henry Kerr (18 June 1924 – 9 September 2004) was a British

aerospace 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 si ...

. He served as a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

pilot during

World War II 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He later served as the Director of the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

and Director of Research and Development at Royal Ordnance. He was President of the Royal Aeronautical Society from 1985 to 1986.

Early life

Kerr was born on 18 June 1924 in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England, to Albert Edward Kerr and his wife Francis Jane Kerr (née Simpson). His father had served in

World War I 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 fightin ...

as an air observer. He was educated at

Magnus Grammar School Magnus, meaning "Great" in Latin, was used as cognomen of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in the first century BC. The best-known use of the name during the Roman Empire is for the fourth-century Western Roman Emperor Magnus Maximus. The name gained wid ...

Newark-on-Trent Newark-on-Trent or Newark () is a market town and civil parish in the Newark and Sherwood district in Nottinghamshire, England. It is on the River Trent, and was historically a major inland port. The A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road bypasses th ...

. In 1941, the school formed an Air Training Corps squadron which he immediately joined. Having served as a pilot during

, he was demobilised in 1946. He then joined

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

where he studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. He graduated in 1949 with a first class

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

(BSc) degree.

Military service

Having attended the

short course, Kerr joined the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

in 1942. He trained as a pilot and later served as a flying instructor. Having held the rank of aircraftman 2nd class, he was commissioned as a

pilot officer Pilot officer (Plt Off officially in the RAF; in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly P/O in all services, and still often used in the RAF) is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countri ...

on probation on 27 May 1944. On 27 November 1944, his commission was confirmed and he was promoted to

war substantive Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a m ...

flying officer. He was promoted to war substantive

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

on 27 May 1946. With the end of

, the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve was reconstituted and he retained his commission with the rank of flight lieutenant dated to 1 January 1948. He relinquished his commission on 1 January 1953.

Career

In September 1949, Kerr joined the Royal Aircraft Establishment. As part of its ''Aero Flight'', he researched into factors affecting the spinning of aircraft.

References

External links

Obituary - The Times
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, Thomas 1924 births 2004 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath British aerospace engineers Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Alumni of University College, Durham People educated at Magnus Church of England School Royal Air Force officers