Geoffrey de Havilland Junior
Geoffrey Roald de Havilland Jr. (born February 18, 1910 in Crux Easton , Hampshire , † September 27, 1946 in Gravesend , Kent ), was a British test pilot and son of the English aviation pioneer and designer Geoffrey de Havilland . His birth was recorded in the Kingsclere District, Hampshire, in 1910. Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. became the chief test pilot of the De Havilland Aircraft Company and completed the maiden flights of the De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito and De Havilland Vampire types .
In 1945 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire .
He died on the evening of September 27, 1946 during high-speed tests with the De Havilland DH.108 Swallow experimental aircraft over the Thames Estuary . The remains of the plane were found the next day in the Egypt Bay swamp near Gravesend in Kent. The 1952 film shot The Sound Barrier (The sound barrier) by David Lean based on this event.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Havilland, Geoffrey de Junior |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English flight pioneer and test pilot |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 18, 1910 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Crux Easton , Hampshire |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 27, 1946 |
| Place of death | Gravesend , Kent |