View source for Eric Brown (pilot)

{{Short description|Royal Navy test pilot, author (1920–2016)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2015}}
{{Infobox military person
| name          = Eric Brown
| image         = Naval Pilot Who Landed Jet Plane on Carrier. On 3 December 1945, Lieut Cdr Eric Melrose Brown, MBE, DSC, RNVR, Chief Naval Test Pilot, Landed a De Havilland Sea Vampire Jet Aircraft on the Flight Deck of the British Aircraft Carrier HMS Ocean..jpg
| caption       = Brown as a lieutenant [[RNVR]], c. 1939-45
| nickname      = Winkle
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1920|1|21|df=yes}}
| birth_place   = [[Hackney, London|Hackney]], London, England
| death_date    = {{death date and age|2016|2|21 |1920|1|21 |df=yes}}
| death_place   = [[Redhill, Surrey]], England
| placeofburial = 
| allegiance    = United Kingdom
| branch        = [[Royal Navy]]
| serviceyears  = 1939–1970
| rank          = [[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]]
| battles       = [[Second World War]]
* [[Western Front (World War II)|Channel Front]]
* [[Battle of the Atlantic]]
| awards        = [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]<br/>[[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]]<br/>[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<br/>[[King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air]]
| relations     = 
| laterwork     = {{ublist|class=nowrap |Aviation consultant |Author}}
}}

[[File:DeHavilland Vampire HMS Ocean Dec1945 NAN1 47.jpg|thumb|upright=1.44|On 3 December 1945, Brown became the first pilot to land on and take off (pictured) from an [[aircraft carrier]] in a [[jet aircraft]], when he flew a [[de Havilland Vampire|de Havilland Sea Vampire]] to {{HMS|Ocean|R68|6}}.]]

[[Captain (Royal Navy)|Captain]] '''Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|CBE|DSC|AFC}}, [[Royal Aeronautical Society|Hon FRAeS]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Luke|title=Eric 'Winkle' Brown: The man who seemed not to notice danger|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30039300|publisher=BBC News Magazine|access-date=14 November 2014|date=14 November 2014}}</ref> (21 January 1920 – 21 February 2016) was a British [[Royal Navy]] officer and [[test pilot]] who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history.<ref name="Guinness">{{cite web|url=http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-7000/first-landing-on-an-aircraft-carrier/|title=First landing on an aircraft carrier|author=Guinness World Records|publisher=Guinnessworldrecords.com|access-date=14 November 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Ailes|first=Emma |title=Captain 'Winkle' Brown: Is he the greatest pilot ever?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-22254048|publisher=BBC News Scotland|access-date=24 February 2016|date=23 April 2013}}</ref><ref name="Captain Eric Winkle Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire">{{cite web|last1=Pociask|first1=Martin|title=Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire|url=http://www.helicopterfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/pioneers/Eric_Brown.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190423160028/http://www.helicopterfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/pioneers/Eric_Brown.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 April 2019|publisher=The Helicopter Foundation|access-date=24 April 2018}}</ref>

Brown held the [[Guinness World Records|world record]] for the most [[aircraft carrier]] deck take-offs and landings performed (2,407 and 2,271 respectively)<ref name="Guinness"/> and achieved several "firsts" in [[naval aviation]], including the first landings on an aircraft carrier of a twin-engined aircraft, an aircraft with a [[tricycle undercarriage]], a [[jet aircraft]], and a rotary-wing aircraft.

Brown flew almost every category of Royal Navy and [[Royal Air Force]] aircraft: glider, fighter, bomber, airliner, amphibian, flying boat and [[helicopter]]. During the [[Second World War]], he flew many types of captured German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft, including new jet and rocket aircraft. He was a pioneer of jet technology into the postwar era.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.paisley.ac.uk/services/specialcoll/putnam/ptn97.htm |title=Paisley University Library Special Collections – Putnam Aeronautical 1997 |access-date=4 November 2014 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090304030924/http://library.paisley.ac.uk/services/specialcoll/putnam/ptn97.htm |archive-date=4 March 2009 |quote=Captain Eric Brown. The Fleet Air Arm’s most decorated pilot, he had a thirty-one-year career in the Royal Navy. He served as test pilot from 1942, eventually being appointed Chief Naval Test Pilot at RAE Farnborough and commanding the Enemy Aircraft Flight, the High Speed Flight and the Aerodynamics Flight. He continued test flying after the war, amassing a world record total of 487 basic aircraft types before retirement.}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=This is a list of books. All that is said about Brown is contained in the one quote|date=January 2024}}

==Early life==
Brown was born in [[Hackney, London|Hackney]], in the East End of London, but was put up for adoption.<ref name="Herald Scotland article">{{cite web |url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/23580354.secret-life-eric-winkle-brown-war-heros-extraordinary-story |title=Secret life of Eric 'Winkle' Brown: war hero's extraordinary story |website=Herald Scotland|date=10 June 2023 }}</ref> At this time there were few places for adoption in London but more in Scotland and he was adopted by Euphemia and Robert Brown in Edinburgh.  Robert was a former balloon observer and pilot in the [[Royal Flying Corps]] (RFC). 

Brown's adoptive father later took him to see the [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Olympics]] in Berlin. [[Hermann Göring]] had recently announced the existence of the [[Luftwaffe]], and Brown and his father met and were invited to join social gatherings by members of the newly disclosed organisation. At one of these meetings, [[Ernst Udet]], a former [[First World War]] fighter ace, was fascinated to make the acquaintance of Brown senior, a former RFC pilot,<ref name="Holland2015">{{cite book| last=Holland |first=James |author-link=James Holland (author)|title=The War in the West: Volume 1: The Rise of Germany, 1939–1941|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0pkCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT75|date=14 October 2015|publisher=Grove/Atlantic, Incorporated|isbn=978-0-8021-9090-1|pages=75–9}}</ref> and offered to take his son Eric up flying with him.<ref name="Captain Eric Winkle Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire" /> Eric eagerly accepted the German's offer and after his arrival at the appointed airfield at [[Halle, Saxony-Anhalt|Halle]], he was soon flying in a two-seat [[Bücker Bü 131|Bücker Jungmann]]. He recalled the incident nearly 80 years later on the BBC radio programme ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'',<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02bkyyb  |work=Desert Island Discs |title=Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown, former test pilot: 'I was hanging on to my tummy'|date=14 November 2014 |publisher=BBC Radio 4}}</ref>{{blockquote|You talk about aerobatics – we did every one I think and I was hanging on to my tummy. So, when we landed, and he gave me the fright of my life because we approached upside-down and then he rolled out just in time to land, he said to me as I got out of the cockpit, slapped me between the shoulder-blades, and gave me the old WW1 fighter pilots' greeting, ''[[break a leg|Hals- und Beinbruch]]'', which means broken neck and broken legs but that was their greeting. But he said to me, you'll make a fine fighter pilot – do me two favours: learn to speak German fluently and learn to fly.}}

During the Olympics, Brown witnessed [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]] shaking hands with [[Jesse Owens]].<ref>"BBC Two – Britain's Greatest Pilot: The Extraordinary Story of Captain Winkle Brown (at 05:35 of the documentary)". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 1 June 2014.</ref>

In 1937, Brown left the [[Royal High School, Edinburgh|Royal High School]] in Edinburgh and entered the [[University of Edinburgh]], studying [[Modern Languages|modern languages]] with an emphasis on German. While there, he joined the university's air unit and received his first formal flying instruction.<ref name="Holland2015" /> In February 1938, he returned to Germany under the sponsorship of the Foreign Office, having been invited to attend the 1938 Automobile Exhibition by Udet, by then a Luftwaffe major general.<ref name="Holland2015" /> He there saw the demonstration of the [[Focke-Wulf Fw 61]] [[helicopter]] flown by [[Hanna Reitsch]] before a small crowd inside the ''[[Deutschlandhalle]]''. During this visit he met and got to know Reitsch, whom he had also briefly met in 1936.<ref name="Captain Eric Winkle Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire" />
{{external media
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| caption =  Eric “Winkle” Brown
| headerimage= [[File:YouTube 2024.svg|alt=YouTube logo|x20px|left]]
| video1 = [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBI4gRjPKfnNed7QMCU6aXydzy-7qFcX7  Eric “Winkle” Brown’s Biography And Interviews)]
}}
In the meantime, Brown had been selected to take part as an exchange student at the [[Schule Schloss Salem]], on the banks of [[Lake Constance]], and it was while there that Brown was woken up with a loud knocking on his door one morning in September 1939. Upon opening the door he was met by a woman with the announcement that "[[United Kingdom declaration of war upon Germany (1939)|our countries are at war]]". Soon afterwards, Brown was arrested by the [[Schutzstaffel|SS]]. After three days' incarceration, they escorted Brown in his [[MG N-type|MG Magnette]] sports car to the Swiss border, saying they were allowing him to keep the car because they "had no spares for it".<ref name="Holland2015" /><ref name="afresearch.org">[https://www.afresearch.org/skins/rims/q_mod_be0e99f3-fc56-4ccb-8dfe-670c0822a153/q_act_downloadpaper/q_obj_8f344cd8-def6-4cf0-8f09-b1ae3d0bb216/display.aspx?rs=enginespage Profile], afresearch.org  {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724225301/https://www.afresearch.org/skins/rims/q_mod_be0e99f3-fc56-4ccb-8dfe-670c0822a153/q_act_downloadpaper/q_obj_8f344cd8-def6-4cf0-8f09-b1ae3d0bb216/display.aspx?rs=enginespage |date=24 July 2011 }}</ref>

==Wartime service==

[[File:HMS Audacity (D10).jpg|thumb|upright=1.95|A 1941 image of {{HMS|Audacity|D10|6}} after her July 1941 conversion to an escort carrier; Brown served on her with [[802 Naval Air Squadron|802 Squadron]] until the carrier was torpedoed in the Atlantic in December 1941]]

On returning to a United Kingdom then at war, he joined the [[Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve]] as a [[Fleet Air Arm]] pilot, where he was posted to [[802 Naval Air Squadron]], initially serving on the first [[escort carrier]], {{HMS|Audacity|D10|6}}, converted and thus named in July 1941.<ref name= Carrier>{{Cite web|url=http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/ESCORT/AUDACITY.htm|title=A History of HMS AUDACITY|publisher=Royal Navy Research Archive |access-date=20 January 2009}}</ref> He flew one of the carrier's [[Grumman F4F Wildcat|Grumman Martlet]]s. During his service on board ''Audacity'' he shot down two [[Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor]] [[maritime patrol]] aircraft, using head-on attacks to exploit the [[Blind spot (vehicle)|blind spot]] in their defensive armament.<ref name="Captain Eric Winkle Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire" />

''Audacity'' was [[torpedo]]ed and sunk on 21 December 1941 by the {{GS|U-751}}, commanded by [[Gerhard Bigalk]].<ref name=HG76>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/ops/convoys/hg-76.htm|title=HG-76|publisher=u-boat.net|access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref> The first rescue ship left because of warnings of a nearby [[U-boat]], and Brown was left in the sea overnight with a dwindling band of survivors, until he was rescued the next day.<ref name="Captain Eric Winkle Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire" /> He was the one of the two out of 24 to survive [[hypothermia]]; the rest succumbed to the cold.<ref name=Aeroplane0416>{{cite magazine |title=CAPT ERIC BROWN 21 January 1919 – 21 February 2016 |magazine=Aeroplane |issue=April 2016 |pages=28–32 |publisher=[[Key Publishing]] |location=Stamford |issn=0143-7240}}</ref> Of the complement of 480, 407 survived.

The loss of life was such that 802 Squadron was disbanded until February 1942. On 10 March 1942, Brown was awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]] for his service on ''Audacity'', in particular "For bravery and skill in action against Enemy aircraft and in the protection of a Convoy against heavy and sustained Enemy attacks".<ref name="dsc">{{London Gazette|issue=35481 |supp=y |page=1106|date=6 March 1942}}</ref>

Following the loss of ''Audacity'', Brown resumed operational flying, being [[Secondment|seconded]] to [[Royal Canadian Air Force]] (RCAF) squadrons flying escort operations to [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] bombers over France. His job was to train them in deck-landing techniques, though the training took place on airfields.<ref group="Note">The training was in preparation for the [[Salerno landings]]. If the landings had been a failure, the squadrons would have had to be evacuated by carrier.</ref> As a form of ''[[quid pro quo]]'' he joined them on fighter operations.{{fact|date=July 2023}}

{{clarify|text=Operational once again in 1943, he went back to the Royal Aeronautical Establishment (RAE)|reason=Operation-related terms appear throughout and in these two paragraphs in particular in a way that borders on jargon and makes it difficult to understand when he is operational, when not, and which service he's operational in. For example, in the part that is highlighted, is he not yet operational when he's joining fighter operations? Please make this sequence of operations flow clearly throughout and with defined boundaries in time, location and service organisation. |date=February 2018}} this time to perform experimental flying, including batting in the much more experienced Admiralty Test Pilot [[Lieutenant commander (Royal Navy)|Lieutenant Commander]] [[Roy Sydney Baker-Falkner]] flying the experimental [[Fairey Barracuda]] onto the deck of a carrier in the Clyde. Almost immediately he was transferred to [[Southern Italy]] to evaluate captured ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' and ''Luftwaffe'' aircraft. This Brown did with almost no tuition, information having to be gleaned from whatever documents were available. On completion of these duties, his commander, being impressed with his performance, sent him back to the RAE with the recommendation that he be employed in the Aerodynamics Flight department at Farnborough. During the first month in the Flight, Brown flew 13 aircraft types, including a captured [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]].

Brown was posted to the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] (RAE) at [[Farnborough Airfield|Farnborough]], where his experience in [[Flight deck|deck landings]] was sought. While there he initially performed testing of the newly navalised [[Sea Hurricane#Sea Hurricanes|Sea Hurricane]] and [[Supermarine Seafire|Seafire]]. His aptitude for deck landings led to his posting for the testing of carriers' landing arrangements before they were brought into service. The testing involved multiple combinations of landing point and type of aircraft, with the result being that by the close of 1943 he had performed around 1,500 deck landings on 22 different carriers. In six years at RAE, Brown recalled that he hardly ever took a single day's leave.<ref name=greatest/> During carrier compatibility trials, Brown crash-landed a [[Fairey Firefly]] Mk I, ''Z1844'', on the deck of {{HMS|Pretoria Castle}} on 9 September 1943, when the [[tailhook|arrestor hook]] indicator light falsely showed the hook was in the "down" position, compounded by the [[landing signal officer|batsman]] failing to notice that the hook was not down.<ref>Memories of a WWII Hero: Captain Brown's Story (film)</ref> The fighter hit the crash barrier, sheared off its undercarriage and shredded the propeller, but he was unhurt.<ref name="Harrison, 1998" >{{cite journal|last=Harrison|first=William A.|title=Fairey Firefly Variants|journal=Wings of Fame|volume=12|publisher=AIRTime Publishing|location=Westport, Connecticut|year=1998|isbn=1-880588-23-4|page=113|ref=Harrison, 1998}}</ref>

While at Farnborough as chief naval test pilot, Brown was involved in the deck landing trials of the [[de Havilland Mosquito|de Havilland Sea Mosquito]], the heaviest aircraft yet flown from a British carrier. Brown landed one for the first time on {{HMS|Indefatigable|R10|6}} on 25 March 1944. This was the first landing on a carrier by a twin-engined aircraft for the UK, 2 years after the US B-25 Doolittle Raid in April 1942.<ref>David Hobbs: ''A Century of Carrier Aviation.'' Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley 2009, {{ISBN|978-1-84832-019-2}}. Page 186</ref><ref group="Note">The [[North American B-25 Mitchell]] had been flown off a carrier earlier during the [[Doolittle Raid|attack on Tokyo]] led by [[Jimmy Doolittle|James Doolittle]]; however the aircraft had been loaded aboard the carrier by crane.</ref><ref group="Note">The [[Potez 56]] made an arrested landing and a subsequent take-off on [[French aircraft carrier Béarn]] in March 1936.</ref> The fastest speed for deck landing was {{convert|86|kn|lk=in}}, while the aircraft's [[stall speed]] was {{convert|110|kn}}.<ref name=greatest/> He also flew several stints with [[RAF Fighter Command|Fighter Command]] in the air defence of Great Britain. During this time, in mid-1944, Brown's home was destroyed by a [[V-1 flying bomb|V-1 "Doodlebug"]] cruise missile, concussing his wife and causing serious injury to their cleaner.  At this time, the RAE was the leading authority on high-speed flight and Brown became involved in this sort of testing, flights being flown where the aircraft, usually a [[Supermarine Spitfire]], would be dived at speeds of the high [[Aerodynamics#Incompressible aerodynamics|subsonic]] and near [[transonic]] region. Figures achieved by Brown and his colleagues during these tests reached [[Mach number|Mach]] 0.86 for a standard Spitfire MK IX, to Mach 0.92 for a modified Spitfire PR Mk XI flown by his colleague, Squadron Leader Anthony F. Martindale.

===Assisting the USAAF's Eighth Air Force===

Together with Brown and Martindale, the RAE Aerodynamics Flight also included two other test pilots, Sqn Ldr James "Jimmy" Nelson and Sqn Ldr Douglas Weightman.<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p69" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;69</ref> During this same period the RAE was approached by USAAF General [[Jimmy Doolittle]] with a request for help, as the [[Eighth Air Force|8th Air Force]] had been having trouble when their [[Lockheed P-38 Lightning]], [[Republic P-47 Thunderbolt]] and [[North American P-51 Mustang]] fighters, providing top cover for the bombers, dived down onto attacking German fighters, some of the diving U.S. fighters encountering speed regions where they became [[Sound barrier#Early problems|difficult to control]].

As a result of Doolittle's request, early in 1944 the P-38H Lightning, a [[Packard Merlin]]-powered P-51B Mustang and P-47C Thunderbolt were dived for [[compressibility]] testing at the RAE by Brown and several other pilots. The results of the tests were that the tactical Mach numbers, i.e., the manoeuvring limits, were Mach 0.68 for the Lightning and Mach 0.71 for the Thunderbolt; the corresponding figure for both the Fw 190 and [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] was Mach 0.75, giving them the advantage in a dive. However the tests flown by Brown and his colleagues also gave a Mach number for the Mustang of 0.78, resulting in Doolittle being able to argue with his superiors for the Mustang to be chosen in preference to the P-38 and P-47 for all escort duties from then on,<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p70">[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|''Wings on my Sleeve'']], p. 70-72</ref> which was available in growing numbers by very early 1944; for [[Jimmy Doolittle#Escort fighter tactics|Doolittle's eventual move]] to [[air supremacy]] missions permitting the fighters to fly up to 75–100 miles ahead of the bomber [[combat box]] formations, instead of requiring them to remain with the bombers at all times.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.combatsim.com/printer.php?action=review&id=570&page=1|title=Effect of the North American P-51 Mustang On the Air War in Europe|website=www.combatsim.com|access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/james-h-doolittle|title=James H. Doolittle|website=HISTORY|date=21 August 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref>

===Brown's first encounters with jet flight===

Brown had been made aware of the British progress in jet propulsion in May 1941 when he had heard of the [[Gloster E.28/39]] after diverting in bad weather to [[RAF Cranwell]] during a flight and had subsequently met [[Frank Whittle]] when asked to suggest improvements to the [[jet engine]] to make it more suitable for naval use. This resulted in the [[Gloster Meteor]] being selected as the [[Royal Navy]]'s first jet fighter, although, as it turned out, few would be used by them. Brown was also selected as the pilot for the [[Miles M.52]] [[supersonic]] research aircraft programme, and he flew modified aircraft incorporating components intended for the M.52; however, the post-war government cancelled the project in 1945 with the M.52 almost complete.<ref name="afresearch.org"/> On 2 May 1944, he was appointed a [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] "for outstanding enterprise and skill in piloting aircraft during hazardous aircraft trials."<ref name="London Gazette Issue 36495">{{London Gazette|issue=36495|page=2009|date=28 April 1944}}</ref>

[[File:Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly I KK990 Fairey RWY 10.45 edited-2.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4|A Royal Air Force [[Sikorsky R-4|Hoverfly I]] of the type flown by Brown from [[Speke]] to Farnborough in 1945]]

===Helicopters===

In February 1945, Brown learned that the Aerodynamics Flight had been allocated three [[Sikorsky R-4|Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly/Gadfly]] helicopters. He had never seen one of these machines, so a trip to Farnborough was arranged and Brown had a short flight as a passenger in one. A few days later, Brown and Martindale were sent to [[Liverpool John Lennon Airport|RAF Speke]] to collect two new R-4Bs.

On arrival, they found the American mechanics assembling the machines, and when Brown asked the [[master sergeant]] in charge about himself and Martindale being [[Flight training|taught to fly them]], he was handed a "large orange-coloured booklet" with the retort; "Whaddya mean, bud? – Here's your instructor". Brown and Martindale examined the booklet and after several practice attempts at hovering and controlling the craft, followed by a stiff drink, they set off for Farnborough. Brown and Martindale managed the trip safely, if raggedly, in formation, although sometimes as much as a couple of miles apart.<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p91-92" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;91–92</ref>

On 4 April, Brown added another "first" to his logbook when engaged in trials in relation to the [[Rubber deck|flexible deck concept]] with [[HMS Pretoria Castle (F61)|HMS ''Pretoria Castle'']], in which he was supposed to make landing approaches to the escort carrier in a [[Bell P-39 Airacobra|Bell Airacobra]], which had been modified with a tail hook. During one of these passes, Brown declared an emergency and was given permission to make a deck landing; a ruse which had previously been agreed with the carrier's captain, [[Caspar John]]. Although the landing was achieved without difficulty, the long take off run required for the Airacobra meant that even with the ship steaming at full speed, there was little margin of error. This was the first carrier landing and take off for any aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage.
<ref>[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] pp. 95–96</ref>

===The RAE's "Enemy Flight"===

With the end of the European war in sight, the RAE prepared itself to acquire German aeronautical technology and aircraft before it was either accidentally destroyed or taken by the Soviets, and, because of his skills in the language, Brown was made the commanding officer of "Operation Enemy Flight". He flew to [[northern Germany]]; among the targets for the RAE was the [[Arado Ar 234]], a new jet bomber in which the Allies, particularly the Americans, were very much interested. A number of the jets were based at an airfield in [[Denmark]], the German forces having retreated there. He expected to arrive at a liberated aerodrome, just after it had been taken by the [[British Army]]; however, German resistance to the Allied advance meant that the ground forces had been delayed and the airfield was still an operational Luftwaffe base. Luckily for Brown, the commanding officer of the Luftwaffe airfield at [[Air Base Karup|Grove]] offered his surrender and Brown took charge of the airfield and its staff of 2,000 men until Allied forces arrived the next day.

Subsequently, Brown and Martindale, along with several other members of the Aerodynamics Flight and assisted by a co-operative German pilot, later [[Ferry flying|ferried]] twelve Ar 234s across the [[North Sea]] and on to Farnborough. The venture was not without risk, as before their capture, the Germans had destroyed all the engine log books for the aircraft, leaving Brown and his colleagues no idea of the expected engine hours remaining to the machines. Because of the scarcity of the special high-temperature alloys for use in their construction, the [[Junkers Jumo 004]] engines had a life of only 25 hours – it was thus not known whether the engines were brand new or just about to expire.<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p116">[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|''Wings on my Sleeve'']], p. 116</ref>

During this period, Brown was asked by Brigadier [[Hugh Llewellyn Glyn Hughes|Glyn Hughes]], the Medical Officer of the British [[Second Army (United Kingdom)|Second Army]] occupying the newly liberated [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]], to help interrogate the former camp commandant and his assistant.<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p94" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;94</ref> Agreeing to do so,  he soon interviewed [[Josef Kramer]] and [[Irma Grese]], and remarked upon the experience by saying that; "Two more loathsome creatures it is hard to imagine" and further describing the latter as "...&nbsp;the worst human being I have ever met." Kramer and Grese were later [[Belsen Trial|tried and hanged]] for war crimes.<ref name="Brown, Wings on my Sleeve, p98" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]], p.&nbsp;98</ref><ref name="google.co.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.gapan.org/ruth-documents/guild-news/GUILD%20NEWS%20June%2009%20pt1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402184238/http://www.gapan.org/ruth-documents/guild-news/GUILD%20NEWS%20June%2009%20pt1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2 April 2012|title=Guild News|date=June 2009|publisher=Gapan.org|access-date=14 November 2014}}</ref>

==Post-war career==

[[File:He 177 A-5.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|The captured [[Heinkel He 177]] A-5 variant in British markings flown by Brown at Farnborough in September 1944]]

After the Second World War‚ Brown commanded the [[No. 1426 Flight RAF|Enemy Aircraft Flight]], an elite group of pilots who test-flew captured German and Italian aircraft. That experience rendered Brown one of the few men to have been qualified to compare both Allied and Axis aeroplanes as they flew during the war. He flight-tested 53 German aircraft, including the [[Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet]] rocket fighter.<ref name="Royal Navy's most-decorated pilot dies aged 97">{{cite web|last1=Rawlinson|first1=Kevin|title=Royal Navy's most-decorated pilot dies aged 97|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/feb/21/royal-navy-most-decorated-pilot-dies-erc-winkle-brown|website=The Guardian|date=21 February 2016|access-date=23 February 2016}}</ref> That Komet is now on display at the [[National Museum of Flight]] near Edinburgh.

His flight test of this rocket plane, the only one by an Allied pilot using the rocket motor, was accomplished unofficially: it was deemed to be almost suicidal due to the notoriously dangerous [[Hypergolic propellant|hypergolic]] [[C-Stoff]] fuel and [[T-Stoff]] oxidizer combination.

Commenting to a newspaper in September 2015 he recalled, <blockquote>To me it was the most exciting thing on the horizon, a totally new experience. I remember watching the ground crew very carefully before take-off, wondering if they thought they were waving goodbye to me forever or whether they thought this thing was going to return. The noise it made was absolutely thunderous and it was like being in charge of a runaway train; everything changed so rapidly and I really had to have my wits about me.<ref name="Royal Navy's most-decorated pilot dies aged 97"/></blockquote> Brown flight-tested all three of the German jet designs to see front-line action in the war: the [[Messerschmitt Me 262]]A ''Schwalbe'' and the Arado Ar 234B ''Blitz'', both these types powered by twin Junkers Jumo 004 engines, and the single-engined [[BMW 003]]-powered [[Heinkel He 162]]A ''Spatz'' turbojet combat aircraft.<ref name="Dorr2013">{{cite book|author=Robert F. Dorr|title=Fighting Hitler's Jets: The Extraordinary Story of the American Airmen Who Beat the Luftwaffe and Defeated Nazi Germany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1H0AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA157|date=15 November 2013|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-61058-847-8|page=157}}</ref> He would later fly the He 162A at the [[Farnborough Air Show]], and described it as having the best controls of any aircraft he had ever flown but as being difficult to handle.<ref name="Brown2008_143">{{cite book|author=Eric Brown|title=Wings on My Sleeve: The World'S Greatest Test Pilot Tells His Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgA5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT143|date=18 September 2008|publisher=Orion Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-297-85690-0|page=143}}</ref> One of his colleagues at Farnborough died testing the aircraft type.<ref name="Conner2001">{{cite book|first=Margaret |last=Conner|title=Hans Von Ohain: Elegance in Flight|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QXuQbyoF04AC&pg=PA140|year=2001|publisher=AIAA|isbn=978-1-56347-520-7|pages=140–1}}</ref>

Fluent in German, Brown helped interview many Germans after the Second World War, including [[Wernher von Braun]] and [[Hermann Göring]],<ref name="Brown, Wings on my Sleeve, p110" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]], p.&nbsp;110</ref> [[Willy Messerschmitt]], [[Ernst Heinkel]]<ref name="BROHP, 2004">{{cite web|url=http://www.blackknights.org.uk/pdfs/British%20Rocketry%20Oral%20History%20Programme%20Conference%202004.pdf|title=British Rocketry Oral History Programme Conference 2004|publisher=Blackknights.org.uk|access-date=14 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020144355/http://www.blackknights.org.uk/pdfs/British%20Rocketry%20Oral%20History%20Programme%20Conference%202004.pdf|archive-date=20 October 2013}}</ref> and [[Kurt Tank]]. He described the interviews as being minimal, due to the need to begin the [[Nuremberg trials]], and limited to matters related to aviation.<ref name="Captain Eric Winkle Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire" />

Brown was using [[Heinrich Himmler|Himmler's]] personal aircraft, a specially converted [[Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor]] that had been captured and was being used by the RAE Flight based at the former Luftwaffe airfield at [[Schleswig Air Base|Schleswig]].<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p114" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;114</ref> He was also able to renew acquaintance with German pilot [[Hanna Reitsch]]. She had been arrested after the German surrender in 1945. Fearing the approaching Russians, her father had killed her mother, sister and then himself.<ref name="Captain Eric Winkle Brown: Officer, Gentleman, Test Pilot Extraordinaire" /><ref>Piszkiewicz, Dennis, ''From Nazi Test Pilot to Hitler's Bunker: The Fantastic Flights of Hanna Reitsch'', Praeger Publishers, 1997. {{ISBN|978-0-275-95456-7}}, from [http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~etmcmull/HANNA.htm summary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302091709/http://personal.georgiasouthern.edu/~etmcmull/HANNA.htm |date=2 March 2012 }} by Emerson Thomas McMullen, retrieved 8 January 2010</ref>

As an RAE test pilot he was involved in the wartime Miles M.52 supersonic project, test flying a Spitfire fitted with the M.52's [[stabilator|all moving tail]], diving from high altitude to achieve high subsonic speeds. He was due to fly the M.52 in 1946, but this fell through when the project was cancelled. The all moving tail information, however, supplied upon instruction from the British government ostensibly as part of an information exchange with the Americans (although no information was ever received in return), allowed Bell to modify its XS-1 for true transsonic pitch controllability, in turn allowing [[Chuck Yeager]] to become the first man to exceed Mach 1 in 1947.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.co.uk/DataBank/VideoGallery/VideoPlayer/tabid/384/VideoId/33/Test-Pilot-Discussion.aspx|title=Former BBC space correspondent Reg Turnill interviews Eric Brown in 2008|work=Planet Labs|access-date=14 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724145755/http://www.space.co.uk/DataBank/VideoGallery/VideoPlayer/tabid/384/VideoId/33/Test-Pilot-Discussion.aspx|archive-date=24 July 2011}}</ref>

If the [[Ministry of Supply]] had proceeded with Ralph Smith's V2-based [[Megaroc]] sub-orbital manned spacecraft, Brown would also have been the leading candidate for its projected 1949 first crewed spaceflight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20150824-how-a-nazi-rocket-could-have-put-a-briton-in-space|title= How A Nazi Rocket Could Have Put A Briton In Space}}</ref>

In a throwback to his days testing aircraft in high speed dives, while at the RAE, Brown performed similar testing of the [[Avro Tudor]] airliner. The requirement was to determine the safe limiting speed for the aircraft and to gather data on high-speed handling of large civil aircraft in preparation for a projected four-jet version of the Tudor. Flying from 32,000&nbsp;ft, in a succession of dives to speeds initially to Mach 0.6, he succeeded in diving the Tudor up to Mach 0.7, an unusual figure for such a large piston-engined aeroplane, this figure being dictated by the pilot's discretion, as pulling the aircraft out of the dive had required the combined efforts of Brown and his second pilot. The Tudor was not a success. The planned jet version of the Tudor later became the [[Avro Ashton]].<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p174">[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;174</ref>
[[File:DeHavilland Swallow VW120 NAN7-49.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|The high-speed [[de Havilland DH 108|DH 108]] ''VW120'' that Brown flew. This aircraft later crashed, killing Brown's successor at the RAE, Sqn Ldr Stuart Muller-Rowland.]]

In 1949, he test flew a modified (strengthened and control-boosted) [[de Havilland DH.108]], after a crash in a similar aircraft while diving at speeds approaching the [[sound barrier]] had killed [[Geoffrey de Havilland, Jr.]], Brown initially started his tests from a height of 35,000&nbsp;ft, rising to 45,000&nbsp;ft and during a dive from the latter he achieved a Mach number of 0.985. It was only when attempting the tests from the same height as de Havilland, 4,000&nbsp;ft,<!-- this can't be right surely? intended to be "40,000" or "above 40,000"? It IS right, see "Wings on my Sleeve p184" (pp 195-6 in latest edition) --> that he discovered that in a Mach 0.88 dive from that altitude the aircraft suffered from a high-[[g-force|g]] [[Flight dynamics|pitch]] [[oscillation]] at several [[hertz]] (Hz). "The ride was smooth, then suddenly it all went to pieces&nbsp;... as the plane porpoised wildly my chin hit my chest, jerked hard back, slammed forward again, repeated it over and over, flogged by the awful whipping of the plane&nbsp;...". Remembering the drill he had often practised, Brown managed to pull back gently on both stick and throttle and the motion; "...&nbsp;ceased as quickly as it had started".<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p184" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;184</ref> He believed that he survived the test flight partly because he was a shorter man, de Havilland having suffered a [[Cervical fracture|broken neck]] possibly due to the violent oscillation.<ref name="Brown, Wings on my Sleeve, p184" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]], p.&nbsp;184</ref>

Test instrumentation on Brown's flight recorded during the oscillations accelerations of +4 and −3g's at 3&nbsp;Hz. Brown described the DH 108 as; "A killer. Nasty [[Stall (flight)|stall]]. Vicious undamped longitudinal oscillation at speed in bumps".<ref name="Brown, Wings on my Sleeve, p147" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|''Wings on my Sleeve'']], p. 147</ref> All three DH 108 aircraft were lost in fatal accidents.

In 1948, Brown was awarded the [[Boyd Trophy]] for his work in trials for the [[rubber deck]] landing system.<ref>Ray Sturtivant ''Squadrons of the Fleet Air Arm.'' Air Britain (Historians) Ltd (1984) {{ISBN|0-85130-120-7}}. Page 488</ref> On 30 March 1949, he was granted a permanent Royal Navy commission as a lieutenant, with seniority backdated to his original wartime promotion to the rank.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=38595|pages=2052–2053|date=26 April 1949}}</ref>

On 12 August 1949, he was testing the third of three [[Saunders-Roe SR.A/1]] jet-powered flying-boat fighter prototypes, ''TG271'', when he struck submerged debris, which resulted in the aircraft sinking in the [[Solent]] off [[Cowes]], [[Isle of Wight]].<ref name="Hooks, Mike p. 90">Hooks, Mike, "''The Jet Boat''", Aeroplane, London, UK, Number 411, Volume 35, Number 7, p. 90.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://daveg4otu.tripod.com/iowweb/iowc.html |title=Isle of Wight Crashes |publisher=Daveg4otu.tripod.com |date=25 November 2008 |access-date=8 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905024649/http://daveg4otu.tripod.com/iowweb/iowc.html |archive-date=5 September 2010  }}</ref> He was pulled unconscious from the cockpit of the wrecked aircraft by the Saunders-Roe test pilot [[Geoffrey Tyson]], having been knocked out in the crash. He was promoted [[Lieutenant commander (Royal Navy)|lieutenant commander]] on 1 April 1951,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=39218|page=2460|date=1 May 1951}}</ref> [[Commander (Royal Navy)|commander]] on 31 December 1953<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=40075|page=378|date=15 January 1954}}</ref> and [[Captain (naval)|captain]] on 31 December 1960.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=42247|page=200|date=10 January 1961}}</ref>

Brown was responsible for at least three important firsts in carrier aviation: the first carrier landing using an aircraft equipped with a tricycle undercarriage (the Bell Airacobra Mk 1 ''AH574'') on the trials carrier ''HMS Pretoria Castle'' on 4 April 1945; the first landing of a twin-engined aircraft on a carrier (the Mosquito) on ''HMS Indefatigable'' on 25 March 1944; and the world's first carrier landing of a jet aircraft, landing the prototype [[de Havilland Vampire]] ''LZ551/G'' on the Royal Navy carrier {{HMS|Ocean|R68|6}} on 3 December 1945. For this work with the Mosquito and the Vampire he was later appointed an [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]].<ref name="London Gazette Issue 37474">{{London Gazette|issue=37474|page=1017|date=15 February 1946}}</ref>

In the 1950s during the [[Korean War]], Brown was seconded as an exchange officer for two years to [[Naval Air Station Patuxent River|Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland]], US where he flew a number of American aircraft, including 36 types of helicopter. In January 1952, it was while at Patuxent River that Brown demonstrated the [[steam catapult]] to the Americans, flying a [[Grumman F9F Panther|Grumman Panther]] off the carrier {{HMS|Perseus|R51|6}} while the ship was tied up to the dock at the [[Philadelphia Naval Yard]]. It had been planned for Brown to make the first catapult launch with the ship under way and steaming into any wind; however, the wind on the day was so slight that British officials decided that, as the new steam catapult was capable of launching an aircraft without any wind, they would risk their pilot (Brown) if the Americans would risk their aircraft. The launch was a success and US carriers would later feature the steam catapult.

It was around the same time that another British invention was being offered to the US, the [[Flight deck#Angled flight deck|angled flight deck]], and Brown once again was called upon to promote the concept. Whether due to Brown or not, the first US aircraft carrier modified with the new flight deck, {{USS|Antietam|CV-36|6}}, was ready less than nine months later.<ref name="afresearch.org"/>

In 1954, Brown, by then a Commander in the Royal Navy, became Commander (Air) of [[RAF Brawdy|RNAS Brawdy]], where he remained until returning to West Germany in late 1957, becoming Chief of British Naval Mission to Germany, his brief being to re-establish German naval aviation after its pre-war integration with and subornation to, the Luftwaffe. During this period Brown worked closely with Admiral [[Gerhard Wagner (Admiral)|Gerhard Wagner]] of the German Naval Staff. Training was conducted initially in the UK on [[Hawker Sea Hawk]]s and [[Fairey Gannet]]s, and during this time Brown was allocated a personal [[Percival Pembroke]] aircraft by the [[Marineflieger]], which, to his surprise, the German maintenance personnel took great pride in. It was the first exclusively naval aircraft the [[German Navy]] had owned since the 1930s.<ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p230" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;230</ref> Brown led the re-emergence of naval aviation in Germany to the point that in 1960 ''Marineflieger'' squadrons were integrated into [[NATO]].

Later Brown enjoyed a three-month period as a test pilot for the [[Focke-Wulf]] company, helping them out until they could find a replacement after the company's previous test pilot had been detained due to having relatives in [[East Germany]].<ref name="afresearch.org"/><ref name="Wings on my Sleeve, p233" >[[#Brown, Wings on my Sleeve|Wings on my Sleeve]] p.&nbsp;233</ref>

In the 1960s, due to his considerable experience of carrier aviation, Brown, while working at the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] as deputy director of Naval Air Warfare, was consulted on the flight deck arrangement of the planned new UK class of aircraft carrier, the [[CVA-01]]; the project was cancelled in 1966.

In September 1967 came his last appointment in the Royal Navy when, as a [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]], he took command of [[RAF Lossiemouth|HMS ''Fulmar'']], then the [[Naval air station|Royal Naval Air Station]] (from 1972 back with the [[RAF]]), [[Lossiemouth]], until March 1970. He was appointed a [[Naval Aide de Camp|naval aide de camp]] to [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Queen Elizabeth II]] on 7 July 1969<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=44895 |supp=y |page=7283|date=11 July 1969}}</ref> and appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] in the [[1970 New Year Honours]].<ref name="London Gazette Issue 44999">{{London Gazette|issue=44999 |supp=y |page=5|date=30 December 1969}}</ref> He relinquished his appointment as naval ADC on 27 January 1970 and retired from the Royal Navy later in 1970<!-- This probably coincides with his retirement, but this is not explicitly stated in the source -->.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=45026 |supp=y |page=1049|date=23 January 1970}}</ref>

==Records==

{{main|List of aircraft flown by Eric "Winkle" Brown}}

Brown flew aircraft from Britain, the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy and Japan and is listed in the ''[[Guinness World Records|Guinness Book of World Records]]'' as holding the record for flying the greatest number of different aircraft. The official record is 487, but includes only basic types. For example, Brown flew 14 versions of the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] and [[Supermarine Seafire|Seafire]] and although these versions are very different they appear only once in the list. This list includes only aircraft flown by Brown as "Captain in Command".

Because of the special circumstances involved, Brown didn't think that this record would ever be topped.<ref>{{Citation |title=Yuri Gagarin's meeting with test Pilot Eric Brown 13th July 1961 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIvHDMRlVe4 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-08}}</ref>

He also held the world record for the most carrier landings, 2,407, partly compiled in testing the arrestor wires on more than 20 aircraft carriers during the Second World War.

==Credits==

In his book ''Wings on My Sleeve'', Brown records his admiration of his colleagues:-

{{blockquote|I was fortunate to have such fine C.O.s as Alan Hards, [[Sydney Richard Ubee|Dick Ubee]], [[Silyn Roberts]] and [[Allen Wheeler]]. ... It was always a thrill to me to meet and talk flying business with men like Geoffrey Tyson, [[Harald Penrose]], [[Jeffrey Quill]], [[Mutt Summers]], Bill Pegg and George Errington. All these had been heroes in my private hall of fame long before I knew them personally. ... Geoffrey de Havilland, [[Bill Humble]] and [[Alex Henshaw]] ... They were men of great dash ... [[Mike Lithgow]], [[Peter Twiss]], [[John Cunningham (RAF officer)|John Cunningham]] of Comet fame, [[John Derry]], [[Neville Duke]] and [[Roland Beamont]].<ref>''Wings on My Sleeve'' page 157 et seq</ref>}}

Brown goes on to mention the pilot of the first jet flight in Britain, [[Gerry Sayer]], then the aircraft designers [[R. J. Mitchell]] (designer of the [[Spitfire]]), Sir [[Sydney Camm]], [[Ronald Eric Bishop|R. E. Bishop]], [[Roy Chadwick]] and [[Joseph Smith (aircraft designer)|Joe Smith]], followed by the names of what he describes as "[[boffin]]s and boffinettes", which include the brilliant aerodynamicists [[Morien Morgan]], Handel Davies, Dai Morris and P. A. Hufton, and the "boffinettes" like aerodynamicist [[Gwen Alston]], [[Anne Burns]] (structural engineer), [[Dorothy Spicer|Dorothy Pearse]] (aircraft engineer) and [[Pauline Gower]] (head of the women's section of the [[Air Transport Auxiliary]] (ATA).{{cn|date=March 2023}}

Brown's last credits mention Lewis Boddington, Dr. Thomlinson, John Noble and Charles Crowfoot, whom he records (with "others") as being responsible for "giving the Royal Navy a technical lead in aircraft carrier equipment which it still holds to this day [1978]." He ends this section: "These men and women were civil servants, but they worked hours, took responsibility, and produced results far beyond what their country paid them for. To me they represent the true measure of Britain's greatness."<ref name="Brown2008_204-5">{{cite book|first=Eric |last=Brown|title=Wings on My Sleeve: The World'S Greatest Test Pilot Tells His Story|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hgA5AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT205|date=18 September 2008|publisher=Orion Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-297-85690-0|pages=204–5 |via=Google Books}}</ref>

==Books==

Brown wrote several books about his experiences, including ones describing the flight characteristics of the various aircraft he flew and an autobiography, ''Wings on My Sleeve'', first published in 1961 and considerably updated in later editions. Other books were ''Wings of the Luftwaffe'', ''Wings of the Weird and Wonderful'', and ''Miles M.52'' (with Dennis Bancroft). He was also the author of dozens of articles in aviation magazines and journals.<ref name="theaviationindex.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.theaviationindex.com/authors/eric-brown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609055958/http://www.theaviationindex.com/authors/eric-brown|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 June 2011|title=Eric Brown references, articles and publications|publisher=Theaviationindex.com|access-date=14 November 2014}}</ref>

His best-known series of articles is "Viewed from the Cockpit", which was published (and occasionally re-published) in the journal ''[[Air International]]''.<ref name="theaviationindex.com"/> Flight review highlights in this series have included the following types:
* [[Dornier Do 217]]
* [[Fairey Swordfish]]
* [[Fairey Fulmar]]
* [[Fairey Spearfish]], a prototype torpedo bomber (1947) which Brown did not enjoy
* [[Fairey Barracuda]], which Brown found lacklustre and somewhat disappointing
* [[Focke-Wulf Fw 190]] A and D Series.<ref name="Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe, p78-91" >[[#Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe|Wings of the Luftwaffe]], pp.&nbsp;78–91</ref>
* [[Grumman F9F Panther]] and [[Grumman F-9 Cougar]], which Brown found (on initial models) somewhat underpowered
* [[Hawker Sea Fury]]
* [[Hawker Hurricane|Hawker Sea Hurricane]]
* [[Heinkel He 111]]
* [[Junkers Ju 87]]D ''Stuka''
* [[Supermarine Seafire]], various marks.
* [[Messerschmitt Bf 109]] E (Emil) and G (Gustav) – Brown flew the G-12 training sub-type from the rear cockpit and nearly crashed because of poor visibility from that position.
* [[Messerschmitt Me 163]] ''Komet''. Brown was one of few pilots to successfully fly one of these, having signed a disclaimer for the German ground crew.<ref name="Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe, p167-176" >''Wings of the Luftwaffe'', pp.&nbsp;167–176</ref>
* [[Messerschmitt Me 262]] ''Schwalbe''.<ref name="Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe, p58-68" >[[#Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe|Wings of the Luftwaffe]], pp.&nbsp;58–68</ref>
* [[Heinkel He 177#Airworthiness and handling|Heinkel He 177 ''Greif'']] bomber<ref name="Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe, p46-57" >[[#Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe|Wings of the Luftwaffe]], pp.&nbsp;46–57</ref>

As regards his preferences Brown states:
<blockquote>My favourite in the piston engine (era) is the [[de Havilland Hornet]]. For the simple reason it was over-powered. This is an unusual feature in an aircraft, you could do anything on one engine, almost, that you could do on two. It was a '[[hot rod]] [[de Havilland Mosquito|Mosquito]]' really, I always described it as like flying a [[Ferrari]] in the sky.

On the jet side I was a great admirer of the [[North American F-86 Sabre|F-86 Sabre]], but in particular, the Model E (F-86E) which had the [[Stabilator|flying tail]], and this gave me what I call the 'perfect harmony of control'. If a pilot has this perfect harmony of control you feel you're part of the aeroplane and you're bonded with it really. You've got into it and the aeroplane welcomes you and says 'thank God you've come, you're part of me anyway' and to fly like that is a sheer delight.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQzVZde_Ms4|title=Eric "Winkle" Brown|publisher=YouTube|access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref>
</blockquote>

==Later life==

Brown served as president of the [[Royal Aeronautical Society]] from 1982 to 1983.<ref name="Flight, Brown, RAeS"/> His last flight as a pilot was in 1994, but in 2015 he was still lecturing and regularly attending the [[UK Space Conference|British Rocketry Oral History Programme]] (BROHP), where the annual presentation of the [[Sir Arthur Clarke Award]]s takes place. In 2007 he was the recipient of their Lifetime Achievement Award.<ref name="British Interplanetary Society">{{cite web|title=The British Interplanetary Society: Sir Arthur Clarke Awards 2005–2014|url=http://www.bis-space.com/2013/04/05/9719/sir-arthur-clarke-awards-2005-2014|date=5 April 2013|website=[[British Interplanetary Society]]|access-date=23 February 2016|archive-date=20 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220201041/http://www.bis-space.com/2013/04/05/9719/sir-arthur-clarke-awards-2005-2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Brown lived, in semi-retirement, at [[Copthorne, West Sussex]]. He had married Evelyn (Lynn) Macrory in 1942. She died in 1998. He was interviewed many times, most recently by [[BBC Radio 4]] at his home in April 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rw940|title=BBC Radio 4 – iPM|publisher=Bbc.co.uk|date=20 April 2013|access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref>

In June 2014, he was the subject of the hour-long [[BBC Two]] documentary ''Britain's Greatest Pilot: The Extraordinary Story of Captain Winkle Brown''.<ref name=greatest>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b045pbq2|title=Britain's Greatest Pilot: The Extraordinary Story of Captain Winkle Brown|publisher=Bbc.co.uk|access-date=1 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30039300|title=Eric 'Winkle' Brown: The man who seemed not to notice danger|publisher=Bbc.co.uk|date=14 November 2014|access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Desert Island Discs: Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04nvgq1 |website=www.bbc.co.uk |publisher=BBC |access-date=12 September 2020}}</ref>

In November 2014, he was the guest for the 3,000th edition of [[BBC Radio 4]]'s ''[[Desert Island Discs]]''. During the programme, the 95-year-old said that he still enjoyed driving and had just bought himself a new sports car. His musical choices included "[[At Last]]" by the [[Glenn Miller|Glenn Miller Orchestra]] and "[[Amazing Grace]]" by the [[Royal Scots Dragoon Guards]]. His favourite was "[[Stardust (1927 song)|Stardust]]" by [[Artie Shaw|Artie Shaw and His Orchestra]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-29936069|title=BBC News – Desert Island Discs to feature war veteran on 3,000th show|work=BBC News|date=7 November 2014|access-date=14 November 2014}}</ref>

On 24 February 2015, Brown delivered the [[University of Edinburgh]] Mountbatten Lecture, entitled "Britain's Defence in the Near Future".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2015/mountbatten-010415|title=Mountbatten Lecture goes live|publisher=Ed.ac.uk|date=13 April 2015|access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/legendary-test-pilot-fears-new-cold-war-1-3700891#ixzz40pEzwIr5|title=Legendary test pilot fears new cold war|publisher=Edinburghnews.scotsman.com|date=25 February 2015|access-date=24 February 2016}}</ref>

In May 2015, Brown was awarded the Founder's Medal by [[the Air League]]. This was presented to him by the patron, the [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Duke of Edinburgh]] at the annual reception held at [[St James's Palace]] "for his amazing flying achievements and involvement with aviation during a remarkable lifetime."<ref>[http://www.airleague.co.uk/the-air-league-annual-reception-2015-2 Eric Brown awarded Founder's Medal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022223606/http://www.airleague.co.uk/the-air-league-annual-reception-2015-2/ |date=22 October 2016 }}, airleague.co.uk; accessed 24 February 2016.</ref> Brown died peacefully aged 96 on 21 February 2016 at [[East Surrey Hospital]] in [[Redhill, Surrey]] after a short illness.<ref>[http://www.crawleynews.co.uk/Greatest-pilot-war-hero-Captain-Eric-Winkle-Brown/story-28779501-detail/story.html "Greatest pilot" war hero Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown dies aged 97], crawleynews.co.uk; accessed 24 February 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/world-s-greatest-aviator-eric-winkle-brown-dies-at-97-1-4035347|title='World's greatest' aviator Eric Winkle Brown dies at 97|date=21 February 2016 |publisher=Edinburgh News|access-date=21 February 2016}}</ref> His funeral was a private ceremony at Surrey and Sussex Crematorium, in [[Crawley]], where mourners included the First Sea Lord Admiral Sir [[George Zambellas]] and other military representatives.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/654395/Eric-Winkle-Brown-funeral-pilot-hero | title=Eric 'Winkle' Brown inspired young boy who called pilot his 'hero' | date=21 March 2016 }}</ref>

==Nickname==

Brown received the affectionate nickname "Winkle" from his Royal Navy colleagues. Short for [[Common periwinkle|"Periwinkle"]], a small [[mollusc]], the name was given to Brown because of his short stature of {{height|ft=5|in=7}}.<ref name="google.co.uk"/><ref name="Royal Navy's most-decorated pilot dies aged 97"/>

==Honours and awards==

{| style="margin: 0 auto;">
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Order of the British Empire (Military) Ribbon.png|width=103}} {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=UK Distinguished Service Cross BAR.svg|width=103}} {{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=UK AFC ribbon.svg|width=103}}
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=39-45 Star BAR.svg|width=103}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Atlantic Star BAR.svg|width=103}}
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=Defence Medal BAR.svg|width=103}}<span style="position:relative; top: 1px; left: -80px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">[[File:UK MID 1920-94.svg|60px]]</span>
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=award-star|ribbon=War Medal 39-45 w MID BAR.svg|width=103}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 0 auto;"
|-align=center
|[[Order of the British Empire|Order of the British Empire<br />Military Division]]<br />(Commander)
| colspan="2" style="text-align:center;"| [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross]]
|[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]
|-align=center
|[[1939–45 Star]]
|[[Atlantic Star]]
|[[Defence Medal (United Kingdom)|Defence Medal]]<br />with [[Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air|King's Commendation<br />for Valuable Service<br />in the Air]]
|[[War Medal 1939–1945]]<br />with [[Mentioned in Despatches|Mention in Despatches]]
|}
* 10 March 1942 Temporary Sub-Lieutenant (A) Eric Melrose Brown RNVR of HMS ''Audacity'' is awarded the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)]] in particular "For bravery and skill in action against Enemy aircraft and in the protection of a Convoy against heavy and sustained Enemy attacks".<ref name="dsc" />
* 2 May 1944 Temporary Lieutenant (A) Eric Melrose Brown, DSC, RNVR is appointed [[Member of the Order of the British Empire]] "for outstanding enterprise and skill in piloting aircraft during hazardous flight trials."<ref name="London Gazette Issue 36495"/>
* 19 February 1946 Temporary Acting Lieutenant Commander (A) Eric Melrose Brown, MBE, DSC, RNVR is appointed [[Officer of the Order of the British Empire]] "For courage, exceptional skill and devotion to duty in carrying out the first deck-landings of Mosquito and Vampire. In doing so he has been the first pilot ever to land on the deck of a carrier, a twin-engined aircraft ([[de Havilland Mosquito|Mosquito]]) and a pure jet-propelled aircraft ([[de Havilland Vampire|Vampire]]). The success of these great strides in Naval Aviation has been largely due to his exceptional flying skill".<ref name="London Gazette Issue 37474"/>
* 6 June 1947 Lieutenant Commander Eric Brown OBE DSC is awarded the [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<ref name="afc">{{London Gazette |issue=37977 |date=6 June 1947 |page=2603 |supp=y }}</ref>
* 1 January 1949 Lieutenant Commander E. M. Brown, OBE, DSC, AFC is awarded at the [[King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air]]<ref name="valuable">{{London Gazette |issue=38493 |date=31 December 1948 |page=32 |supp=y }}</ref>
* 1 January 1970 Captain Eric Melrose Brown, OBE, DSC, AFC, Royal Navy is appointed a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]].<ref name="London Gazette Issue 44999"/>
* 3 July 2018 – statue of Eric Brown unveiled at [[Edinburgh Airport]].<ref>Edinburgh Evening News 3 July 2018</ref>

==See also==

* [[No. 1426 Flight RAF]]
* [[Air Fighting Development Unit]] (AFDU)

==Notes==

;Notes
{{Reflist|group=Note}}
;Citations
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=

<ref name="Flight, Brown, RAeS" >{{Cite journal
  |title=Briefing...
  |journal=[[Flight (magazine)|Flight International]]
  |page=1384
  |date=21 May 1983
  |url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1983/1983%20-%200888.html
}}</ref>

}}

==References==

{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=The Helicopter in Civil Operations |last=Brown |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Brown (pilot) |publisher=Van Nostrand Reinhold |year=1981| isbn=978-0-24611-221-7}}
* {{cite book |title=Wings of the Weird & Wonderful |last=Brown |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Brown (pilot) |author-mask=2 |publisher=Airlife |volume=1 |isbn=0-906393-30-2 |year=1983 |ref=Brown, Wings of the Weird, Vol 1}}
* {{cite book |title=Wings of the Weird & Wonderful |last=Brown |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Brown (pilot) |author-mask=2 |publisher=Airlife |volume=2 |isbn=0-906393-44-2 |year=1985 |ref=Brown, Wings of the Weird}}<!-- Apparently his 7th book, so we're at least 5 short! -->
* {{cite book |title=Wings of the Navy: Flying Allied Carrier Aircraft of World War Two |last=Brown  |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Brown (pilot) |author-mask=2 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-87021-995-5 |ref=Brown, Wings of the Navy}}
* {{cite book |title=Duels in the Sky: World War II Naval Aircraft in Combat |last=Brown |first=Eric  |author-link=Eric Brown (pilot) |author-mask=2 |publisher=Airlife |year=1989 |isbn=1-85310-046-3 |ref=Brown, Duels in the Sky}}
* {{cite book |title=Wings of the Luftwaffe |last=Brown |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Brown (pilot)  |author-mask=2 |publisher=Airlife |year=2002 |isbn=978-1-85310-413-8 |ref=Brown, Wings of the Luftwaffe}}
* {{cite book |title=Wings on my Sleeve |last=Brown | first=Eric | author-link=Eric Brown (pilot) |author-mask=2 |publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-297-84565-2 |ref=Brown, Wings on my Sleeve }}
* {{cite book |title=Aircraft Carriers: A History of Carrier Aviation and Its Influence on World Events: 1906–1945 |last= Polmar |first=Norman |author-link=Norman Polmar |author2=Minoru Genda |year=2006 |isbn=978-1-57488-663-4}}
* {{cite book | title=The Daily Telegraph Book of Military Obituaries | volume=3 | url=http://www.books.telegraph.co.uk | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051013073417/http://books.telegraph.co.uk/ | url-status=dead | archive-date=13 October 2005 | date=2016 }}
* {{cite news | title=Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph | date= 23 February 2016 |page=25}}
{{refend}}

==External links==

{{Commons category|Eric Brown (pilot)}}
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rw940 Eric Brown, Interviewed on BBC Radio 4's iPM program]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110724145755/http://www.space.co.uk/DataBank/VideoGallery/VideoPlayer/tabid/384/VideoId/33/Test-Pilot-Discussion.aspx Former BBC space correspondent Reg Turnill interviews Eric Brown in 2008]
* [http://www.stillmanbooks.com/aviation.htm sale description of Brown's book ''Wings of the Weird and Wonderful'' (paras 63/65)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141129012146/http://www.theaviationindex.com/authors/eric-brown List of Articles and publications by Eric Brown] via https://web.archive.org/web/20110110021804/http://www.theaviationindex.com/
* [http://www.aeroflight.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/faa24.jpg The Sea Vampire ''LZ551/G'' at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton]
* [http://www.livingwarbirds.com/de-havilland-vampire.php Video] of test pilot Eric "Winkle" Brown landing a [[de Havilland Vampire|Sea Vampire]] on the experimental [[rubber deck]] fitted to {{HMS|Warrior|R31|6}}.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110724225301/https://www.afresearch.org/skins/rims/q_mod_be0e99f3-fc56-4ccb-8dfe-670c0822a153/q_act_downloadpaper/q_obj_8f344cd8-def6-4cf0-8f09-b1ae3d0bb216/display.aspx?rs=enginespage ''Captain Eric Brown: Wedded to German Aviation for Better or Worse'']
* [http://astrotalkuk.org/2011/04/02/episode-40-april-2nd-2011-gagarin-in-london-captain-eric-brown/ Captain Eric Brown discusses (episode 40 on Astrotalkuk.org) his private meeting with Yuri Gagarin in London on 13 July 1961.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413072619/http://astrotalkuk.org/2011/04/02/episode-40-april-2nd-2011-gagarin-in-london-captain-eric-brown/ |date=13 April 2011 }}
* [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1945/1945%20-%202460.html "Deck-landing the Sea Vampire"] a 1945 ''Flight'' article on Brown's deck-landing trials of the Sea Vampire
* {{YouTube|xQzVZde_Ms4|Interview with Eric Brown, on 19 September 2012, to BAE Systems Warton}}
* [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80012014 Imperial War Museum Interview from 1991]
* [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80012609 Imperial War Museum Interview from 1992]
* [http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2015/mountbatten-010415 Mountbatten lecture goes live]

[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:2016 deaths]]
[[Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh]]
[[Category:British World War II pilots]]
[[Category:Fleet Air Arm aviators]]
[[Category:People from Leith]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:British aviation record holders]]
[[Category:Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air]]
[[Category:Royal Navy officers of World War II]]
[[Category:Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:20th-century Scottish autobiographers]]
[[Category:Scottish non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Scottish test pilots]]
[[Category:Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:People from Copthorne, West Sussex]]


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