Barographs were required by the FAI to record certain tasks and record attempts associated with sailplanes.
Art Mankey from the Glenn L. Martin Company was Chief Engineer, Walter Chaffee, from Douglas Aircraft, a qualified test, and William Hawley Bowlus of San Fernando, California the designer and builder of gliders and sailplanes since 1911 which were mostly constructed using bent and formed wood.
Owned and flown by Robert Kronfeld, it was one of the first sailplanes intended to exploit thermals.
Slingsby Sailplanes Ltd. soon went into receivership after the disastrous fire so the remaining prototype Sigma Type C was relocated to the British European Airways workshops at London Heathrow Airport (LHR).
Slingsby Aviation, formerly Slingsby Sailplanes, a manufacturer of gliders and other aircraft