Johanna Weber

Johanna Weber (8 August 1910 – 24 October 2014) was a German-born British mathematician and aerodynamicist. She is best known for her contributions to the development of the Handley Page Victor bomber and the Concorde.

Early life Johanna Weber was born in a family of Walloon origin in Düsseldorf, Germany, on August 8, 1910. Her father died in the First World War. As a 'war orphan', Weber was eligible for financial support, and she attended a convent school.

In 1929, she began studies in chemistry and mathematics at the University of Cologne, but switched a year later to the University of Göttingen. She graduated with a first class honours degree in 1935, and then trained as a teacher for two years. As she did not join the Nazi Party, she was prohibited from taking a post as a teacher. Her remaining family, comprising her mother and sister, were in need of financial support, so she sought employment in the armaments industry.

Weber made two fundamental contributions to the supersonic effort: tools to predict the drag on a slender delta-winged aircraft during supersonic flight, and shaping the wing to allow the formation of vortices at its leading edge, rather than above or below it. Her work from 1959 onwards contributed to the design and the eventual construction of the Concorde.

After retirement, Weber discovered new interests in psychology and geology, taking classes at the University of Surrey.

Weber's younger sister, to whom she was very close, had been in poor health for most of her life. Weber supported her and their mother financially, sending money to Germany, and wanted to return to them. Her sister died at the age of 50.

Weber lived in her house till 2010. She died in a nursing home in Farnham, Surrey, on 24 October 2014.

Selected publications