John Norton obituary

My uncle John Norton, who has died aged 85, was an aeronautical engineer whose achievements added greatly to the quality and safety of modern aircraft.

John was born in Bristol, son of May (nee Rich) and John, an engineer, and after leaving St Brendan's grammar school began working for the British Aircraft Corporation in Bristol, where he became part of the company's mission to produce ever lighter, stronger components. John's early experiments involved the use of explosives to "blow" sheets of titanium into preformed moulds. Over time his thinking developed - and success finally came with the use of electrically heated moulds, into which the hot, malleable titanium was formed using high-pressure benign gas.