DeFrance, Smith J. (1896–1985)
Aeronautical engineer who played a major role in wind tunnel design and
experimentation before and during the birth of the Space Age. DeFrance was
a military aviator with the Army's 139th Aero Squadron during World War
I, then earned a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from the University of
Michigan in 1922 before beginning a career with NACA
(National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). He worked in the flight research
section at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory
and designed its 9 × 18 m wind tunnel, completed in 1931 and the largest
in existence at that time. He directed the research carried out in that
tunnel, and designed others, before becoming director of the new Ames
Aeronautical Laboratory in 1940, a position in which he remained until
his retirement in 1965. During his time at Ames, the center built 19 major
wind tunnels and conducted extensive flight research, including the blunt-body
research necessary for returning spacecraft from orbit without burning up.
References
- Gorn, Michael H. Expanding the Envelope: Flight Research at NACA
and NASA. Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, 2001.
- Hansen, James R. Engineer in Charge: A History of the Langley
Aeronautical Laboratory, 1917-1958. Washington, D.C.: NASA SP-4305
(1987), 386-88.
Related categories
• AVIATION
PIONEERS
• ROCKET
ENGINEERS AND SPACE SCIENTISTS
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