Dr. James Fogge Allan (c1905-1957) of the National Physical Laboratory
1957 Obituary [1]
WE have learned with regret of the death of Dr. James Fogge Allan, of the National Physical Laboratory, which occurred suddenly on June 8, while he was on holiday at Aldeburgh, Suffolk.
Dr. Allan, who was fifty-two, was educated at Dumbarton Academy and Glasgow University, and served an apprenticeship with William Denny and Brothers, Ltd., the Dumbarton shipbuilders.
He held the Sir William White Research Scholarship of the Institution of Naval Architects from 1927 to 1929, and in 1948 he was awarded the degree of D.Sc. by Glasgow University for his pioneer work in the development of ship roll stabilisers.
From 1926 until 1948 he was on the staff of the ship model experiment tank at Dumbarton, havjng charge of the department during the last six years of that period.
In 1948, Dr. Allan was appointed superintendent of the Ship Division of the National Physical Laboratory. Since his appointment the Division has considerably extended its activities, and, under his enthusiastic guidance, the new N.P.L. Ship Hydrodynamics Laboratory at Feltham was planned and construction begun. In this laboratory the work of the Division in carrying out experiments for shipbuilders on new designs and in basic research into the hydrodynamic problems of ships will be continued in the ways in which Dr. Allan so firmly believed.
Dr. Allan was an international figure in the world of naval architecture; he served on many committees and published a number of notable papers. He was a member of the council of the Institution of Naval Architects and of its scholarships and publications committee. He took a leading part in the organisation of the triennial International Towing Tank Conference and was an active member of several technical committees of the British Shipbuilding Research Association.
The papers which Dr. Allan published deal with many different ship design problems, including scale effects on propellers and shaft supports, the resistance of barges, hull forms for drifters, and the comparison of ship trial results with model predictions.