Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling was born in 1909 in Hampshire. She became an aeronautical engineer & daredevil motorcycle racer.
In 1936, Shilling joined The Royal Aircraft Establishment. 5 yrs later, she led a team that designed a device to prevent Merlin plane engines from stalling during flight, which helped the Allies win WWII.
Shilling was also the 2nd woman to earn a Brooklands Gold Star for lapping the track at >100mph. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling #science #history
Eye
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •I read a book (sorry , can't recall the title) back in the 90s about how Merlin engines were produced and used in Spitfires etc., but there was absolutely no mention of a woman leading the team that resolved the engine stall problem they had 🤦♀️ Lots of other guys working on the problem mentioned...🙄
Way to write women out of history and keep them in their place, eh?
Kathy E. Gill 🇺🇦
in reply to Sheril Kirshenbaum • • •TY!
Found this and wrote a post for FB. Credited your post.
https://www.kenleyrevival.org/content/history/women-at-war/beatrice-shilling-revolutionising-spitfire
Beatrice Shilling - Revolutionising the Spitfire | Women at War | Kenley Revival
Josie Evans (Kenley Revival)