Squadron Leader John Stanley Booth (9 December 1919 – 5 June 1958) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

aviator, a pilot 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) and ...

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 opposin ...

, and, after the end of the conflict, became 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 Testing ...

. After spending almost ten years working for the

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a co ...

company, he was killed in 1958 while test flying the

SR.53 The Saunders-Roe SR.53 was a British prototype interceptor aircraft of mixed jet and rocket propulsion developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) by Saunders-Roe in the early 1950s. As envisaged, the SR.53 would have been used as an interceptor a ...

, an experimental

interceptor Interceptor may refer to: Vehicles * Interceptor aircraft (or simply "interceptor"), a type of point defense fighter aircraft designed specifically to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft * Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, a police car * ...

Early life

Born on 9 December 1919 near

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, Booth joined the

in 1938 on a short service commission and in October 1939 he was sent to France with 59 Squadron as part of the British Expeditionary Force. During the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...

, he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his gallantry. Wounded in May 1940, Booth was sent back to England for convalescence, and after recovering, was posted to Canada where he served a number of tours as a

flying instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

. In 1943 he returned to operations. For the next two years he flew night fighters and intruder operations with No. 100 (Bomber Support) Group, for which he was awarded a bar to his D.F.C.

Test Pilot

After his tours with Bomber Command, he was posted to "A" Squadron at

Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Def ...

in late 1944. In 1945, he was a student on the third course run at the

Empire Test Pilots' School The Empire Test Pilots' School (ETPS) is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type. T ...

. Following his demobilisation from the Royal Air Force in 1946 he joined

Power Jets Power Jets was a British company set up by Frank Whittle for the purpose of designing and manufacturing jet engines. The company was nationalised in 1944, and evolved into the National Gas Turbine Establishment. History Founded on 27 Januar ...

as a test pilot. He moved to

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

, initially at Rochester, but later Belfast. For the next two years he conducted most of the test flying on the

Sturgeon Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...

, carried out development of the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay to ...

, and flew the civil version of the

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

. In February 1949 Booth joined Saunders-Roe as deputy to their chief test pilot

Geoffrey Tyson Geoffrey Arthur Virley Tyson FRAeS OBE (4 February 1907 – 9 January 1987) was an RAF officer, barnstormer and test pilot. He is best known for his aerobatic skills and the test flying of the Saunders-Roe SR.A/1 and Princess flying boats. Ea ...

. In this role, he assisted with test flying of the Saunders-Roe SR.A/1, the world's first jet flying boat fighter, and the development flying of the

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

. In January 1956 Tyson retired and Booth was appointed the chief test pilot. In this role, Booth was responsible for the development flying of the

Saunders-Roe SR.53 The Saunders-Roe SR.53 was a British prototype interceptor aircraft of mixed jet and rocket propulsion developed for the Royal Air Force (RAF) by Saunders-Roe in the early 1950s. As envisaged, the SR.53 would have been used as an interceptor a ...

mixed power interceptor. He made the maiden flight of the first prototype (XD145) on 16 May 1957, demonstrated it at the Farnborough (S.B.A.C) air-show in September and made the first flight of the second prototype (XD151) on 6 December 1957. On the fifth of June, 1958, Booth was testing XD151. During take off its rocket engine failed and it overrun the runway at Boscombe Down. During the accident, the SR.53 hit a

landing light Landing lights are lights, mounted on aircraft, that illuminate the terrain and runway ahead during takeoff and landing, as well as being used as a collision avoidance measure against other aircraft and bird strikes. Overview Almost all moder ...

, rupturing its fuel tanks and burst into flames, Booth was killed in the fire. A few days following the accident, Booth was posthumously awarded the

Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air The Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, formerly the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, was a merit award for flying service awarded by the United Kingdom between 1942 and 1994. It was replaced by the Queen’ ...

. Booth was married with two children. Saunders Roe SR

Honours and awards

* 6 August 1940 – Pilot Officer John Stanley Booth (41658) is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. * 16 January 1945 – Acting Squadron Leader John Stanley Booth DFC (41658), R.A.F.O 239 Squadron is awarded a bar to his Distinguished Flying Cross. * 12 June 1958 – Squadron Leader John Stanley Booth DFC, Chief Test Pilot, Saunders-Roe Ltd is awarded a

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, John Stanley 1919 births 1958 deaths Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in England English test pilots English aviators People from Holmfirth Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1958