Wacko Jacko had his oxygen tent, and the Pope has his bulletproof Popemobile. But did you know that Winston Churchill had a special chamber designed for air travel? It was effectively a giant metal cocoon installed on his personal plane, complete with ventilation systems, inside which the great man would kick back and puff on his noxious cigars.
It’s all true, no word of a lie. There’s a fair share of urban legends swirling around Churchill, like developing the tank in World War I when he was First Lord of the Admiralty (true), or that he was indirectly responsible for the invention of penicillin (not true). But we can emphatically prove this flight contraption exists, thanks to photographic evidence in an issue of LIFE magazine (10th February 1947).
Sandwiched between photo-essays on occupied Germany and vintage adverts for cigarettes and beauty cream, there’s a picture of the pod being tested out by its designer, a mysterious chap known only as “Grahamâ€. But what was the purpose of this strange device? Was it because they couldn’t build adequate seating to accommodate Churchill’s enormous girth?
According to the magazine, there’s a perfectly logical explanation:
Secret Weapons Lab
Department MD1 was nicknamed “Churchill’s Toyshop†because they reported directly to the Prime Minister (who wore another hat as the Minister of Defence at the time). MD1 were responsible for inventing a swathe of unusual bombs and weaponry, including the PIAT (Projector Infantry Anti-Tank), the first magnetic Limpet naval mines, and the Sticky Bomb.
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/02/wi...e-secret-weapons-and-gadgets-of-world-war-ii/
It’s all true, no word of a lie. There’s a fair share of urban legends swirling around Churchill, like developing the tank in World War I when he was First Lord of the Admiralty (true), or that he was indirectly responsible for the invention of penicillin (not true). But we can emphatically prove this flight contraption exists, thanks to photographic evidence in an issue of LIFE magazine (10th February 1947).
Sandwiched between photo-essays on occupied Germany and vintage adverts for cigarettes and beauty cream, there’s a picture of the pod being tested out by its designer, a mysterious chap known only as “Grahamâ€. But what was the purpose of this strange device? Was it because they couldn’t build adequate seating to accommodate Churchill’s enormous girth?
According to the magazine, there’s a perfectly logical explanation:
“To protect the precious bulk of Winston Churchill in wartime, a special one-man pressure chamber was built for the personal plane which carried him many times across the Atlantic and to Casablanca, Moscow and Yalta.
Churchill, who also had a private air-raid shelter under Number 10 Downing Street, was warned by his doctors that it was too dangerous for a man of his age and physical condition to fly above 8,000 feet. Much higher altitudes were necessary, however, because of weather and the enemy.
The solution was a pressure chamber complete with ash-trays, telephone, and an air-circulation system good enough to prevent smoke from the ubiquitous cigar from fogging the atmosphere. While pressures within the chamber were kept at the equivalent of 5,000 feet, the prime ministerial figure could loll comfortably like an outsized pearl within a gigantic oyster shell.â€
In retrospect, given Churchill’s well documented enthusiasm for gadgetry and new weapons, it’s not surprising he used a technological solution to a thorny problem. This pressure chamber pales in comparison to the products that flowed from his “toyshopâ€, a secret division of the Ministry of Defence dedicated to weapon research and development during World War II.Churchill, who also had a private air-raid shelter under Number 10 Downing Street, was warned by his doctors that it was too dangerous for a man of his age and physical condition to fly above 8,000 feet. Much higher altitudes were necessary, however, because of weather and the enemy.
The solution was a pressure chamber complete with ash-trays, telephone, and an air-circulation system good enough to prevent smoke from the ubiquitous cigar from fogging the atmosphere. While pressures within the chamber were kept at the equivalent of 5,000 feet, the prime ministerial figure could loll comfortably like an outsized pearl within a gigantic oyster shell.â€
Secret Weapons Lab
Department MD1 was nicknamed “Churchill’s Toyshop†because they reported directly to the Prime Minister (who wore another hat as the Minister of Defence at the time). MD1 were responsible for inventing a swathe of unusual bombs and weaponry, including the PIAT (Projector Infantry Anti-Tank), the first magnetic Limpet naval mines, and the Sticky Bomb.
http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2012/02/wi...e-secret-weapons-and-gadgets-of-world-war-ii/