Rex Beisel

Rex Buren Beisel (October 24, 1893 – January 26, 1972) was an American

In 1912 he enrolled in the University of Washington, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree, while continuing to work at the coal mine and in various other jobs. On graduating he took a civil service examination in mechanical engineering and passed with such high marks that he was immediately offered a job in the U.S. Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair;^[2] this soon led to a job at the newly formed Bureau of Aeronautics.^[4]

Starting out as a draftsman in 1917 at $4 a day, Beisel became fascinated with aviation. With no previous aeronautic experience and little available in the way of textbooks or data, he began designing hulls, wing floats, and pontoons for seaplanes, and proved so adept at it that he soon received promotions and assignment to major projects. In November 1919 he became one of a small number of certified aeronautical engineers in the United States.^[4]

In 1921, while working at the Bureau of Aeronautics, Beisel designed the TS-1, the first U.S. Navy fighter actually built to naval specifications.^[5]

In 1923 the

Promoted to Chief Engineer at Vought, Beisel headed up the design team that produced the

Beisel also served as lead designer for the Vought F7U Cutlass, the company's first carrier jet fighter in operational service (the earlier F6U Pirate seeing use only in testing and training roles). Though having several advanced features, it, like many early jets, was underpowered and unreliable. Its tall front landing strut and problems with the ejection seat made it particularly dangerous for pilots, and by 1956, after a series of accidents, it had been withdrawn from service by the Navy.

In 1943 Beisel had become General Manager of Vought Aircraft, a position he held until 1949. In this position he oversaw, in 1948-49, the company's move from Stratford, Connecticut to Dallas, Texas. With 27,000,000 pounds of equipment and 1,300 employees and their families to be moved, it was among the largest industrial relocations on record. He was named Vice President of United Aircraft Corporation (Vought's parent company) in 1949, and retired a few years later.^[2]

Beisel died at his home in Sarasota, Florida on January 26, 1972, at age 78. He was survived by his wife Eunice and their four children: Rex Buren, Ann Marie MacNaughton, Susan Lee, and David Doran.^[1]

Sources

• Vought Bio
• F4U Corsair

References