Apollo Milton Olin Smith (usually referred to as A.M.O. Smith)(July 2, 1911 – February 2, 1997) was an important figure in the aerodynamics field at Douglas Aircraft from 1938 to 1975 and an early pioneer in the area of Computational Fluid Dynamics. July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas in July 1921. ... A computer simulation of high velocity air flow around the Space Shuttle during re-entry. ...

Early life

A.M.O. Smith was born in Columbia, Missouri. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California in 1929 and went on to study at Compton Junior College in Compton, California and finally the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, where he received his BS in 1936 and his MS in 1938. While at Caltech, he built and tested a number of rockets with Professor Theodore von Kármán's students Frank Malina, Edward Forman, Jack Parsons and Tsien Hsue-shen. This work led to the formation of Aerojet and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory several years later. Nickname: College Town, USA Location in the state of Missouri Coordinates: Country United States State Missouri County Boone Mayor Darwin Hindman Area    - City 138. ... Nickname: The International City (on flag), Friendly City (in Latin on citys seal), or the LBC Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: Country United States State California County Los Angeles County Mayor Bob Foster Area    - City 170. ... Nickname: The Hub City, CPT Location in the state of California County Los Angeles County Mayor Eric Perrodin Area    - City 26. ... The California Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Caltech)[1] is a private, coeducational university located in Pasadena, California, in the United States. ... Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Theodore von Kármán (SzÅ‘llÅ‘skislaki Kármán Tódor) (May 11, 1881 – May 6, 1963) was an engineer and physicist who was active primarily in the fields of aeronautics during the seminal era in the 1940s and 1950s. ... Frank Malina (1912-1982) was a Czech-American aeronautical engineer and painter, especially known for becoming both a pioneer in the art world and the realm of scientific engineering. ... John Whiteside (Jack) Parsons (October 2, 1914 – June 17, 1952), born Marvel Whiteside Parsons, was a rocket propulsion researcher at the California Institute of Technology and co-founder of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Aerojet Corporation. ... Tsien Hsue-shen Tsien Hsue-shen (Simplified Chinese: , Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Qián XuésÄ“n; born December 11, 1911) is a scientist who was a major figure in the missile and space programs of both the United States and Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... Aerojet is a major rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Sacramento, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, VA, Gainesville, VA, and Camden, AK. Their products include a wide range of propulsion, from main engines used on a number of NASA vehicles and ballistic missiles, down to stationkeeping... The NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in La Cañada Flintridge, near Los Angeles, California, USA, builds and operates unmanned spacecraft for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). ...

Career

In June 1938, Smith was hired by the El Segundo Division of Douglas Aircraft. During his time there, he worked on aerodynamic and prelimiarny design problems of the DC-5, SBD Dauntless, DB-7 Boston, A-20 Havoc and A-26 Invader. In October 1942 he went on a leave of absence, at the request of General H.H. Arnold, to help organize and develop the newly formed Aerojet company as its first Chief Engineer. Under his guidance, teh engineering organization at Aerojet grew from six people to over 400 by the time he left. This period saw the development and quantity production of the JATO type rocket at Aerojet. The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas in July 1921. ... The Douglas DC-5, the least well-known of the famous DC airliner series, was a 16-seat, twin-propeller airplane intended for shorter routes than the DC-3 or DC-4. ... The Douglas SBD Dauntless was the U.S. Navys main scout bomber and dive bomber from mid-1940 until 1943, when it was replaced by the SB2C Helldiver. ... The Douglas A-20 series, Douglas model DB-7, was a family of bomber and fighter aircraft of World War II, serving with United States, British, Soviet, French and Australian services. ... First flown in 1942, the Douglas A-26 Invader (after 1948, the B-26, and after 1966, the A-26A) was a twin-engined light attack bomber aircraft built during World War II and seeing service in both the Korean and Vietnam wars. ... Aerojet is a major rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Sacramento, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, VA, Gainesville, VA, and Camden, AK. Their products include a wide range of propulsion, from main engines used on a number of NASA vehicles and ballistic missiles, down to stationkeeping... Aerojet is a major rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Sacramento, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, VA, Gainesville, VA, and Camden, AK. Their products include a wide range of propulsion, from main engines used on a number of NASA vehicles and ballistic missiles, down to stationkeeping... Take-off of Americas first rocket-assisted fixed-wing aircraft, an Ercoupe fitted with a GALCIT developed solid propellant JATO booster with a thrust of 28 pounds force (125 N). ... Aerojet is a major rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Sacramento, California with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange, VA, Gainesville, VA, and Camden, AK. Their products include a wide range of propulsion, from main engines used on a number of NASA vehicles and ballistic missiles, down to stationkeeping...

After he returned to Douglas Aircraft in March 1944, he resumed work in aerodynamics and preliminary design. He was responsible for the detailed aerodynamic design of the D-558-I Skystreak, which for a period held the world speed record. He was also responsible for the design of the F3D-1 Skynight. The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded by Donald Wills Douglas in July 1921. ...

At the end of World War II, he was a member of the US Naval Technical Mission in Europe. In his three months touring captured German aeronautical facilities, he became familiar with the German work on the low drag properties of swept wings at transonic speeds and their development of tailless aircraft. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead...

After returning to Douglas, he proposed and began studies a tailless aircraft. These studies culminated in the design and production of the F4D-1 Skyray interceptor. For a period, the F4D-1 held six FAI World's records, including absolute speed and climb performance. In 1948, he became of Supervisor of Design Research at Douglas, a position he held until 1954. During this period, he conduced research into a number of areas, including laminar flow control and a means of calculating low speed flow about arbitrary bodies - Computational Fluid Dynamics. In 1954 he became Supervisor of Aerodynamics Research and from 1969 to 1975 he was Chief Aerodynamics Engineer - Research at Douglas. In this period, he oversaw development of practical methods of analyzing laminar and turbulent boundary layer flow, new and improved static pressure probes, the hydrogen bubble technique of flow visualization, potential flow analysis, analysis of statbility and transition of boundary layers and the eⁿ method of predicting boundary layer transition. In June 1975, he retired from what was now McDonnell Douglas. A computer simulation of high velocity air flow around the Space Shuttle during re-entry. ... DC-10, retired from American Airlines fleet at gate McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturer, producing a number of famous commercial and military aircraft. ...

After retiring, he was appointed Adjunct Professor at UCLA for the period 1975 to 1980. The University of California, Los Angeles, popularly known as UCLA, is a public, coeducational university situated in the neighborhood of Westwood within the city of Los Angeles. ...

Personal Life

Smith was married to Elisabeth Caroline Krost on December 5, 1943. They had three childen, Tove Anne Smith, Gerard Nicholas Smith and Kathleen Roberta Smith.