Ron Davies, known by his initials R E G, was a leading airline historian who epitomised the "total aviation person". He passed away on 30 July after suffering a stroke, aged 90, following a lifetime immersed in civil aviation.
Davies served variously as air transport market analyst, historian, author and latterly as curator of Air Transport at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC.
Born in Shaftesbury, UK, in 1921, Davies was educated at the local grammar school. Having served with the British Army in the Second World War - during which he landed on the Normandy beaches and endured accidental strafing by RAF Hawker Typhoons - Davies joined the UK Ministry of Civil Aviation, before embarking on an industry career in air transport economic and market forecasting.
He began at BEA, before moving to the Bristol Aeroplane Company and then de Havilland at Hatfield as it was developing the Comet 4 and preparing to launch the DH121, which became the Trident.
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© Caroline Sheen/SmithsonianDavies opposed the plan to shrink the DH121, and viewed the Trident as a huge missed opportunity |
Frustrated with the UK's intransigence in airliner development, in 1968 Davies moved to Douglas Aircraft in the USA, to head up its market analysis team. At that time, the Long Beach manufacturer was flushed with the success of its DC-8 and DC-9 jets, and developing its DC-10 widebody.
Upon retiring from Douglas in 1981, Davies was offered the Lindbergh Chair of Aerospace History at the National Air and Space Museum. He went on to be the long-serving curator of air transport at the museum, finally retiring in February this year.
"Ron was a warm-hearted and generous person who loved a good argument, and was always willing to help in any way," says Dr Robert van der Linden, chairman of the aeronautics division and curator of air transportation at the museum. "His presence greatly enhanced the reputation of the museum. He will be missed."
A highly regarded airline historian, Davies wrote 25 aviation books, beginning with A History of the World's Airlines in 1964. The subjects of his published work ranged from the de Havilland Comet to the Berlin Airlift to iconic airlines like TWA and Pan Am.
SIZING THE DH121
I recently interviewed Davies for an article on the Trident, about his time at de Havilland during that crucial period in the late 1950s when it evaluated how big to build its new DH121 trijet.
The late decision to shrink the DH121 - at the request of launch customer BEA - subsequently made the aircraft too small to sell on the world market.
Davies was a market research analyst at de Havilland at the time, and recalled how his vehement opposition to the resizing resulted in such a blazing row when he refused his supervisor's demand to "cook the books" that he thought he would be sacked. "At the time, my analysis of the DH121 was that the size was right and that we should think about a stretched version for the US market," he told me. "But I was informed that 'this is not what [de Havilland managing director] Sir Aubrey Burke wants', and was told to rework the figures and produce about 20 seats fewer."
Davies refused, so his supervisor took over the report and changed the numbers, before presenting it back to him to sign. "I refused, and he said 'all right, I'll sign it' which he promptly did - to his eternal shame.
"In not sticking to its guns, de Havilland started the elimination of the UK from the short-haul aircraft market," said Davies. "If we'd stayed with the original design I reckon we could have taken at least a third of the world market."
As history recounts, while de Havilland shrunk the Trident, Boeing - which was second into the market - built its 727 to the size originally planned for the DH121.
Hatfield sold 117 Tridents, and Boeing went on to deliver 1,831 727s, endorsing Davies's analysis.
During his four decades living and working in the USA, Davies retained a UK property and recently moved back. His final book - Airlines of the Jet Age: A History was published just days before he died.
He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, their two daughters and two grandchildren.
- Ronald Davies, born 3 July 1921, died 30 July 2011
Source: Flight International
