Barnes Wallis is best known as the English physicist and inventor who created the bouncing bomb for the May 1943 “Dambusters” raid. Wallis began his career as a marine engineer but soon discovered his true passion in the aviation business. After working as a naval engineer, he moved on to designing airships and working for Vickers in aviation development. He was instrumental in the development of the R100, the world’s largest airship at the time. Following aircraft design, Wallis focused his efforts on bomb development. He realized that attacking Nazi Germany’s ability to wage war was the best way to do so. He devised the Dambuster raid, which accomplished the goal with minimal casualties. For the same reason, Wallis developed a bouncing bomb that was used to assault the Ruhr valley dam walls, affecting German industry and hydro-electric production. Though the bombing did not inflict much physical damage, it did psychologically harm the German forces. Wallis spent the later part of his life working on aviation research.
Childhood and Adolescence
Barnes Wallis was born in Ripley, Derbyshire, on September 26, 1887, to Charles Wallis and Edith Ashby. He was the couple’s second child out of four children.
When Wallis was two years old, his family relocated to London’s New Cross Road, where his father worked as a doctor. He acquired poliomyelitis, a deadly condition that left him paralyzed, in 1893.
Wallis has always enjoyed making things since he was a child. At their workshop, he and his brother manufactured paper toys for his younger sister.
He earned his schooling at Christ’s Hospital School, where he excelled academically. Wallis developed an interest in mathematics and physics in school and wanted to pursue a career as an engineer.
Career of Barnes Wallis
After graduating from high school in 1905, Wallis went to work for Thames Engineering Works, a ship engine manufacturer. Until 1908, he was an apprentice there.
As a marine engineer, he joined John Samuel White’s shipyard on the Isle of Wight in 1908. Wallis, who was ambitious and forward-thinking, left his position in 1913 to work for Vickers, a business that specialized in airship and aircraft research.
Wallis, a naval engineer, had no experience with airships or air travel. Despite his ignorance, he quickly acquired understanding of airships and air flight. Meanwhile, he earned an engineering degree through the University of London External Programme in 1922.
Wallis was briefly unemployed when World War I broke out, since the Admiralty declined to spend money on airship development. He wanted to join the army, but Vicker’s airship development team called him back.
Wallis became involved in the creation of R100 in 1930. His achievements during this period include the earliest applications of geodetic design in engineering and gasbag wiring. He assisted in the construction of the world’s largest airship at the time. He also helped John Edwin with R100’s structural design.
Wallis relocated to the Brooklands Vickers aircraft plant. His geodetic design was used in the fuselage and wing structure of all pre-war aircraft designs by Wellesley, Wellington, and Warwick.
When the Second World War broke out, Wallis was sent to Vicker’s aircraft branch as an assistant chief designer. He quickly grasped that strategic bombing was required to weaken the enemy’s ability to initiate war. He wrote a paper called ‘A Note on a Method of Attacking Axis Power’ for the same purpose.
The quickest method to defeat the adversary, according to Wallis, was to eliminate its industrial basis. Without industries, there would be no military supplies, and thus no war. To carry out his strategy, he conducted study and discovered that the Ruhr was Nazi Germany’s most vital industrial base.
Bombing dams, Wallis reasoned, would effectively serve the objective of disturbing the industrial foundation. Dams would be breached, releasing a massive amount of restricted water that would destroy everything in its path.
He devised a revolving drum-shaped device to bomb dams, which would bounce over the water, roll down the dam’s wall, and detonate at the base. This would reduce the chance of aircraft damage while also increasing the bomb’s range.
The Air Force gave Wallis the green light after being impressed by the concept of a bouncing bomb. They told Wallis to prepare explosives for an attack on the Mohne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Germany’s Ruhr industrial sector. ‘Upkeep’ was the codename for the bomb.
The Dambuster raid, codenamed Operation Chastise, was carried out by the Royal Air Force’s newly formed 617 Squadron on the 16th and 17th of May 1943. Two dams, the Mohne and the Eder, were breached, causing significant damage to Germany’s industrial base and disrupting hydropower. The Dambuster raid did not have the physical impact that Wallis had anticipated, but it did psychologically shake the Axis Forces.
Wallis developed the ‘Tallboy’ and ‘Grand Slam’ bombs after the success of the bouncing bomb. The former weighed 6 tonnes, while the latter weighed 10 tonnes. V-2 rocket launch sites, submarine pens, massive civil structures, and the German battleship Tirpitz were among the important targets.
Walllis returned to Brooklands as Head of the Vickers-Armstrongs Research & Development Department at the end of WWII. He spent the latter half of his career developing futuristic aerospace projects like swing-wing technology and supersonic flight, among other things.
HEYDAY, a rocket-propelled torpedo fuelled by compressed air and hydrogen peroxide, was developed by Wallis in the 1950s. He created a non-misting, glassless mirror using non-flammable, unbreakable polyester. He was a consultant during the construction of the Parkes Radio Telescope in Australia in 1955.
The majority of the 1960s were devoted to exploring concepts for ‘all-speed’ aircraft. He designed a plane that could fly efficiently at speeds ranging from subsonic to hypersonic.
Major Projects of Barnes Wallis
The creation of the bouncing bomb dubbed Upkeep, which was employed by the Royal Air Force during the Dambuster raid in May 1943, was the pinnacle of Wallis’ career. During World War II, Wallis’ bouncing bomb, code-named Operation Chastise, was deployed to strike the dams of Mohne, Eder, and Sorpe in the Ruhr area. By breaching the dam wall, he felt they would devastate Nazi Germany’s industrial foundation and therefore hinder the latter’s war plans.
Achievements and Awards
Wallis was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1945.
He was knighted in 1968 for his work as an engineer and inventor. In addition, the Royal Commission on Awards to Inventors awarded him £10,000 for his creation of the bouncing bomb.
Personal History and Legacy
During a family tea party, Wallis met his future wife, Molly Bloxam. The two clicked right away. Bloxam’s father banned her from courting Wallis, but the two maintained correspondence. The two quickly became inseparable. On April 23, 1925, they tied the knot.
Barnes, Mary, Elisabeth, and Christopher were the couple’s four children. They also adopted Molly’s sister’s children after they were orphaned.
On October 30, 1979, in Effingham, Surrey, England, he passed away. He was laid to rest in the nearby St Lawrence Church.
Wallis has received a great deal of recognition for his contributions as an innovator and engineer. He has several public buildings named after him. His name is also on a building at Nottingham Trent University. His monuments, busts, and plaques can be found all throughout the world.
The Dambusters raid is commemorated in a permanent exhibit at the Yorkshire Air Museum. It includes a bouncing bomb replica and a catapult for skimming stones to test the bouncing bomb theory. A brief history of Wallis’ work is also exhibited to keep visitors informed.
Barnes Wallis has roads, drives, and squares named after him. He has appeared in various books as a fictional character. In golf, a shot that bounces off the surface of a water hazard is known as the Barnes Wallis shot.
Estimated Net Worth
Barnes is one of the wealthiest engineers and one of the most well-known. Barnes Wallis’ net worth is estimated to be $1.5 million, according to Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider.