Test Pilot

The renowned WWII RAF fighter pilot who went on to set an air speed record tells his story—now with an updated chapter and new photos.

Joining the RAF at the beginning of the war, young Neville Duke became a fighter pilot with the crack 92 Squadron at RAF Biggin Hill in 1941. That spring and summer, he survived the air battles over Northern France with the Biggin Hill Wing, often flying as wingman to the legendary Adolph "Sailor" Malan, Fighter Command's top-scoring pilot at that time. Duke quickly established himself as one of the most successful pilots in North Africa, bringing his score to twenty-one by the end of the Tunisian Campaign, and then took command of 145 Spitfire Squadron in Italy. Leading this unit in the summer of 1944, he brought his score to twenty-eight. Earning numerous honors, he was recognized for his heroism, but the military was only the beginning of his life in aviation.

Toward the end of the war, he became an RAF test pilot—and later a member of the RAF High Speed Flight. He would go on to a successful postwar career, playing a key role in the flight development on one of the most famous of all RAF peacetime aircraft—the Hawker Hunter—and taking the world speed record in 1953.

An in-depth look at his daring exploits covering both his combat career and his postwar accomplishments, Test Pilot is now updated with an additional chapter, appendices and index, and a completely new selection of photographs.