I saw his genius in action
by Irwin W.
I worked in
engineering at Lockheed Burbank from February 1951 to February 1974. I
supported many projects, including the P2V-4, P2V -5 and P2V -6; the L-1049 G
Super Constellation; the L-1649 Starliner; the P-3 Orion; the
C-141 Starlifter; the L-2000; the high L/D re-entry vehicle project; and the S-3
Viking.
I remember one remarkable day in the mid-1950s. I was viewing some loft
drawings of the L-1649 Starliner, when Kelly Johnson came on the design floor and suggested, with a
freehand sketch, how the nose cone of the fuselage should be changed to look
like. As soon as he left the conversation, the engineer laid his spline and
ducks (drafting tools of those days) on the freehand sketch and it became the
final contour. This was certainly a tribute to Kelly and statement of what
engineers thought of him.
