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Yes, first landing of a twin if I remember right. Also required exceptional experience, skill, and a couple large anatomical pieces.Didn't Captain Brown land a Mosquito on an aircraft carrier?
I think you are being more than a little harsh on Eric Brown. My understanding is that he was a test pilot first on carrier landings and the integration of new types into service on carriers. Then he was transferred to testing captured German and Italian aircraft. Then he went back to testing carrier aircraft for carrier landings and finally concentrated on testing more captured aircraft and the introduction of American aircraft and the 8th airforce.
My main points being
a) He was testing aircraft before he got involved in the experimental flying of German Aircraft
b) Anyone of any nation, who is involved in the introduction of new types into service on carriers, is by any standard, an exceptional pilot.
c) Being fluent in German no doubt helped him in the role he later had, but it was far from being the only reason
If he wasn't able to speak German like a native, he'd never have ended up as a test pilot.
His primary talent however was his ability to read and speak German fluently
Was that because it kept running out of fuel?Capt. Brown also carrier qualled the unmentionable land based US fighter with arrested landings and takeoffs, all in one day.
His primary talent however was his ability to read and speak German fluently, so when they needed someone to test newly captured Axis types, he was a natural choice being able to read the technical literature first hand with a pilots mind.
How much did that help when he was testing Italian and Japanese aircraft ?His primary talent however was his ability to read and speak German fluently, so when they needed someone to test newly captured Axis types, he was a natural choice being able to read the technical literature first hand with a pilots mind.
You have a colorful but somewhat clouded dissemination of facts, you keep bringing up his ability to speak German but yet most of his bios mention this in passing. Brown eventually stood out from his peers and the fact that he had carrier experience made him that much more valuable at RAE. His achievements are undeniable and his successes (especially in the air) did not primarily come from his ability to fluently speak German!No one is being harsh, merely correcting the facts.
He joined the FAA as a pilot in 1939 at a time the FAA was a pool of very mediocre pilots thanks to the RAF's pre war policy of sending the last names on pilot applicant selections list to the Fleet Air Arm.
Yes, he was an outstanding pilot, and quickly stood out, but a trip to RAE to test into service new types in 1942 was not some mark of stellar ability - plenty of good combat pilots went there to bring new types into service - it was a great strength of both the UK and US - very good pilots were rotated out of combat to training schools, OCU's and as test pilots to pass on their skill rather than relentlessly flying in the front line until they died. It was quite usual for pilots who graduated top of their class in flight school to be posted straight to the flight school as an instructor rather to a combat squadron
.
His primary talent however was his ability to read and speak German fluently, so when they needed someone to test newly captured Axis types, he was a natural choice being able to read the technical literature first hand with a pilots mind.
Right man, with the right skills in the right place at the right time.
Brown was noted for his exceptional ability to land a plane on a carrier early in his career, that is how he became a RN test pilot. He spoke fluent German but not like a native, I have heard him speak German. I worked in Germany for a total of 9 years, very few are completely bi lingual including mannerisms, when you meet someone who is it is a little un nerving.Incorrect.
Brown wasn't seconded to testing captured Axis aircraft because he was 'the' outstanding pilot, his main skill was he spoke fluent German and was able to read through reams of captured and obtained technical documentation. If he wasn't able to speak German like a native, he'd never have ended up as a test pilot.
He spoke fluent German but not like a native ...
That actually helps with German, there are a lot of words in "old scots" which are very close to German, such asWell let's be fair here, Scottish people don't even speak english like a native ...
How much German technical literature did they have access to during the war?
Brown was noted for his exceptional ability to land a plane on a carrier early in his career, that is how he became a RN test pilot. He spoke fluent German but not like a native, I have heard him speak German. I worked in Germany for a total of 9 years, very few are completely bi lingual including mannerisms, when you meet someone who is it is a little un nerving.
He became a test pilot because he was a very good pilot.
Coupled with his ability to fly aeroplanes and make take offs and landings add up to the same total, purely from reading the manual. Brown sounded like a Brit speaking German, I have heard many such people in Germany. Prince Philip didnt sound like a Brit speaking German because he learned German before English and spoke the very old fashioned high German that he originally learned.He became a test pilot because he was a very good pilot.
He became the go to guy for testing captured Axis aircraft because of his ability to read the documentation first hand.
You may have heard him speak German, but I suspect not in the 30's when he had recently been a regular visitor to Nazi Germany
Coupled with his ability to fly aeroplanes and make take offs and landings add up to the same total, purely from reading the manual. Brown sounded like a Brit speaking German, I have heard many such people in Germany. Prince Philip didnt sound like a Brit speaking German because he learned German before English and spoke the very old fashioned high German that he originally learned.
german