Peter Twiss
| Peter Twiss | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Lionel Peter Twiss |
| Born |
23 July 1921 Lindfield, Sussex |
| Died | 31 August 2011 (aged 90) |
| Aviation career | |
| Known for | Breaking the World Air Speed Record and being the first person to exceed 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h; 870 kn) in flight |
| Air force | Fleet Air Arm |
| Battles | |
| Rank | Lieutenant Commander |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Cross (1942) & Bar (1943) Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air (1955) Britannia Trophy (1956) Segrave Trophy (1956) Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1957) |
Lionel Peter Twiss OBE, DSC & Bar (23 July 1921 – 31 August 2011) was a British test pilot who holds the World Air Speed Record as the first man to fly a jet aircraft faster than 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h; 870 kn).
He was born in Lindfield, Sussex and lived with his grandmother while his parents were in India and Burma. He was the grandson of an admiral and the son of an army officer. Twiss went to school at Haywards Heath and later at Sherborne School. In 1938, he was employed as an apprentice tea-taster by Brooke Bond in London, before returning to the family farm near Salisbury.
Rejected as a pilot by the Fleet Air Arm, he was accepted as a Naval Airman Second Class on the outbreak of the Second World War. After training at 14 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School, Castle Bromwich, he went on to fly Fairey Battles and Hawker Harts. He underwent operational training at RNAS Yeovilton flying Blackburn Rocs, Blackburn Skuas and Gloster Gladiators. His next posting was at the School of Army Co-operation at Andover, flying Bristol Blenheims as a twin conversion. He was then posted to 771 Squadron in the Orkney Islands, flying a variety of naval aircraft on various duties, including met observations at 12000 ft in winter in the open cockpit of a Fairey Swordfish, and target-towing duties.
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