Wallis, Sir Barnes (1887-1979), a British aeronautical engineer and inventor, was the leading supporter of the idea of variable-sweep wings for aircraft. An aircraft with such wings could take off at a low speed with its wings extended. Then the wings could be changed in flight to a swept-back position, enabling the aircraft to fly at supersonic speeds. Wallis also designed the “shock-wave” mines used by the Dam Busters, a special squadron of the British air force, to destroy the Ruhr dams in Germany during World War II (1939-1945).
Barnes Neville Wallis was born on Sept. 6, 1887, in Ripley, Derbyshire. In 1916, he became chief designer at Vickers Ltd. He later became chief of aeronautical research and development. Wallis designed the airship R-100. In the 1930’s, he invented the geodetic form of aircraft construction used to build the Vickers Wellesley and also the Wellington bomber of World War II fame. He was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1945. During the 1950’s, Vickers produced the Swallow, an experimental airplane with variable-sweep wings designed by Wallis. Wallis’s variable-sweep designs were later incorporated into several modern fighter craft. Wallis was knighted in 1968. He died on Oct. 30, 1979.
