Key Information
Type of entity
Person
Authorized form of name
Wilson, Hugh Joseph, 1908-1990, Group Captain
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Description area
Dates of existence
1908-1990
History
Born 1908; educated at University School, Hastings, Merchant Taylors and City of London School; served apprenticeship in cotton trade, 1925-1929; joined RAF on short service commission, 1929; posted to No 5 Flight Training School, Sealand, Flintshire, 1929; served with 111 Fighter Sqn, Hornchurch, Essex, 1930-1932; Flying Officer, 1931; posted to Fleet Air Arm, 1932, and served with School of Naval Co-operation, Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, 1932-1934; released from RAF, 1934; conversion course on flying boats while on Reserve, 1934; qualified as Flying Instructor, 1935; Chief Instructor and Manager, York County Aviation Club, 1935; Flying Instructor, RAF Reserve School, 1935-1936; Flying Instructor, Blackburns, Hanworth, Surrey, and Brough, Yorkshire, 1935-1937; Civil Test Pilot, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Hampshire, 1937-1939; recalled to RAF as Sqn Ldr, 1939; Commanding Officer, Aerodynamic Flight, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough, Hampshire, 1939-1941; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; temporarily attached to 74 Fighter Sqn, Biggin Hill, Kent, to assess fighter requirements, 1940; Wg Cdr, 1941; awarded AFC, 1941; Chief Test Pilot, Royal Aircraft Establishment, responsible for initial test flights on all captured enemy aircraft, 1941-1945; Test Pilot, British Air Commission, Washington DC, on loan to US Army Air Force, US Navy and US Marine Corps, 1943-1944; Assistant Director (Flying) Special Projects, Ministry of Aircraft Production, 1944-1945; seconded to 616 Fighter Sqn to train pilots on the Gloster Meteor jet fighter, 1944; acting Gp Capt, 1945; Commandant, Empire Test Pilots' School, Cranfield, Bedfordshire, 1945-1947; set new world air speed record of 606 miles per hour in Gloster Meteor IV, 1945; awarded CBE, 1946; Officers Advanced Training School, 1947; Wg Cdr Administrative, RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, 1948; retired from RAF, 1948; Managing Director and Chief Test Pilot for Planet Aircraft, 1948-1949; appointed Sales Manager (Engines), Blackburn and General Aircraft Limited, 1953; employed by Rolls Royce Limited, Small Engine Division, 1968; Associate Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society; Member of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators; died 1990.
Relationships area
Access points area
Subjects
Place access points
Occupations
Control area
Authority record identifier
Institution identifier
0099 KCLMA
Status
Final
Level of detail
Partial
Language(s)
Script(s)
Sources
Further information is available at the National Archives (F54957)