Research at the College of Aeronautics Cranfield
Authors:   The Staff of the College
Published: July 2016

The 1,142nd lecture to be given before the Society and the 37th Main lecture to be held at a Branch Centre "Research at the College of Aeronautics" by Professor A. J. Murphy, M.Sc., F.R.Ae.S., F.I.M., Principal, College of Aeronautics, was given under the auspices of the Cambridge Branch on 21st January 1960. Professor W. A. Mair, M.A., F.R.Ae.S., Francis Mond Professor of Aeronautical Engineering, University of Cambridge, and President of the Cambridge Branch, opened the proceedings and then handed over to the President of the Society, Mr. Peter G. Masefield, M.A., F.R.Ae.S., Hon.F.I.A.S., M.Inst.T.

Mr. Masefield: As an old Cambridge engineering man it was a great pleasure to be President of the Society in the year in which the first Main lecture was held at Cambridge.

One of the most important and significant developments in aeronautical education since the war had been the founding, and the progress in recent years under Professor Murphy, of the College of Aeronautics at Cranfield. It had been founded just after 1944 as a result of the Fedden Committee of that year, set up by Sir Stafford Cripps, then Minister of Aircraft Production. Cranfield was primarily concerned with two things: post-graduate training in all branches of aeronautics and associated sponsored research by both staff and students of the College. Professor Murphy was to speak on the latter part.

British aeronautics today was passing through one of those periodic upheavals which seemed to happen every few years in this great business in which so many of them were engaged. Some of the changes now in progress he thought could mean a great difference in British aviation in the 50 years to come, compared with the 50 years that had gone by, and many of them he hoped would be concerned in these changes and in the new era of British aviation which was just beginning. He hoped that 1960 would mark the beginnings of a new chapter in aviation history as 1910 had done fifty years ago.

Over the past 50 years about 85 per cent of work in aeronautics in Great Britain had been in the military field; certainly 85 per cent of industrial effort. In future, manned military aircraft would be only a small proportion of the effort. The rest would be in missiles, civil aeronautics and space activities. In all of these they would be working increasingly competitively internationally and particularly with America and Russia. To make real impact their technology must be the highest possible. There was no doubt that the two foundation stones on which everything else had to rest were firstly, sound basic technical education and secondly, first-class research effort. At Cambridge, and 40 miles away at Cranfield, both those aims were being pursued. He could not over-emphasise the importance of these two subjects. The Society was closely concerned in both education and research and, therefore, it was an especial pleasure to introduce Professor Murphy.

Since October 1955 Professor Murphy had been Principal of the College of Aeronautics. Graduating from Manchester University in 1920 with First Class Honours in Chemistry, he had first done some research at University College, Swansea, before going to the National Physical Laboratory Metallurgy Department. In 1931, he had joined J. Stone and Company Ltd. as Chief Metallurgist and spent some years in Industry as a Director of that company and its associates. In 1950 he became Professor of Industrial Metallurgy at Birmingham University and, three years later, Director of the Departments of Physical and Industrial Metallurgy, a post he held until his appointment in 1955 as Principal of the College of Aeronautics. Professor Murphy had been President of the Institute of Metals and of the Institution of Metallurgists.