Who invented the geodetic airframe and the earthquake bomb?

The geodetic airframe and the earthquake bomb were both invented by Sir Barnes Wallis (26 September 1887- 30 October 1979), an English scientist, engineer and inventor.

Surprisingly, for a man who is known for his design of the geodetic airframe, the earthquake bomb and the bouncing bomb, Wallis originally trained as a marine engineer and served a marine engineering apprenticeship on the Isle of Wight.

In 1922 he took an external degree in engineering via the University of London. In 1930 he developed his geodetic design which, unlike existing plane designs, offered a light, strong airframe with clearly defined space for fuel tanks, payload etc. These principles were applied in the fuselage and wing structure design of the Wellesley, Wellington, Warwick and Windsor aircraft.

During World War II he turned his mind to bomb design, believing that strategic bombing would have a significant effect on the outcome of the war. His first design proposed a bomb so large that no existing plane was capable of carrying it.

In 1942 he designed the bouncing bomb used so successfully in the 1943 Dambuster raids on the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams and immortalised in Paul Brickhill's 1951 book The Dam Busters, and the 1955 film of the same name.

Wallis then designed the Tallboy and Grand Slam deep-penetration earthquake bombs. Earthquake bombs were used towards the end of World War II on massively reinforced installations, such as submarine pens with concrete walls.