First pilot to exceed 1000 mph dies

[VulcanDriver]

Lionel Peter Twiss OBE DSC and Bar has died at the age of 91.

Known as Peter Twiss, he originally flew Fleet Air Arm Hawker Hurricanes from merchant navy catapult ships on Atlantic convoy duties and in 1942 flew convoy escort protecting the convoys to Malta. Serving with 807 squadron he flew Fairey Fulmars and and Spitfires from the carrier HMS Furious. When he was 21 he received the DSO (Distinguished Service Cross). During "Operation Torch", the Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria in late 1942, he was awarded a bar to his DSO.

Later in the war he was posted to the Naval Air Station at Ford, England, to fly long-range intruder operations over Germany.

Lt Cdr Peter Twiss became a test pilot at the end of WW2. He then travelled to the United States, to evaluate test activity and had the chance to fly his first Jet aircraft. He later became chief test pilot for the Fairey Aviation Company were he flew the Fairey Primer, Fairey Gannet, Fairey Firefly, and the Fairey Rotodyne compound-helicopter. In 1954, he flew the first Fairey FD.2 (WG774) for its maiden flight on 6 October 1954.

On 10 March 1956 he piloted the Fairey FD.2 at 1,132 mph (1811 km/h), an increase of some 300 mph (480 km/h) over the record set the year before by an F-100 Super Sabre, and thus became the first aircraft to exceed 1,000 mph in level flight.

The FD.2 design was used as the basis for Concorde (including the droop-snoop) and also "borrowed" for the Mirage III and Convair Delta Dart.

Called the BAC-221 the FD.2 was fitted with the Concorde double-delta wing and is on display alongside the British Concorde prototype at the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton. A FD.2 is on display at RAF Cosford Museum

After Fairey Aviation was bought by Westland Helicopters, in 1960, he joined Fairey Marine, where he was responsible for the development and sale of the company's fast, luxury motor cruisers, the equivalent of today's Sunseeker yachts. He appeared in the Bond film "From Russia with Love" driving a Fairey Marine Speedboat, and also in the film "Sink the Bismark" where he flew a Fairey Swordfish.

A great life, RIP Peter.

[Psuls]

I saw the FD2 last month at Yeovilton while on holidays.
Great bird and great museum

RIP for that great pilot.