From Piston Engines to Turbojets | Eric Winkle Brown's Interviews | Part 3

From Piston Engines to Turbojets, Jimmy Doolittle, and his view on Nazi Germany.
Eric Winkle Brown's lost rare interviews. TAPE 3
Eric "Winkle" Brown flew 487 Different Aircraft. Eric Brown is also the pilot who interrogated Hermann Göring in exchange for an aircraft.
Listen to his incredible life story.
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Captain Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown, CBE, DSC, AFC, Hon FRAeS, RN (21 January 1919 - 21 February 2016) was a British Royal Navy officer and test pilot who flew 487 types of aircraft, more than anyone else in history.
Brown holds the world record for the most aircraft carrier deck take-offs and landings performed (2,407 and 2,271 respectively) and achieved several "firsts" in naval aviation, including the first landings on an aircraft carrier of a twin-engined aircraft, an aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage, a jet aircraft, and a rotary-wing aircraft.
He flew almost every category of Royal Navy and Royal Air Force aircraft: glider, fighter, bomber, airliner, amphibian, flying boat, and helicopter. During World War II, he flew many types of captured German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft, including new jet and rocket aircraft. He was a pioneer of jet technology in the postwar era.
Brown was born in Leith, near Edinburgh, in the United Kingdom. His father was a former balloon observer and pilot in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Brown first flew when he was eight or ten when he was taken up in a Gloster Gauntlet by his father, the younger Brown sitting on his father's knee.
In 1936 Brown's father took him to see the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Hermann Göring had recently announced the existence of the Luftwaffe, and Brown and his father met and were invited to join social gatherings by members of the newly disclosed organization. At one of these meetings, Ernst Udet, a former World War I fighter ace, was fascinated to make the acquaintance of Brown senior, a former RFC pilot, and offered to take his son Eric up flying with him. Eric eagerly accepted the German's offer and after his arrival at the appointed airfield at Halle, he was soon flying in a two-seat Bücker Jungmann. He recalled the incident nearly 80 years later on the BBC radio program Desert Island Discs
You talk about aerobatics - we did every one I think and I was hanging on to my tummy. So, when we landed, and he gave me the fright of my life because we approached upside-down and then he rolled out just in time to land, he said to me as I got out of the cockpit, slapped me between the shoulder-blades, and gave me the old WW1 fighter pilots' greeting, Hals- und Beinbruch, which means broken neck and broken legs but that was their greeting. But he said to me, you'll make a fine fighter pilot - do me two favors: learn to speak German fluently and learn to fly.
During the Olympic Games Brown witnessed Hitler shaking hands with Jesse Owens.
In 1937, Brown left the Royal High School and entered the University of Edinburgh, studying modern languages with an emphasis on German. While there he joined the university's air unit and received his first formal flying instruction. In February 1938 he returned to Germany under the sponsorship of the Foreign Office, having been invited to attend the 1938 Automobile Exhibition by Udet, by then a Luftwaffe major general. He saw the demonstration of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61 helicopter flown by Hanna Reitsch before a small crowd inside the Deutschlandhalle. During this visit, he met and got to know Reitsch, whom he had also briefly met in 1936.
On returning to the United Kingdom then at war, he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve before subsequently joining the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as a Fleet Air Arm pilot, where he was posted to 802 Naval Air Squadron, initially serving on the first escort carrier, HMS Audacity, converted and thus named in July 1941. He flew one of the carrier's Grumman Martlets. During his service on board Audacity, he shot down two Focke-Wulf Fw 200 Condor maritime patrol aircraft, using head-on attacks to exploit the blind spot in their defensive armament.
Audacity was torpedoed and sunk on 21 December 1941 by the German submarine U-751, commanded by Gerhard Bigalk. The first rescue ship left because of warnings of a nearby U-boat, and Brown was left in the sea overnight with a dwindling band of survivors until he was rescued the next day.He was one of two of the 24 to survive the hypothermia; the rest succumbed to the cold. Of the complement of 480, 407 survived,
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[@DocSanders]

Eric Winkle Brown, what a phenomenal interview. I hope that when I’m his age (I’m not that far off) that I will be that cogent and sharp. Also, I had know the transonic/supersonic story from the US perspective for 50 years so a great many things fell into place once I heard Captain Eric Brown’s interview. I especially enjoyed the reference to Margaret Hilda Thatcher, and to know Maggie Thatcher, was doing her stuff long before those of us in the colonies ever knew who she was.

[@leoarc1061]

Thank you for sharing the Captain Eric Brown's interviews. They are a pleasure to watch. Thank you very, very much.

[@Dronescapes]

Glad you like them!

[@johnmorris7815]

Thanks to the work that this guy and all the pioneers in the high speed flight test department did, I can sit in my airliner at M.85 without a ripple, while knowing that the aircraft has been tested up to M.94. Thanks Eric. RIP

[@stevemull2002]

I had the enormous pleaser of meeting Captain Eric "winkle" Brown, (twice) and am aghast at what he did, This man, was truly in the clouds above everyone else in Aviation, and could fly ANYTHING

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

FWIW: I had NO IDEA Frank Whittle proposed a Turbofan engine that far back, or even at all.

[@byronbailey9229]

Compressiabilty was a bitch. The Vampire went berserk in a dive at about M.8. Immediate action required speed brakes, thrust idle and try not to overstress in the wild resultant phogoid. The Avon Sabre would reach M1.1 in a dive but control effects above M.94 rendered it useless. The Mirage would go supersonic in a climb. Climb schedule was 450kt into M.95 and if nose not held up would exceed Mach 1.0 without pilot realising it. Transition at 23,000 into M1.3 for intercept profile for incoming high altitude supersonic bomber. Was great exhilarating fun!

[@kristensorensen2219]

Frank would have been wonderful to introduce to Kelly Johnson who built the SR-71

[@toktokkierm]

The documentary about Whittle is superlative.

[@seumasnatuaighe]

Eric Brown was a Royal Navy pilot not RAF as you put in your thumbnail.

[@jock2128]

Have watched many of Eric's interviews...but always something new: Farnborough assessed compressability/manouverability limitations of lightenings and thunderbots, leading to the mustang as hi atitude escorts; and propeller drag limits piston engined aircraft to speed below Mach1; germans picked up Whittles' expired patent and introduced it back in Germany, and so on..

[@Dronescapes]

Whittle’s patents is a fairly known event. Von Ohain reluctantly admitted having access in stages, and his assistant confirmed having full access to Whittle’s work right from the start. Whittle never blamed the military, for example, but rather Griffith, his sole judge when it comes to es or presenting his idea in 1929. Griffith of course had a distinct conflict of interest, being the author on a seminal paper on axial compressor in 1926. It is very possible that Griffith made a mistake in reviewing Whittle’s calculations during the review, which was one of the reasons to reject his invention, and also ridicule it. Shameful! Of course Griffith was later an integral part of the story of the axial turbojet. At least Von Ohain appreciated Whittle’s brilliant work, whereas his compatriot did everything he could to stop him.

[@vumba1331]

Remember that the team involved with the design of the Spitfire had a hand in the design of the Mustang. When the British were looking to source it from the Americans, a team of them visited the states and upon seeing the proposed design, promptly modified it so that there wasn't the usual huge cockpit, wide fuselage setup. They narrowed the fuse and refined the setup taking particular care with the fairings, this is where the key Spitfire specialist was valuable, added the Merlin at a later stage and ended up with a great fighter aircraft.

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

@Dronescapes >>> Great video...👍

[@kristensorensen2219]

Love the accent👍

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Here is my simplified explanation of a Gas Turbine Engine: *_"An enclosed windmill that generates its own wind."_* 😉

[@michaelkinsey4649]

Hope Mr Yeager said thank you to the Miles aircraft company.....

[@Dronescapes]

Yeager could not stand Brown, and perhaps that is one of the reasons

[@kennethfields2288]

I've seen a video, long time ago, where Yeager claimed the Brits didn't know about the all moving tailplane. That was true pre-war, same as most plane builders at that time. There was Miles with the all moving tailplane before Bell. Well well.

[@mikeweckenmann7499]

Per Ardua ad Astra💪🏻

[@kristensorensen2219]

The coffin corner killed many Lear 23 crews because it was easy to let it go too fast to remain controllable.

[@jfc213]

wow what a man just wow he was just incredible

[@xxgodskrpxx9848]

lots of info.

[@vincentjoseph5726]

Piston engines...halved the no.s nos. Still giving the seme is a unique performance is a good engine with interiors and externally medically heatdisosping exchange metals...gives low fuel consumption...

[@kristensorensen2219]

The stupid square windows on the Commet was something Frank forsaw but was ignored. Boeing with the 707 a military refueling design that was perfect for the airlines!! General Electric still is a great company as is Rolls Royce. Excellent documentry!!

[@seavixen125]

The comet never had square windows. It was a combination the thin fuselage skin and the punch riveting that caused a stress fracture around the adf aerial on the top of the fuselage that caused the early comet mid-air break ups.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

it`s amazing that a lot of myths live on in britain for decades(:-)

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

@@michaelpielorz9283 kristensorensen2219 reads so British doesn't it.

[@MrAvant123]

In the thumbnail it shows captain Eric in RAF uniform - he was a Navy pilot !

[@ivoryjohnson4662]

Corporate greed and egos have ruined many projects and people

[@kristensorensen2219]

It is a wonder the English ever built it while the Germans had no reservations. Plus they built the axial flow design first which was the real key design. It is really rediculous!!

[@michaelpielorz9283]

but that is a typical british reaction: If it is german we do not want it and No no no : NOT THE GERMANS !!

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

How is it a wonder given that the British (English) had been started gas turbine aero engine research as early as 1920? As for axial flow, yes the Germans did make that mistake of dumping Ohain's centrifugal flow engines in favour of technology that even they believed they didn't have the materials for. Whereas the British developed both axial flow and centrifugal flow together and thereby had both options and could choose the most reliable when it mattered.

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

@@michaelpielorz9283 The irony of you coming out with that line is spectacularly funny, given that you haunt youtube videos on British aircraft for no other reason to say 'If it is British I do not want it and No no no : NOT THE BRITISHS !!'

[@hamentaschen]

"I'm gonna go get the papers, get the papers."

[@leoarc1061]

I think that you commented the wrong video.

[@hamentaschen]

@@leoarc1061 I think that your momma commented on the wrong video.

[@leoarc1061]

@@hamentaschen I must inform you that it isn't 2010 anymore. Yes. KZbin has changed quite a lot since then. We now don't tend to talk about each other's mothers anymore. We've grown up a little.

[@hamentaschen]

@@leoarc1061 We? Who's we? You and your momma?

[@kristensorensen2219]

Frank Whittle was a remarkable gentleman, scholar and put up with terrible treatment by his fellow Britts. I hope he became an American Citizen because he had the heart of an American!!

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

I know, awarded the Royal Order of the Bath, a knighthood, RSA Albert Medal, Order of Merit, made a Fellow of the Royal Society, made a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society and given a tax free award of £100,000, shocking treatment.

[@ushoys]

You'd think that the film of first jet plane flight - on May 15th 1941 (video starting at 1:14:22 here) would be more famous and available as a standalone video. But it's not.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

so sorry but it was 27th august (:-)