Born in Northern Ireland on September 11, 1893, James
Martin was a self-educated innovator of international
renown. In 1929, he founded the firm that would become
the Martin-Baker Aircraft Company. During the Second
World War, Martin built and designed a number of prototype
aircraft and developed barrage balloon cable cutters, aircraft
ammunition and gun systems, and jettisonable aircraft canopies.
In 1944, at the request of the British Air Ministry to address
the problem of high-speed bailout from jet fighters, Martin
created the components of the modern ejection seat: gun-cartridge
ejection, automatic seat release, face blind protection from
slipstream blast, and parachute and dinghy deployment. Fully
adopted by the Royal Air Force in 1947, the seat system became
the standard worldwide. Later improvements enabled aircrew to
safely eject on take-off or landing as well as in flight. By
2004, Martin-Baker ejection seats were credited with saving over
seven thousand lives.
Throughout his long career in the British aerospace industry, Sir
James Martin was awarded numerous honors, including a knighthood in
1965. Martin died at his home in England on January 5, 1981.
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