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Carl Lucas Norden (April 23, 1880 – June 14, 1965), bornCarel Lucas van Norden, was aDutch-American engineer who invented theNorden bombsight.
Norden was born inSemarang,Java. After attending a boarding school inBarneveld, Netherlands, he was educated at theETH Zürich inSwitzerland and then emigrated to theUnited States in 1904.
Along withElmer Sperry, Norden worked on the firstgyrostabilizers for United States ships, and became recognized for his contributions to military hardware. In 1913, he left Sperry to form his own company. In 1920, he began work on theNorden bombsight for theUnited States Navy. A prototype was available by 1923 and the first bombsight, containing ananalog computer, was produced in 1927. Bombardiers were trained in great secrecy on how to use it. The device was used to drop bombs from high-altitude aircraft, accurately enough in practice to hit a 100-foot (30 m) circle from an altitude of 21,000 feet (6,400 m), but this accuracy was never achieved in combat.
Norden died inZürich,Switzerland on June 14 1965.[1]
Norden was inducted into the USNational Aviation Hall of Fame in July 1994.[1] His work on inventing the Norden bombsight was featured inMalcolm Gladwell's bookThe Bomber Mafia.[2]
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