Form, function and the SR-71

click photo to enlarge

"Modern machines are built on purely functional lines, with the purpose of achieving a given performance with the most economical - which means the most perfect - means. The more consciously and methodically this aim is pursued, the more practically and functionally the construction of the machine will be conceived and the more satisfying will be its aesthetic effect - and no wonder, for the more clearly will the beholder appreciate the intentions of those who conceived and created the machine."
from Kurt Ewald, "The Beauty of Machines" (1925-6) translated and quoted in "Form and Function: A Source Book for the History of Architecture and Design 1890-1939"

Walking round the American Air Museum at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford, I started to photograph the stiletto form of the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird". This strategic reconnaissance aircraft was designed in the early 1960s and saw service from 1966 until 1998. Its purpose was to fly very high and very fast to secure photographs and other data about actual and potential enemies. The SR-71 still holds a number of speed records including the "recognised course record", New York to London time of 1 hour 54 minutes and 56.4 seconds. The average speed here (including slowing for re-fuelling) was Mach 2.68 (2,040 mph) and the maximum speed is likely to have been in the region of Mach 3.2 (2,435mph). Speed by itself is not enough for a strategic reconnaissance aircraft; stealth is also a required attribute, so the design of the SR-71 features early ventures into that area of aircraft design and construction, the need to avoid being recognised by radar partly contributing to its unusual curved shape and, particularly, the "chines" that give it the flattened elliptical appearance from the front.

During my photography, and in discussion with my companions, I reflected on how the shape of the aircraft looks like a logical consequence of the design brief and the technology available to the engineers of the time: an example of, to use the short-hand phrase, "form following function". And that mis-quotation of the architect, Louis Sullivan, triggered a memory of a similar observation that I read many years ago from the 1920s, a period when architects and designers, especially those associated with the Bauhaus in Germany, were much absorbed with the link between the form of objects and their function. With a bit of digging in my library I found it (quoted above).

The interesting and strong silhouette of the aircraft, something that I wanted to stress in my photograph, wasn't shown to its best in the colour version of this shot. The floor, airfield grass and sky detracted from these qualities. Consequently I converted it to a black and white image which I think works better.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length:36mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/10
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

The "Counting the Cost" Memorial

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I recently attended a talk on "remembrance" that included the subject of war memorials. These tributes to the fallen can be seen all over the country in villages, towns and cities. Most of them date from around 1920 and list the local men (and women) who died in the First World War. Invariably they were added to after the Second World War, and some have names from later conflicts. A few memorials - such as the The Cenotaph in Whitehall, London - commemorate no individual, but rather seek to remember all those who died. And then there are others that are very specific, honouring women, or particular branches of the armed forces.

On my recent visit to the Imperial War Museum aviation museums at Duxford I photographed a memorial to United States airmen who flew from Britain during World War Two. It is a very effective and moving design that departs radically from the usual stone and sculpture of earlier memorials. The designer was Renato Niemis, and his bold idea was to use 52 toughened clear float glass panels each of which is etched with a repesentation of an aircraft that was lost. The panels line the path that leads to the American Air Museum, and as you walk alongside it, passing the packed ranks of B-17s, Liberators, Mustangs etc you become aware of just how many aircraft were shot down. Moreover, as you imagine each bomber with its full complement of crewmen - 10 in the case of the B-17 - you start to grasp the human cost of the bombing campaign in terms the aircrew who never returned. In fact, 7,031 aircraft are depicted, and it is a salutary experience to see this before you enter the museum and see examples of some of the aircraft shown on the memorial.

The light was very changeable, and somewhat dull when I tried to photograph the "Counting the Cost" memorial. The best shot I got was the detail against the clouds and blue of the sky. I include the second photograph not for any special photographic qualities, but to give a better idea of how the aircraft are packed onto each panel.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

First photo
Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 67mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/1000
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

American Air Museum, IWM Duxford

click photo to enlarge

Yesterday I made my second visit to the Imperial War Museum (IWM) air museum at Duxford in Cambridgeshire. You don't have to be interested in historic aircraft to enjoy a day out there, but it does help. The site is a former RAF airfield that was used by the United States in World War 2. Consequently it's very appropriate that the two main exhibition buildings - both of them new, purpose-built structures - are dedicated to British and Commonwealth aircraft, and to United States aircraft.

The "Airspace" houses a wide range of British-built aeroplanes including a Concorde, Avro Vulcan, Avro Lancaster, TSR2, Tornado, Harrier, de Havilland Mosquito, English Electric Lightning and Canberra and a host of others, currently totalling more than 30 machines. The building itself is enormous and has a gallery, exhibitions, small rooms, and an adjoining hangar/work bay that on the day of our visit held a Shackleton, Victor and Typhoon, all looking like they were being prepared for exhibition. The American Air Museum is smaller, with a centrepiece of a B-52 that is surrounded by 19 other aircraft including the SR-71 Blackbird, a B-17, Phantom, F-100, F-111, Huey helicopter, Liberator and many other machines of the twentieth century. On display outside is an F-15.

Of the two buildings you'd have to say that the Airspace is big, capacious and functional, while the American Air Museum is smaller and a much more attractive and interesting structure. It is the design of Sir Norman Foster and was constructed by Arup. The principal components are a curved, 6000 ton concrete roof made of 924 sections and a removable glass wall that overlooks the airfield. The visitor enters at high level and descends to the aircraft on the main floor by curved ramps to left and right. Alhough the design brief sought a neutral backdrop against which to display the aircraft, to anyone interested in architecture, the structure grabs you the moment you walk in, and is in no sense "neutral". My photograph is taken with the Canon EF 24-105mm f4 L IS UM from towards the top of one of the ramps and gives a flavour of the elegant curves of the building as well an indication of how the exhibits are arranged.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/80
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On