Alexander Adolphus Dumphries Henshaw, (7 November 1912 – 24 February 2007) was a British

air race Air racing is a type of motorsport that involves airplanes or other types of aircraft that compete over a fixed course, with the winner either returning the shortest time, the one to complete it with the most points, or to come closest to a prev ...

r in the 1930s and a

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

for

Vickers Armstrong Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, wi ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

Early life

Henshaw was born in

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

, the eldest son of a wealthy

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

family. He was educated at King Edward VI Grammar School, Stratford-on-Avon ("Shakespeare's School" where he sat at the Bard's desk),Riding 2007, p. 48. and Lincoln School (formerly Lincoln Grammar School). He was awarded the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

Medal for saving the life of a boy from the

River Witham The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at , passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riversi ...

Air racing

Henshaw's early ambition was to race motorcycles, and he harboured dreams of competing in the

Isle of Man TT Races The Isle of Man TT or Tourist Trophy races are an annual motorcycle racing event run on the Isle of Man in May/June of most years since its inaugural race in 1907. The event is often called one of the most dangerous racing events in the world ...

. However after watching a

bi-plane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

swooping low over the sea, he decided that he wished to learn to flyand undertook lessons at the Skegness and East Lincolnshire Aero Club in 1932, funded by his father, who bought him a

de Havilland Gipsy Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. ...

. Henshaw received his private pilot's licence (no. 4572) on 6 June 1932. He made a name for himself in the 1930s in air racing. Aged only 20, he competed in

King's Cup Air Race The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association. The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...

in 1933 flying a

Comper Swift The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a British 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company Ltd of Hooton Park, Cheshire. Design and development In March 1929 Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force and form ...

, winning the

Siddeley Trophy Siddeley may mean: * Siddeley-Deasy, a British automobile, engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century * Hawker Siddeley, a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production * Armstrong Siddeley, a B ...

. He also flew a Leopard Moth and an Arrow Active which caught fire while he was performing aerobatics: Henshaw bailed out safely. On 6 September 1935 Henshaw's aircraft came down in the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the C ...

while he was competing in the King's Cup; he was rescued by the

Isle of Man Steam Packet Company An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

steamer, '' Ramsey Town.'' Following the rescue Henshaw presented '' Ramsey Town's'' commanding officer, Captain Archibald Holkham, with a

barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

bearing an inscription which acknowledged that his skill and seamanship had probably saved his life. He later acquired

Percival Mew Gull The Percival Mew Gull was a British racing aircraft of the 1930s. It was a small, single-engine, single-seat, low-wing monoplane of wooden construction, normally powered by a six-cylinder de Havilland Gipsy Six piston engine. During its racin ...

G-AEXF, with which he won the inaugural London-to-

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

in 1937. Following extensive modifications by Essex Aero, he flew it to victory in the 1938 King's Cup, flying at a record average speed of 236.25 mph. Henshaw then turned his attention to long-distance flying. After reconnaissance of the eastern and western routes in 1938, he set off from

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is ...

at 0335 GMT on Sunday 5 February 1939 to fly his Mew Gull to

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

and back. He refuelled on the way out in

Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...

in Algeria, crossed the

Sahara , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...

to land in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

and then

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordinat ...

, landing at Wingfield Aerodrome Cape Town after flying 6,377 miles in 40 hours. He spent 28 hours in Cape Town, and retraced his route back to the UK, landing on 9 February after a flight of 39 hours, 36 minutes. He experienced hazardous landings at remote bush airstrips, battling through a tropical storm, and overcoming extreme exhaustion on the return leg. He completed the whole 12,754-mile round trip in 4 days, 10 hours and 16 minutes, breaking the record for each leg and setting a solo record for the round trip. By the end, he was so tired that he had to be lifted out of the cockpit. His account of his air racing career is given in his book ''Flight of the Mew Gull'' (1980) The Cape record stood for more than 70 years. On 11 May 2009, Charles Stobart, flying a homebuilt Osprey GP-4, set a new record ratified by the FAI for the reverse route, Cape Town – London – Cape Town. Subsequently, on 3 September 2010, Steve Noujaim, flying a homebuilt Vans RV-7 supported by Prepare2go, landed at Southend Airport in the UK after completing a round-trip to Cape Town in 3 days, 11 hours and 16 minutes. The new record bettered Henshaw's time by just over four hours. G-AEXF was restored to its Cape flight configuration in the 1980s. It remained in flying condition at

Breighton Breighton is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated on the east bank of the River Derwent, approximately north-west of Howden. It forms part of the civil parish of Bubwith. History Breighton as a village is very ...

in Yorkshire until Feb 2013 when it was purchased by The Shuttleworth Collection. The

Royal Aero Club The Royal Aero Club (RAeC) is the national co-ordinating body for air sport in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1901 as the Aero Club of Great Britain, being granted the title of the "Royal Aero Club" in 1910. History The Aero Club was foun ...

awarded Henshaw the

Britannia Trophy The Britannia Trophy is a British award presented by the Royal Aero Club for aviators accomplishing the most meritorious performance in aviation during the previous year. In 1911 Horatio Barber, who was a founder member of the Royal Aero Club, w ...

for his record flight. Winston Churchill during the Second World War H14264

Second World War

Henshaw considered enlisting in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

at the start of the Second World War, but he instead became a test pilot for

. He subsequently took the rank of sergeant pilot to fly a fully armed Spitfire to defend the factory, if needed, although he was never called upon to fly in combat. Henshaw started with Vickers Wellingtons at

Weybridge Weybridge () is a town in the Borough of Elmbridge in Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. The settlement is recorded as ''Waigebrugge'' and ''Weibrugge'' in the 7th century and the name derives from a crossing point of the ...

. He did not enjoy the work, and was on the point of leaving when

Jeffrey Quill Jeffrey Kindersley Quill, (1 February 1913 – 20 February 1996) was a British test pilot who served on secondment with the Royal Air Force and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War. He was also the second man to fly the Sup ...

invited him to test

Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Gri ...

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In June 1940 Henshaw moved to the

Castle Bromwich Castle Bromwich () is a large suburban village situated within the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English county of the West Midlands. It is bordered by the rest of the borough to the south east; also Sutton Coldfield to the east and ...

factory in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

, which had been taken over by Vickers after poor production results by the Nuffield group. He was soon appointed to the post of Chief Test Pilot, leading a team of 25 others. The factory built over half of the total output of Spitfires ever made, and 350 Lancaster

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range ( takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larg ...

s; Henshaw tested both types of aircraft. Production/acceptance test flying was essential, ensuring that faults were detected before aircraft were delivered to the front line, but it was potentially dangerous: two of his team were killed testing new aircraft. Henshaw survived many forced landings and a catastrophic crash in Wednesfield near Wolverhampton on 18 July 1942 which destroyed his aircraft.Fountain. Nigel
"Obituary: Alex Henshaw."
''The Guardian'', 1 March 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2012. It is estimated that Henshaw flew 10% of all Spitfires and Seafires, testing up to 20 aircraft a day in often foggy conditions. He would also demonstrate the Spitfire to visiting dignitaries, such as

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

, and once flew the length of Broad Street in Birmingham at low level. He is the only pilot known to have performed a

barrel roll A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described as a " ...

in a Lancaster bomber, a feat that was considered by some to be reckless or impossible due to the aircraft's size and relatively modest performance. He flew this manoeuvre on several occasions with other members of his flight test team on board, including Peter Ayerst and Czech pilot Vaclav 'Venda' Jicha. (Venda was a pre-war aerobatic pilot, fighter ace, Battle of Britain pilot and previous member of No. 124 ("Baroda") Squadron RAF.) Henshaw was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in recognition of his wartime service.

Postwar

After the war Henshaw became a director of

Miles Aircraft Miles was the name used between 1943 and 1947 to market the aircraft of British engineer Frederick George Miles, who, with his wife – aviator and draughtswoman Maxine "Blossom" Miles (née Forbes-Robertson) – and his brother George Herber ...

in South Africa, a job which entailed visiting potential customers in the region and making demonstration flights. But the company folded and he returned to England in 1948. Although still only in his mid-30s, he never again flew as

pilot in command The pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft is the person aboard the aircraft who is ultimately responsible for its operation and safety during flight. This would be the captain in a typical two- or three- pilot aircrew, or "pilot" if there is o ...

of an aircraft. Instead he took charge of his family's farming and holiday business interests in Lincolnshire. He was awarded the

Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct The Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct, formerly the King's Commendation for Brave Conduct, acknowledged brave acts by both civilians and members of the armed services in both war and peace, for gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. Est ...

for his rescue work in the 1953 floods. Following his retirement, Henshaw wrote a book recounting his wartime experiences at the

Aeroplane Factory (CBAF), ''Sigh for a Merlin'' (1979),Sigh for a Merlin : testing the Spitfire
''www.worldcat.org''. Retrieved 22 September 2019 the title referring to the Rolls-Royce Merlin

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...

of the same

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A persona ...

which powered most Spitfires and Lancasters. This book was followed in 1980 by ''Flight of the Mew Gull'', an account of the author's pre-war air racing and record-setting adventures. The

Air League The Air League is an aviation and aerospace non-profit organisation based in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's largest provider of aviation and aerospace scholarships and bursaries. The Air League aims to inspire, enable, and support the next ...

awarded Henshaw the Jeffrey Quill Medal in 1997. In 2003, he became a Companion of the

in 2002 and was elected an Honorary Fellow of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, ...

. In 2005, Henshaw donated his papers and mementoes to the

RAF Museum The Royal Air Force Museum is a museum dedicated to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom. The museum is a non-departmental public body of the Ministry of Defence and is a registered charity. The museum is split into two separate sites: * Ro ...

, funding a curator to catalogue his collection. In his later years he was invited to make several flights in a two-seater Spitfire, occasionally handling the controls. The last of these came on 5 March 2006 when, at the age of 93, he took part in a flypast at

Southampton Airport Southampton Airport is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The airport is located north-north-east of central Southampton. The southern tip of the runway lies within the Sou ...

to mark the 70th anniversary of the first flight of the prototype. Henshaw wrote a third book, ''Wings across the Great Divide'' which was published in 2004. This final part of his trilogy details his experiences flying in Africa in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. In 1940, Henshaw married Barbara, the widow of French race and test pilot Guy de Chateaubrun. Barbara Henshaw died in 1996. Alex Henshaw died at home in Newmarket on 24 February 2007. He was survived by their only child, Alexander Henshaw Jr. An hour-long film biography of Henshaw entitled ''The Extraordinary Mr Spitfire'' was broadcast for the first time on

The History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

UK in September 2007.

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* Green, Peter and Ken Ellis. "Alex Henshaw." ''Flypast'', No. 310, May 2007. * Henshaw, Alex. ''Flight of the Mew Gull''. London: John Murray Publishers Ltd., 1980. . * Henshaw, Alex. ''Sigh for a Merlin: Testing the Spitfire''. London: Crecy Publishing, 1999 (2nd Revised edition). . * Riding, Richard. "A Truly Remarkable Aviator." ''Aeroplane Monthly'', Vol. 35, No. 5, May 2007.

External links

Obituary
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 28 February 2007
Obituary
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'', 1 March 2007
Obituary
''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', 7 March 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Henshaw, Alex 1912 births 2007 deaths People from Peterborough People educated at King Edward VI School, Stratford-upon-Avon English test pilots English aviators Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society Recipients of the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct Members of the Order of the British Empire Britannia Trophy winners People educated at Lincoln Grammar School British aviation record holders