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KENDALL PERKINS
1908-1987
WRITTEN BY FREDERICK H. ROEVER
SUBMITTED BY THE NAE HOME SECRETARY
_'
KENDALL PEONS was a leader of aviation engineering for
nearly fifty years. He retired after some thirty years as chief of
engineering for the McDonnell Douglas Corporation. During
that time, he and his team designed and produced McDonnell's
many military ant! commercial aircraft and three U.S. spacecraft.
After graduating from the School of Engineering of Washing-
ton University in 1928 with a B.S. in electrical engineering, he
joined the Curtiss-Roberston Airplane Manufacturing Compa-
ny. For a decade, Mr. Perkins was involved in project engineering
for its half-dozen aircraft that were produced in St. Louis,
Missouri. Brief periods of employment followed with American
Airlines and the U.S. Government Of lice of Production Manage-
ment. In 1941 Kendall Perkins began an association, which
would span nearly four decades, with the newly established
McDonnell Aircraft Company. In the 1 950s his yearIong study of
manned spacecraft culminated in McDonnell's contract with
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to
produce the Mercury capsule that carried the first Americans
into earth orbit. He became engineering vice-president in 1951
and corporate vice-presiclent of engineering and research in
1967.
The following reviews Kendall Perkin's activities in slightly
more detail. Upon graduating from Washington University, Ken
Perkins went into the factory of the Curtiss-Robertson Airplane
215
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216
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Manufacturing Company. His first job was sawing steel tubing
and other bench work in the shop, but in six months he was
foreman of the fuselage department. After two years in the shop
he assumed duties in the Engineering Department, which even-
tually led to the post of project engineer. In this capacity in the
early 1930s, he worked on such famous airplanes as the Curtiss
Kingbird, the Travelair, and the Curtiss Condor. Culmination of
his twelve-year career with Curtiss was research, design, and
finally responsibility as project engineer on the CW-20 Trans-
port. This twin-engine airplane also became the Army Air Corp
C-46 Commanclo, which saw cargo service throughout the world
cluring the 1939-1945 war years and was subsequently used
worldwide by many air cargo operators.
Early in 1940 Ken Perkins joined American Airlines as a
research engineer. Based in New York, he served as a consultant
to the vice-president of engineering and advised on transport
aircraft design requirements and associated engineering prob-
lems. Later that year he took the position with the Office of
Production Management in Washington, D.C., a predecessor to
the War Production Board. As head of the Aircraft Scheduling
Unit, he supervised scheduling of deliveries from manufacturers
to the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and the British.
He moved to the McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Company in St.
Louis in late 1941. Ken started as a project engineer in advanced
design and worked on the XP-67 twin-engine fighter. In 1942 he
became an assistant chief engineer, and from 1943 to 1947 was
responsible for the XFD-1, the U.S. Navy's firstjet airplane, and
its production version the FH-1 Phantom, the first complete
airplane designed and produced in quantity by McDonnell. The
success of this program laid the groundwork for otherjet fighters
for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force (USAF), which represented
most of the subsequent business of the company. He was ap-
pointed assistant to the vice-president for engineering and
contracts in September 1948 and subsequently became manager
of engineering in July 1949. In April 1951 Ken was elevated to
engineering vice-president, responsible for engineering work
on aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. Notable engineering work
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KENDALL PERKINS
217
included the F-2H Banshee and the F-3H Demon carrier-based
fighters for the U.S. Navy; the F-101 Voodoo fighters for three
Commands of the U.S. Air Force; and the F-4 Phantom II attack
and fighter aircraft for the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and a
number of other nations. Unmanned vehicles included the
GAM-72 Quail decoy and the Asset hypersonic testvehicle along
with a variety of related electronic products. Manned space
vehicles included the Mercury spacecraft and the Gemini space-
craft, which carried the first two Americans into orbit.
Kendall Perkins was elected a company director and a mem-
ber of its board's Executive Committee in December 1952 and
served through 1966. After the merger of McDonnell ant! Dou-
glas in April 1967 that formed the McDonnell Douglas Corpora-
tion, he was made vice-president of engineering and a member
of the board of directors of two of the component companies—
McDonnell Aircraft Company and McDonnell Douglas Astro-
nautics Company. Subsequently, in July 1968 he became corpo-
rate vice-president of engineering and research. Notable engi-
neeringwork since the merger has included development of the
DC-10 Commercial Transport, the USAF F-15 Fighter, the NASA
Skylab, the Saturn S-IV13 Stage, the Spartan Interceptor Missile,
the Dragon Anti-Tank Missile, the Harpoon Anti-Ship Missile,
and the EROS Collision Avoidance System.
In 1973 when he reached age sixty-five, Kendall Perkins
retired from the corporation. He retained his position on the
board of directors of five McDonnell Douglas corporate clivi-
sions and served as a consultant. In 1975 he was asked to return
to his former position on an interim basis, finally retiring in
August 1978.
Outside his realm of engineering employment, he served on
the Board of Trustees of Washington University for a number of
years and subsequently became a trustee emeritus. He received
the university's Alumni Achievement Award in 1982.
Kendall Perkins was elected to the National Academy of
Engineering in 1970. He was cited for his contributions to
aerospace technology and to engineering management in the
design of aircraft and spacecraft.
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218
MEMORIAL TRIBUTES
Ken held a representative number of patents and also au-
thored publications on aircraft design and articles on technical
management.
Kendall Perkins was born in St. Louis on February 23, 1 90S, the
son of Robert Fulton Perkins and Florence Gleason Perkins. He
married Elizabeth Dorothy MacIvor on October 16, 1934. Their
children are John MacIvor Perkins (August 2, 1935) and Amy
Doris Perkins Bethke (June 11, 1938~. Following Elizabeth Per-
kins's death in 1980, he married Vera Au try on January 9, 1981.
He died on August 8, 1987.
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
mcdonnell douglas
