Joseph Smith

[Simon Cornes]

Being a Potteries man, born and bred, my loyalty is with R J Mitchell but Joe Smith and his team were largely responsible for turning the Spitfire from a prototype into a true weapon.

What intrigues me is that I can't recall ever seeing a biography on Joe Smith, which would be a horrendous omission if it was true, IMHO.

Does anyone know of such a book?

I see from Wikipeadia that he also died at a very young age (58), must be something about the wartime aircraft industry and too many fags?

Thanks

Simon

[Edgar]

There was "An Appreciation of Joseph Smith C.B.E.,M.I.Mech.E. F.R.Ae.S" by the Royal Aeronautical Society in June 1956; I don't have a copy, and would think that finding one (other than by a direct approach to the society) will take some doing.

Edgar

[NPL]

There was "An Appreciation of Joseph Smith C.B.E.,M.I.Mech.E. F.R.Ae.S" by the Royal Aeronautical Society in June 1956; I don't have a copy, and would think that finding one (other than by a direct approach to the society) will take some doing.

Edgar

Found the first part of an evidently comprehensive obituary here:

http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1954/1954%20-%200252.html

I don't know what happened to thye rest of the article. And there is very little elsewhere on the netg, apart from a series of articles which are all dependent on the Wikipedia one.

NP

[gingerbob]

No, that's a tribute to RJ Mitchell with Smith as speaker. It continues on the following page, though I didn't follow it past that.

I'm not aware of any particular coverage of Joe Smith. He's usually described as a private person, and there don't even appear to be any "papers of..." collection (though I have fantasies of unearthing same- could they still be in the family?)

bob

[NPL]

No, that's a tribute to RJ Mitchell with Smith as speaker. It continues on the following page, though I didn't follow it past that.

I'm not aware of any particular coverage of Joe Smith. He's usually described as a private person, and there don't even appear to be any "papers of..." collection (though I have fantasies of unearthing same- could they still be in the family?)

bob

Of course, how stupid of me. Then there is hardly anything than the Wikipedia note, and Edgar's reference. There should also be a citation for his CBE.

NP

[gingerbob]

Don't feel bad, it was easy for me to spot since I'd seen it yesterday while trying to find the obituary for Smith!

I've made an inquiry of an RAeS connection about that piece Edgar mentioned (thanks for the idea, Edgar!), so we'll see what comes of it.

bob

[NPL]

Maybe better luck this time: http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1956/1956%20-%200232.html

Is this what Edgar is referring to?

NP

[gingerbob]

Well what do you know!

Spitfire's Forgotten Designer: The Career of Supermarine's Joe Smith

[NPL]

Well what do you know!

Spitfire's Forgotten Designer: The Career of Supermarine's Joe Smith

Amd according to Amazon, published on March 1st this year. WShat a coincidence.

NP

[gingerbob]

I see from Wikipeadia that he also died at a very young age (58), must be something about the wartime aircraft industry and too many fags?

Actually, I think Joe smoked a pipe.

Would it be disrespectful to suggest it was his shame at losing to Hawker too many times? Sorry, couldn't resist a little sarcasm.

bob

[Simon Cornes]

Amd according to Amazon, published on March 1st this year. WShat a coincidence.

NP

That is quite amazing - many thanks - BM wins again!

Simon

[Simon Cornes]

Book bought and now eagerly awaited! It will be interesting to lift the lid on part of the British aircraft industry which has not been given the coverage it deserves. I hope its well written!

Simon

[Jennings Heilig]

I guess we're not talking this Joseph Smith, are we??

[Edgar]

Doubt it; our Joe only had one wife.

[gingerbob]

Maybe- is that a set of plans he's being handed? I guess that would make the one on the right RJ, though it looks more like the Disney heroic version thereof (and angelic, too!)

bob

[Test Graham]

Thanks very much for the reference: book bought, delivered and read. It's more of a history of Supermarine than just a biography of Smith, as he obviously found little to say about the man himself outside of the company. There's a lot of interesting tales, and fascinating insights into the way such a company worked in those days. However, I found the book is not particularly well written. Though the author must be credited with a considerable amount of work, particulalry in tracking down ex-employees and their surviving relatives, he at times betrays his lack of familiarity with details. It consists of a series of chapters on what he sees as interesting subjects tied within a loose chronology and almost complete absence of significant dates. The first half is largely devoted to RJ Mitchell rather than Smith. There's a strong reliance on individuals and their anecdotes, which are of variable relevance to Smith and often repetitive when they are. As common with such works, there is an almost complete lack of any external viewpoint or even internal criticism - though this could not be avoided on the chapter dealing with the Swift.

There's little in here that will be new to the Spitfire enthusiast, with what there is having its share of petty errors and oversimplifications. From this point of view it is more notable for missed opportunities. We are told, for example, that Smith closed down all work on future designs and that the Experimental department found it difficult to have their parts made in departments under severe pressure of production, until they were later given their own establishment. It would have been much more useful had this been given dates! This does seem to be relevant to the failure of the Mk.III (and comparative lateness cf Hurricane Mk.II?) and RR's later complaints about the lack of advances made by the airframe companies (compared with their own sterling efforts...). Not that this was uniquely directed at Supermarine, of course.

Edited March 16, 2013 by Graham Boak