WW2 Fleet Air Arm - Pilot Eric 'Winkle' Brown

Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown was a Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft and carried out a world record number of deck landings and catapult take-offs. When war was declared, Eric was a student in Munich and was arrested by the SS and incarcerated for three days. He was one of 60 British students exchanged by the Red Cross for 60 German students in Britain. Eric joined the RAF in 1939 but quickly transferred to the Fleet Air Arm because of the shortage of FAA pilots. Eric served with 802 Squadron which was to operate from the world’s first escort aircraft carrier which was made from a captured German banana boat, HMS Audacity. Eric gives a vivid description of the sinking of the ship in the Bay of Biscay, during which the aircraft broke loose, causing huge casualties amongst 400+ men on deck, and how he was one of only 2 survivors of a group which perished from cold in the winter sea. Towards the end of the war, Eric became CO of the Enemy Aircraft Flight, the objective of which was to capture and fly back to Britain advanced enemy aircraft and to go to the enemy’s main research establishment to bring back equipment, engineers, and scientists. In April 1945 he was sent to Germany to investigate German jets that had been abandoned, and he went to Belsen concentration camp to interrogate Josef Kramer and Irma Grese. He also helped identify Himmler who was being held at Luneburg. The Archive also holds Eric's audio interview and photographs. #history #military #militaryhistory #war #ww2 #veteran #interview #archive #faa #fleetairarm #navy #royalnavy