Beatrice Shilling
(1909-1990)

Died aged 81

Beatrice Shilling OBE PhD MSc CEng (8 March 1909 – 18 November 1990) was a British aeronautical engineer and amateur racing driver. During the Second World War, she designed and developed "Miss Shilling's orifice" to restrict fuel flow to the carburettor of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engines in the Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire fighters. Previously the pilots had experienced a loss of power or even complete engine cut-out during combat manoeuvres, posing a potentially lethal disadvantage in the Battle of Britain. Shilling raced motorbikes at Brooklands in the 1930s, one of only three women awarded a BMCRC (British Motorcycle Racing Club) Gold Star for lapping the circuit at over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). After the war, she raced cars, mostly at Goodwood Members' Meetings.

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