Dennistoun Burney

Sir Charles Dennistoun Burney, 2nd Baronet CMG (28 December 1888 – 11 November 1968, in Bermuda) was an English aeronautical engineer, private inventor and Conservative Party politician.

He was given a naval education, starting his training at HMS Britannia in 1903, and joining the battleship Exmouth as a midshipman in early 1905.

Further development was carried out by the Bristol and Colonial Aeroplane Company and two prototype designs, the X.2 and X.3, were produced, but were unsuccessful.

Among other military weapons, he was the inventor of the High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) shell and a British recoilless rifle, the "Burney gun".

He demonstrated the advantages of the latter by constructing a recoilless shotgun with a one-inch (25 mm) bore which he was able to shoot with no discomfort from the recoil.