Eric Brown (pilot)
| Eric Brown | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Birth name | Eric Melrose Brown |
| Nickname(s) | Winkle |
| Born |
21 January 1919 Leith, Scotland |
| Died | 21 February 2016 (aged 97) Redhill, Surrey, England |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
|
| Years of service | 1939–1970 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | |
| Other work |
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Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, Hon FRAeS, RN (21 January 1919 – 21 February 2016) was a British Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 different types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history. He was also the most-decorated pilot in the history of the Royal Navy.
Brown holds the world record for the most aircraft carrier deck take-offs and landings performed (2,407 and 2,271 respectively) 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 propelled aircraft, and rotary-wing aircraft.
He also flew almost every category of Royal Navy and RAF aircraft: glider, fighter, bomber, airliner, amphibian, flying boat and helicopter. During World War II, he also flew many types of captured German aircraft, including new jets and rocket planes. He was a pioneer of jet technology into the post-war era.
Brown was born in Leith, near Edinburgh, Scotland. His father was a former balloon observer and pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Brown first flew when he was eight or ten when he was taken up in a Gloster Gauntlet by his father, the younger Brown sitting on his father's knee.
In 1936, Brown's father took him to see the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Hermann Göring had recently announced the existence of the Luftwaffe, so Brown and his father met and were invited to join social gatherings by members of the newly disclosed organisation. It was here that Eric Brown first met Ernst Udet, a former World War I fighter ace, who was fascinated to make the acquaintance of a former RFC pilot, and Eric, his son.
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