Jerauld George Wright
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Wing Commander Jerauld George Wright (31 August 1917 – 13 September 2016)[1] was a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) navigator and prolific inventor of air navigation systems. He is best known for the Position and Heading Indicator (PHI), R-Theta Computer and ANTAC, mechanical computer systems that automatically calculated the positions of key locations with little or no operator input. Many of his inventions were produced for Canadian aircraft by Computing Devices Canada, who got their start in 1949 building the PHI. His inventions were also widely licensed and used in various forms by allied nations. He held a total of thirty patents licensed by the Canadian government.
Wright was born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, on 31 August 1917 to Edgar and Jessie (West) Wright.[1] He went to school in town, and after high school he received a diploma as a certified pharmaceutical clerk. He worked in town until 1940 when he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).[2]
Wartime experience
Trained as an air navigator he was assigned to No. 240 Squadron RAF on the Supermarine Stranraer flying out of Lough Erne, Ireland. No. 240 converted to the Consolidated Catalina shortly after he arrived and he spent the rest of the war on these aircraft. During early operations his right hand was hit by the propeller of one Catalina, severing the tips of his fingers. From then on he prepared his navigational logs using a portable typewriter. He married a Scottish physiotherapist who helped him learn to use his hands again.[1]
He was promoted to Pilot Officer in early 1942 and began a series of extreme long-distance flights to Spitzbergen, along the coast of Norway and Russia, as a stop on an air route to Arkhangelsk in the USSR. The long-distance flights in the arctic demonstrated problems with the navigational instruments on the aircraft, and Wright began modifying the systems for better performance.[2] One such flight lasted almost 25 hours, earning Wright the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC):
As captain of aircraft and navigator respectively, Flight Lieutenant Hawkins and Pilot Officer Wright recently carried out an extremely important mission. The flight, which was one of twenty-four and three-quarter hours' duration, necessitated flying more than 2,000 miles across the sea. That completion was achieved despite adverse weather and intense cold can be attributed to the skilful piloting of Flight Lieutenant Hawkins, combined with the brilliant navigation of Pilot Officer Wright. Throughout, both these officers showed great powers of endurance and their outstanding performance is worthy of the highest praise.
— [3]
No. 240 moved to India in March 1942 and the long-distance flights continued over the Indian Ocean, before moving again to Burma. During these missions, Wright developed new celestial navigation techniques to provide precise timing and navigation to the small bays along the coastline where the flying boats were stationed. For this work he was Mentioned in Despatches. He eventually spent 1,200 hours on flights during two tours of duty.[2]