Spitfire, Mustang and the 'Meredith Effect': How a Soviet Spy Helped Change the Course of WWII

This book by Peters Spring examines the life of the remarkable, and controversial, F.W. Meredith, an individual who has largely been forgotten by history despite the brilliant advances he made – advances which helped the Allies win the war against Hitler’s Third Reich.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 27 February 2024
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

The challenges of achieving high speed in aircraft design were numerous in the mid-1930s. One of the most significant obstacles was cooling the engine, as the drag from the cooling system increased exponentially with speed. The traditional method of cooling aircraft engines with air was inefficient and ineffective at high speeds, leading to overheating and engine failure.

To address this challenge, aircraft designers developed ducted systems, which aimed to reduce drag by channeling cool air directly to the engine. However, these systems were based on the assumption that the cooling system was cold, which ignored the potential energy from the air, heated by the radiator, and from the discharged engine exhaust gases.

It was the British engineer Frederick William Meredith who recognized the potential of harnessing the paradox that heat could actually reduce the cost of cooling. Meredith was a researcher at the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough until 1938 and played a crucial role in the UK's development of the autopilot and remote-controlled aircraft. His contribution to Allied success in the Second World War was immense, but he was also a known Soviet agent.

Despite his controversial background, Meredith's innovative ducted cooling system was a pioneering aeronautical design. The Supermarine Spitfire, one of the most iconic aircraft of the war, was the first to incorporate a Meredith-designed ducted cooling system. The system was designed to use heat to create "negative drag," which meant that the air passing over the engine would be heated and expanded, creating a vacuum that would draw cool air into the engine.

In practice, the Spitfire's ducted cooling system was flawed, as Meredith himself pointed out. The system did not fully utilize the "Meredith Effect," which was the phenomenon of using heat to reduce drag. However, Meredith's contributions to resolving the problem of how to induce air smoothly into cooling ducts at high speeds were extremely important.

Meredith developed a series of techniques, including using curved ducts and slotted flaps, to ensure that air flowed smoothly into the cooling ducts at high speeds. These techniques were critical in preventing the formation of eddies and vortices, which could disrupt the flow of air and reduce the efficiency of the cooling system.

In addition to his technical contributions, Meredith also made overlooked but extremely important contributions to the design of aircraft engines. He developed a method for predicting the performance of engines based on their geometry and operating conditions, which was used to optimize the design of engines for different aircraft.

Meredith's legacy as an aeronautical engineer is complex and multifaceted. He made significant contributions to the development of aircraft technology, but his involvement with the Soviet Union and his controversial background have also clouded his reputation. Despite this, his innovative ducted cooling system and his contributions to the design of aircraft engines continue to be recognized as important milestones in the history of aviation.

In conclusion, the challenges of achieving high speed in aircraft design were numerous in the mid-1930s. The development of ducted systems was a significant step forward, but these systems were based on the assumption that the cooling system was cold. It was the innovative thinking of Frederick William Meredith that recognized the potential of harnessing heat to reduce the cost of cooling. His ducted cooling system was a pioneering aeronautical design, and the Supermarine Spitfire was the first aircraft to incorporate it. Meredith's contributions to resolving the problem of how to induce air smoothly into cooling ducts at high speeds were extremely important, and his legacy as an aeronautical engineer continues to be recognized as significant.

Weight: 922g
Dimension: 165 x 241 x 29 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526773500