Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown

I know this is in the Stiff List but Winkle' Brown was such a character that I think he deserves his own thread.

The man who flew more types of aircraft than any other pilot, risked his neck perfecting deck landing and just generally being one of Britain's greatest pilots.

Some info on the man, sometimes fact it more impressive than fiction

http://www.griffonmerlin.com/wwii-interview/captain-eric-winkle-brown/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Brown_(pilot)

http://www.arrse.co.uk/community/threads/captain-rn-eric-winkle-brown.240305/#post-6562836

 

The Telegraph's obituary to a truly remarkable man....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12167611/Captain-Eric-Winkle-Brown-obituary.html

 

A truly remarkable man, yes.
And also remarkable for making three Rum Ration threads within an evening.
This one, The Stiff List and In Memoriam.

Another record for Winkle Brown?

 

And the BBC announced this morning Capain Eric Winkle Brown was one of the most decorated RAF pilots!!!!

 

A life well lived.

RIP sir.

 

The mould for all of these very brave men is broken,RIP, IMO he deserved to be as well known as Douglas Bader.

 

To be fair if I must, there is an oft posted portrait photograph of a young Eric Brown dressed very much as a Crab. University Air Unit perhaps? I've yet to read a definitive obit or the great man's autobiography.

 

You may be correct

In 1937, Brown left the Royal High School and entered The University of Edinburgh, studying Modern Languages with an emphasis on German. While there he joined the university's Air Unit and received his first formal flying instruction

 

Ah but it was the Navy where his talent was spotted. His talent for deck landing got him sent to Abroath to teach newbie Pilots to land on the carrier, which got him into doing trials on new aircraft and new carriers, which led him to test flying.

All that is in addition to helping prove the concept of the Escort Carrier, a key innovation of the war at sea. The convoy OG74, which had Audacity (from which he was flying), was later mentioned in Wolfpack, the episode of The World At War which dealt with the Battle of the Atlantic.

 

Douglas Who?

Arguably Captain Brown is better known. I do remember a 'This is Your Life' treatment of Group Captain Douglas Bader when General Adolf Galland rocked up. They'd been friends for years. I read somewhere in the last 24 hours, that Captain Brown once did a lecture tour with 'Dolfo'. Was there no famous aviator (or aviatrix ) Eric Brown didn't know?

I remarked on ARRSE that this man lived in the foreground of history. And then some.

 

It happens.

 

There's also a picture showing him in naval uniform with other Crabs. They, and I believe he ( though in his case possibly unofficially) were flying Spitfires on operations.

 

I may have been wrong - the caption on this one refers to test pilots. But I did read somewhere that he flew unofficially on ops with the RAF.

 

What a remarkable man. Just think, if he could sing and act a bit, he may well have got a Knighthood.

 

So funny but so true.

 

Just waiting for MLP to come along and tell me that he spent his Naval career solidly pissed, sat on a paint cat and his life was totally irrelevant.

 

The man was also fluent in German and was sent to interview Goering! He described this in his last TV interview although it was not in his autobio.

 

But he might remind you that he was a Test Pilot and German linguist who never fired a shot in anger?

 

The Torygraph obit says he got his DSC for protecting covoys from air attack and being involved in downing long range bombers. Bit odd if he didn't fire any shots doing that.

 

Am seeking the citation. Will retract if wrong.