Gerald Bull

Gerald Vincent Bull (March 8, 1928 - March 22, 1990) was an engineer who many consider to have developed long range artillery beyond what anyone else has accomplished. He was a driven man, who moved from project to project always chasing his dream of launching a satellite using a huge artillery piece. To this end he designed the Project Babylon "supergun" for the Iraqi government, during which he was killed (allegedly by Israeli Mossad agents) outside his home in Brussels, Belgium.

Canadian Armament and Research Development Establishment

Bull was born in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. Originally intending to study medicine, he switched over to engineering. He graduated from the Aerospace Engineering department of the University of Toronto in 1951, the youngest Ph.D. in the history of the university. After graduation Bull took his first job at CARDE, the Canadian Armament and Research Development Establishment. In the post-war era CARDE was researching supersonic flight, and Bull suggested the use of a "sabot" type artillery gun to shoot models to supersonic speeds instead of using an expensive supersonic wind tunnel. The system was built and used for research on CARDE's Velvet Glove missile, but when this project was cancelled in 1956 the system fell out of use. Bull then moved on to hypersonics research in the field of ballistic missile defense (Anti-ballistic missiles, or "ABMs"), primarily the study of infrared and radar cross-sections for detection.

Related Topics:
North Bay, Ontario - Canada - University of Toronto - 1951 - CARDE - Supersonic - Sabot - Wind tunnel - Velvet Glove - Missile - Anti-ballistic missile - Infrared - Radar - Cross-sections

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Bull was very outspoken (and tactless) and generally detested by most people at CARDE. However his abilities were obvious, and he was eventually promoted to head of the Aerophysics department of CARDE in 1958. Here he continued to chafe and spoke to the press about how he'd run the place with more money. Eventually he alienated enough people that he was forced to leave.

Related Topics:
Aerophysics - 1958

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