Bill Waterton
| Bill Waterton | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | William Arthur Waterton |
| Born |
18 March 1916 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Died | 17 April 2006 (aged 90) Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1939–46 |
| Rank | Squadron Leader |
| Service number | 42288 |
| Unit | No. 242 Squadron RAF |
| Awards |
Air Force Cross & Bar George Medal |
| Other work | Test Pilot Aviation correspondent |
Squadron Leader William Arthur "Bill" Waterton AFC & Bar, GM (18 March 1916 – 17 April 2006) was a Canadian and British test pilot and correspondent for the Daily Express. He was awarded the George Medal for saving the flight data when he landed at great risk the prototype Gloster Javelin after it lost its controls during a test flight.
Born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in 1916, W. A. Waterton was brought up in Camrose, Alberta. His family originally came from north Sydenham Township and settled in Owen Sound, Ontario. He was interested in flying from an early age.
Entering the Royal Military College of Canada in 1935, after two years at the school, where he was a champion middleweight boxer, Waterton had applied without success to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and Canadian Army in 1938. Ultimately, he was accepted on a short service commission for the Royal Air Force (RAF) which was expanding rapidly in expectation of war. In Britain, he took flying lessons and joined the RAF on 10 June 1939. He was first posted to No. 242 Squadron RAF and flew Hawker Hurricanes from Biggin Hill and Manston during the Battle of France. In operations over Dunkirk on 25 May 1940, he crashed near Dover and suffered severe head injuries. When Waterton returned to flying duties, he was sent to No. 6 Operational Training Unit. His skills as an instructor were recognised and he was made a flying instructor, training hundreds of pilots for over two years in both the UK and Canada.
After a stint with Transatlantic Ferry Command in 1943, and initially posted to No. 124 Squadron in September 1943, he was transferred to 1409 (Meteorological) Flight. In 1944, Waterton applied to the Air Fighting Development Unit based at Wittering in Lincolnshire which assessed captured enemy aircraft by flying them in mock combat against the greatest variety of Allied aircraft. During this period, he amassed a great deal of test flying in devising tactics for Fighter Command based on the actual performance of aircraft in "real life" conditions. Along with other colleagues, Waterton was sent to No. 5 Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) at Hanworth, Middlesex.
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