In this article:
In 1952, the British aircraft industry gradually emerged from the economic crisis. All elements of the aircraft industry were present at the annual Farnborough fair to exhibit their new projects to the public.
As explained by Bart Vandamme in his book Mach Busters, in total, 120,000 aviation enthusiasts could see the Avro A-698 delta bomber and the Bristol Britannia. This airliner weighed almost 85.3 tonnes (84 tons) could transport 104 passengers over a distance of 6,000km (3,728 miles) at a speed of 503km/h (313mph). In addition, the Vickers Valiant and the Gloster Javelin, the successor of the Gloster Meteor, were on display for the first time. The Hawker Hunter, first Proposed in 1951, was back on the official program.
Because speed had become an essential factor in the latest generation of fighter jets, the aircraft manufacturers showed sonic “booms” or “bangs.” At the beginning of the 1950s breaking the sound barrier was exciting to witness for spectators as well as for the pilots to fly. One of the British manufacturers that wanted to provide a spectacle was de Havilland.
With the Comet, the manufacturer had sent its best test pilot John Derry (who is believed to be the first British pilot to break the sound barrier to have exceeded the speed of sound in flight*) to the aviation fair. On Saturday, September 6, John would present a flight with the two-seater DH-110.
Taking off with his observer Tony Richards, with the second prototype of the DH-110 (WG240), Derry embarked on a spectacular speed demonstration. After a few sonic booms, John was getting ready to land. He intended to fly over the runway one last time at a low altitude. When John reduced his speed and made a turn, the jet suddenly broke apart. Pieces of the fuselage, cockpit and the Rolls-Royce Avon jet engines fell over the square. The crash claimed the pilot and his observer as well as members of the audience. In total, 28 people died during this air disaster and the emergency services counted at least 63 spectators wounded.
One of the eyewitnesses of the accident was Neville Duke, RAF’s highest-scoring fighter pilot in the Mediterranean theatre and later a test pilot of supersonic jets. To regain the public’s confidence without hesitation, Neville took off as soon as the runway was cleared. Although deeply saddened and shocked by the disaster and the loss of his close friend Derry, Duke, ever the professional, flew an immaculate display. Eight miles above Odiham, he dived at 40 degrees descending at 15,240m (50,000ft) a minute. Minutes later, the Hunter’s sonic boom reverberated around Farnborough. The show had gone on. For Neville, a tribute to his deceased friends.
“My dear Duke,” the Prime Minister wrote the next day, “It was characteristic of you and of No 615 Squadron, to go up yesterday after the shocking accident. Accept my salute. Yours in grief, Winston Churchill.”
For many British people, the Hawker Hunter was an aircraft with which Neville Duke became synonymous. By 1952, the pilot dressed in white overalls had dispensed with the old-style leather flying cap for what became part of his trademark, an American white helmet, born of gridiron football and soon adopted by teenagers and motorcyclists for their Tiger 110s. The breathtaking demonstrations that he gave at Farnborough, year after year, are legendary.
Neville Duke became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in January 1953 and was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1955.
*He is widely believed to have exceeded the speed of sound on 6 September 1948, when he lost control of his aircraft and the Mach meter supposedly ‘briefly showed’ supersonic speeds in a shallow dive from 12,195 m (40,000 ft) to 9,145 m (30,000 ft). Despite lack of substantial evidence (the recording apparatus was switched off during the flight), the news was promoted by the British press as having broken the sound barrier.
Mach Busters is published by Key Publishing and is available to order here.
Photo credit: KSAK:s tidning Flygrevyn and unknown
