Kelly johnson engineer biography

Learning Center Our Enshrinees

  • Engineer
  • Enshrined:
  • Birth: February 27,
  • Death: December 21,

Clarence &#;Kelly&#; Leroy Johnson


  • Joined the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in
  • Appointed Chief Research Engineer in
  • Helped develop the P &#;lightning&#; interceptor, the model 18 &#;Lodestar, the B, &#;Ventura, and PV-1 Bombers, and the &#;constellation&#; airliners.
  • Created the P &#;Shooting Star&#;, the first U. S. jet fighter in service.
  • Developed the XFV-1, vertical takeoff plane and the T2V &#;Seastar&#; jet trainer after being named Chief Engineer in
  • Received the Collier Trophy in for his Mach 2 F &#;Starfighter&#; which was created to combat Soviet MiGs.
  • As Vice President of Research and Development, he created the C &#;Hercules&#; turbojet transport, the high altitude U-2, and the C &#;Jetstar&#; transport.
  • Promoted to Vice President-Advanced Development Projects in and helped develop the Agena D space satellite, and then created the Mach 3-YFA interceptor and SR reconnaissance &#;Blackbird&#; aircraft.
  • Awarded the Collier Trophy a second time for the USAF A Mach 3 Aircraft in (the precursor to the YF and SR)
  • Be

    Clarence Leonard (&#;Kelly&#;) Johnson was born at Ishpeming, Michigan, United States of America, 27 February He was the third of five children of Peter Johnson, a stone mason, and Kjrstie Anderson Johnson. His parents were immigrants from Sweden.

    Kelly Johnson attended Flint Central High School, graduating in After studying at a community college, Johnson transferred to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. He graduated in with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering (B.S.E. AeroE.). He won the Frank Sheehan Scholarship in Aeronautics, which enabled him to continue at the University to earn a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering (M.S.E.) in

    Kelly Johnson started working as a tool designer for the Lockheed Aircraft Company in Burbank, California, in After transferring to the engineering department, he was assigned to the company&#;s Model 10 Electra project. Johnson identified a stability problem with the airplane&#;s design, and he was sent back to the University of Michigan to conduct a wind tunnel study which resulted in his proposal of the twin vertical tail configuration which was a characteristic of many Lockheed airplanes that fo

    Kelly Johnson: Architect of Air

    In the summer of , a twenty-eight-year-old farm boy from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan found himself holed up in a London hotel room. He had just seventy-two hours to design a new aircraft, one that the British Air Ministry needed to prepare for a war that looked more likely with each passing day

    The young engineer’s name was Clarence Johnson, but ever since he’d trounced a local bully in grade school, he went by the more defiant nickname: “Kelly,” which suited his fierce and pugnacious personality.

    Shortly after being hired by Lockheed six years earlier, Johnson had walked into his new boss’s office, pointed to the company’s promising new aircraft, the Electra, revealed a critical instability and then proceeded to correct the errors to the company’s amazement.

    He lived by the motto “Be quick, be quiet, be on time.” So, while in London to finalize the sale of the new Hudson bomber, the British Air Ministry requested numerous design changes, and Johnson took on the challenge over three nearly sleepless days.

    Although amazed by the new design’s precision, Air Ministry officials asked if they could entrust the future of their air force to some

    Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson

    Lockheed Aviation Legend - A Biography

    "Be Quick, Be Quiet, And Be On Time"


    Copyrighted June, by Leland Haynes, All Rights reserved

    Kelly Joins Lockheed:

    Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson came to Lockheed in hunting a job. He was turned icient experience. Johnson went back to school and obtained a Master's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He came to Lockheed again in and was hired as a tool designer. His salary was $ per month and became the sixth Engineer working for the fledgling Lockheed Company. Then, as World War II approached, he helped the Company design the P, America's first mph airplane. After assignments as flight test engineer, stress analyst, aerodynamicist, weight engineer, he became chief research engineer in In , Johnson was named chief engineer of Lockheed's Burbank, California plant which later became the Lockheed-California Company. When the office of corporate vice president-research and development was established in , he was chosen for the post. He became vice President-Advanced Development Projects (ADP) (Skunk Works) in , a member of the board of directors in and a senior vice president of the corporati


    Biographies you may also like

    Search engine wp theme free Need to add a search form to your WordPress site? ⭐ Download ready WordPress templates with built-in search form on TemplateMonster for free. ᐉ Just share the page on social media .

    Fermin tanguis biography of abraham lincoln Here are ten of the best Lincoln biographies 1. Lincoln by David Herbert Donald. Many critics agree that if you are only going to read one Abraham Lincoln biography this is the Missing: fermin tanguis.

    Shahana goswami biography of michaels Anyone who’s watched Shahana Goswami on a screen cannot doubt her talent for wearing her characters like a second skin. After nearly 20 years of playing her part in .

    Rav dessler biography of martin The Nesivos Shalom speaks of the personality of chesed — searching, like Avraham, for opportunities to do it. Rav Kook’s “genius of chesed” reflects the Divine chesed, even when Missing: martin.

    Arthur m hauptman biography of abraham lincoln Abraham Lincoln’s early years were marked by hardship on the American frontier. He was born in into a world of subsistence farming. His father, Tom Lincoln, struggled to carve out a .

    Vince gill albums biography meaning One of the albums that best demonstrates Vince Gill's powerful voice is "When I Call Your Name." According to the book "For the Music," his previous music didn't highlight his .