Thunder & Lightnings

Test Flying Memorial

"...and everywhere the
blue sky belongs to them
and is their appointed rest
and their native country"
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge



Date13/08/1912
CasualtiesRobert Fenwick, TP
AircraftMersey Pusher
Took off fromLarkhill
Purpose of flightMilitary trials
Incident locationLarkhill
Incident detailsInadequate strength and rigidity of elevator support booms caused its displacement in a gust. Cabane strut and rigging wires also failed. Aircraft fell from 300ft on to airfield. Fenwick may have been the first man to have had the title 'Test Pilot' when employed by Handley Page.


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