THE NOME NUGGET
Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday by The
NOME PUBLISHING CO.
Nome, Alaska*
Telephone: Main 125 P. O. Box 618
W. A. and EMILY BOUCHER .Editors
•1.50 PER MONTH $16.00 A YEAR
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Entered as second class matter October 14, 1943, at the postoffice
at Nome, Alaska, under the Act of March 3, 1879.
Wednesday, July 14, 1948
TWO YOUNG MEN
CREATE FIRST TURBOCAR
TWO YOUNG BRITISH ENGINEERS, Richard Barr
and Geoffrey White, are busy on road trials
of their revolutionary invention, the world's first
gas-turbine auto engine.
The engine, which was shown for the first time
at the British Industries Fair in May is now installed
in a specialy built saloon chassis. It is being driven
along Britain's roads in preliminary tests that may
change the entire auto industry.
Their turbocar, which it is hoped to have in
mass production by 1950, gives a performance like
a gasoline-driven car of 160 b.h.p. and will have a
speed range of from 12 to 105 miles an hour. It will
run on diesel oil, without vibration or exhaust fumes,
with no radiator, no clutch, and no gear box.
Richard Barr is a quiet, reserved Yorkshireman,
six foot tall and only 28 years old, with a mop of
dark hair. His father is the principal of a technical
college in Yorkshire.
When he was just 20, Barr won a first class en
gineering degree at Leeds University.
About the time his imagination was captured
by the possibility of adapting the gas turbine engine
for road use. The idea matured in his mind, and he
began working on it. When the war came he was
called to be a "back room" boy in the research de
partment of Rotol Airscrews Limited. Here, working
' on gas turbines and jet propulsion, he met the brun
ette who became his wife in 1944.
After one year, Dick Barr was switched to the
Royal Aircraft Establishment to|work on the gas
turbine. It was not until 1944 that Barr met his future
colleague and collaborator, Geoffrey White, whenl
he joined Sir Frank Whittle, famous inventor of the
turbo-jet.
Geoffrey White, a powerfully built man of 33,
joined Whittle in 1940, and was one of twenty men,
at that time all under 30 years old, who worked on
the development of the world's first turbo-jets.
White had already had 10 years' experience in
aviation firms. As a boy of 16, the son of a welfare
officer .in Cheltenham, he decided to become an
engineer and he entered the Gloucester Aircraft
Company.
He spent five years going the whole round of
the works for experience, and studying further at
night school. He decided to specialize as a draughts
man, and spent another five years working in a
number of aircraft firms. Then he joined the Whittle
team at Lutterworth, in the project drawing office,
where he finally took charge.
When Barr and White got to know each other as
colleagues, they found their experiences and apti
tudes combined well. Barr had helped design many
turbine engines by now, and White could trans
late ideas on paper. Soon they were pooling notes
on adapting the gas turbine engine.
Their plans crystalized in 1946, and the two men
launched out on their own. William Wolsey, a friend
of Barr's, and Wolsey's partner John Peress, agreed
to put up the capital. In March, 1946, Barr and White
formed their own company, called Centrax Power
Units, in a 4,000-sq.ft. factory qt Brentford, a London
suburb. Then they started from scratch to collect a
team of engineers.
Today, two years and two months later, they
have solved what seemed to be an insurmountable
problem: to reduce the size of the turbine from the
unwieldly unit that powers ships and aircraft. They
have scaled down the turbine to an overall length of
five feet and a diameter of seven inches.
It weighs only 250 pounds.
"The great thing about it," says Richard Barr,
"is it's simplicity in design and manufacture. The
engine will be easy for a motorist to keep in order,
and repairs should be much simpler than with
standard cars."
"Some turbocars will be on the market in about
three years," he estimates ."Heavy cars, busses and
commercial trucks will be fitted first, smaller cars
later and perhaps also motorcycles. Turbocars for
the family will need even finer precision engineer
ing than was put into the Centrax unit."
"That's our next job," says Barr cheerily, waving
off two years of research as just a step towards a
whole new car world of tomorrow.
HORATIO ALGER UP TO DATE
THE "SUCCESS STORY" is not exclusively Ameri
can. But it is traditionally American.
A younger generation may not think of suc
cess in Horatio Alger terms. It may not know those
firm'jawed, incorruptible heroes who rose from rags
to riches and returned to pay off the wort gages on
their widowed mothers' farms. But the legend per
sists in changed form—and finds its embodiment
today as yesterday.
Six men and women received "Horatio Alger
Awards" the other day from the American Schools
and Colleges Association. They ranged from an eld
erly statesman, Bernard M. Baruch, to a younger ex
ecutive, Charles Luckman. They are all part of the
Alger legend of "success through industry, sacri
fice, and ethics."
Mayor O'Dwyer of New York, who left Ireland
with $25 and worked in the New World as a laborer
and policeman, was one of the six. His story recalls
a medieval Alger hero—Dick Whittington, who rose
to be "thrice Lord Mayor of London." And that in
turn reminds us that the "success story" is older than
Alger, older than America. It embraces a mighty com
pany out of all nations—from the peasant girl who
led the armies of France to the Hebrew captive who
became Pharaoh's deputy.
At its highest, it even includes a group of simple
fishermen who left their nets to become "fishers of
men" throughout the Roman Empire.
International News
At A Glance—
(Continued from Page One)
cil for quick and forceful inter
vention to end the combat. He
spoke of sanctions and said: “For
the moment I have done my ut
most and can’t do more.”
TEL AVIV
The Jewish informant, associa
ted with the Israeli foreign office,
said old warrior King Abdullah
of Trans-Jordan is believed to be
trying with Iraqi backing, to con
vince Egypt, Syria and Lebanon
to cease fire and talk terms.
JERUSALEM
The Jews followed up their cap
ture of Er Ramie and Lydda by
taking Suba, five miles from Jeru
salem. It is a strong point on the
highway. In the Lydda sector, the
Israelis attacked Beit Nuba, north
west of the strong Latrun road
block.
TEL AVIV
Egyptian planes attacked Tel
Aviv. The increasing Israeli air
force bombed the main Egyptian
base at Gaza.
The Israeli army and the crack
troops of the Trans-Jordan Arab
Legion were fighting an increas
ingly violent battle within sight
of Er Ramie and Lydda for sup
remacy of the road from Tel Aviv
to Jerusalem both cities and an
estimated 80,000 Arabs in them
surrendered to the Jew on Mon
day.
BERLIN
The U.S. Air Force increased
the planes flying into Berlin and
started expanding the great Tem
pelhof Airport. The British were
reported sending new troops, with
some scheduled for Berlin duty,
but this report was denied of
ficially in London.
MOSCOW
The Kremlin kept its silence
on the U.S., British and French
notes demanding an end to the
land blockade, now in its fourth
week.
The Russians have blocked ev-j
ery previous effort to write a
peace for Germany and Austria.
Their new anxiety seemed to stem
from the Western Allies’ moves
to set up a government in West
ern Germany.
U.S. planes carted a record of
1,249 tons of food and supplies
to Berlin yesterday. The British
sent 204 cargo planes, compared
to 240 by the Aimericans.
PARIS
France, which is to receive $1,
100,000,000 a year from U.S. tax
payers through the Marshall Plan,
faced a threatened strike of gov
ernment employes. Airport, radio
and weather personnel has walked
out already.
BELGRADE
Yugoslavia started a trial in
Croatia of 50 persons accused of
spying and terrorism.
PANAMA
Panama had a political mess
with two men claiming presidency.
VISITORS TO NOME RETURN
HOME TO CALIFORNIA
Mrs. Fay McKinsey and Mrs.
Grace Fisher, who have been
guests of Mr. and Mrs. Sam Hux
ley of the Post Fire Department,
state they have had a most won
derful visit and regretted hav
ing to leave Nome.
They departed on the Pan Am
erican plane for their homes in
California.