Grace's Guide To British Industrial History

Registered UK Charity (No. 115342)

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 166,968 pages of information and 246,678 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Grace's Guide is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 147,919 pages of information and 233,587 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.

Roland Chilton

From Graces Guide

Roland Chilton (1890- ) of O. D. Cars and Fergus

Born at Wolverhampton the son of Henry H. Chilton, a Japanner and employer.

Roland Chilton was a prolific designer of over 150 aviation engine and accessory mechanisms. Born in Wolverhampton, England, Chilton immigrated to the United States in 1918, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1941. Chilton started his career working at Sunbeam Motor Car Co., Ltd, in Wolverhampton, England, before moving to London where he was in charge of the engine section of B. Napier & Son. In 1914, Chilton became the Chief Engineer for Fergus Motors and entered the United States to work in Fergus' American offices. Chilton then joined Aeromarine Plane & Motor Co. as the Chief Engineer for Aero Engines, Starters and Buses in 1920. Ten years later, he was hired as a Consulting Engineer for Wright Aeronautical Corporation. He retired from Wright Aeronautical Corporation in 1949, and by that time held over 150 United States patents, ranging from articulated propellers to the Chilton Damper.[1]

1941 'Mr. Roland Chilton, consulting engineer of the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, on his arrival Paterson, New Jersey, after visit to Britain, has suggested that every bed should be air raid shelter. His idea is a corrugated steel tube, about 7ft. long and 3ft. in diameter, used for culverts; a steel plate cover would be welded to the bottom end of the tube and provided with fitting for a cable, which would be led through a window. Debris showering on this bed would leave the sleeper unscathed, and the cable would serve to locate and pull the shelter out of the rubble'[2]

See Also

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Sources of Information

  1. [1] National Air and Space Museum
  2. Yorkshire Evening Post - Saturday 15 November 1941