Mother of all Spitfires. & Hurricanes

It’s the fifth annual Ada Lovelace Day—the international celebration of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and science). Lovelace was the Englishwoman who pioneered the precursor of computer programming in the first half of the 19^th Century.

In past years, I’ve written about Grace Hopper (computer programming), Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (physiology), Joan Strothers Curran (physics) and Hedy Lamarr (radio frequency). Today I give you Beatrice Shilling.

Who, you ask? Beatrice Shilling, the aeronautical engineer who solved the problem of engine cut-out in the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines that powered the Spitfire and Hurricane fighter planes that were the backbone of British defense during the Battle of Britain. Her simple addition to the SU carburetor—a flow-restrictor (a disc with a small hole in it)—was the fix that enabled RAF pilots to perform the extreme maneuvers needed to outfly the Luftwaffe.

It was known informally as “Miss Shilling’s Orifice”. Gotta love those RAF wags; really.

Shilling was a butcher’s daughter who lucked out in an early (female) employer for whom she was installing wiring and generators. The employer encouraged her to study electrical engineering; then she took an advanced degree in mechanical engineering and worked as a research assistant.

She also raced motorcycles successfully. Meaning she beat professional riders.

Following the war, Shilling continued studying the problems of aeronautics. She dismissed the notion that she could be inferior to any man just by virtue of having the XX chromosome configuration.

She refused to marry her husband, George Naylor, until he’d matched her record of lapping the Brooklands circuit on a motorcycle at more than 100 MPH.

Shilling was limited in her career by her social skills, but not by her intellect, her curiosity or her ability to develop practical solutions to critical technology problems. She deserves to be remembered for her contributions.