Smith De France, 89, Nasa Center Founder

May 09, 1985|By Knight-Ridder Newspapers.

LOS ALTOS, CALIF. — Smith J. De France, 89, founder and longtime director of the Ames Research Center of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, has died at his Los Altos home.

Mr. De France, who died Monday, was a personal symbol of the progress in flight during this century. As a scientist, he became the nation`s foremost expert on wind tunnels and did important research on everything that flew, from blimps to bombers to spacecraft.

As an administrator, he guided engineers and scientists in solving the problems of flight and in the science of space travel.

Mr. De France was born in Battle Creek, Mich., and he graduated from the University of Michigan in 1922. He was a pioneer aviator and a World War I Spad pilot over France, commanding the 139th Aero Squadron and winning the Silver Star.

It was during World War I that Mr. De France`s romance with flight began. Flying Spads 800 hours in combat, he became a prominent figure, scoring two

``kills`` and winning decorations for valor.

After completing his undergraduate degree in aeronautical engineering at the University of Michigan, he was named in 1922 one of the charter members of the staff of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

During the 1920s, he also became a government test pilot and lost an eye in a crash.

Mr. De France worked as a research scientist at the committee`s Langley, Va., research center until 1940, directing research on lighter-than-air craft, particularly dirigibles.

At Langley, Mr. De France designed and supervised construction of the largest wind tunnel ever attempted at that time. Its successful completion paved the way for full-scale research studies on aircraft that greatly advanced American aeronautics.

He then was asked to go west and open a Pacific Coast research center to complement and indirectly compete with Langley`s scientists. The committee chose Moffett Field for the site, and Mr. De France staffed and built the new facility into one of the world`s great centers of basic research on flight.

Ames Research Center, opened at Moffett Field at the start of World War II under Mr. De France`s guidance, contributed to the aircraft effort demanded by the war. His scientists played principal roles in research that led to jet aircraft and space flight. Ames` staff grew from a nucleus of 30 to several thousand employees.

In 1947, Mr. De France received the Presidential Medal of Merit for his work in designing and building Ames and for his aeronautical research.

He directed the Ames facility from 1940 to 1965, and he had a 45-year career of government service with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and NASA.

In his final years, Mr. De France directed Ames toward solving problems of space flight, including interplanetary exploration.

Under his direction, Ames engineers and scientists contributed landmark concepts, including the swept wing for planes and the blunt nose for missiles. Asked if the space program was worth the vast sums of money spent on it, Mr. De France replied:

``The exploration of space is in some ways comparable to the exploration of the world. If Columbus hadn`t explored this hemisphere, where would we be today?

``New utensils, new metals are coming from the space program that will affect our way of life and the buildings we live in.``

He received an honorary doctorate in engineering from the University of Michigan in 1953. On March 20, 1952, the University of California awarded him an honorary doctor of laws degree.

Mr. De France had what is believed to be the longest continuous service for the committee and NASA of any employee.

Mr. De France, a widower, had no immediate survivors.