Ronald Thomas Shepherd OBE (1896 – 1 March 1955) was a British aviator and

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 ...

for

Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...

. He was the first person to fly an aircraft powered by the

Rolls-Royce Merlin The Rolls-Royce Merlin is a British liquid-cooled V-12 piston aero engine of 27-litres (1,650 cu in) capacity. Rolls-Royce designed the engine and first ran it in 1933 as a private venture. Initially known as the PV-12, it was later ...

aero-engine.

Early life

Shepherd was born in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, London in 1896 the son of Thomas and Agnes Shepherd, his father was a lithographic printer.

Aviator

At first he was employed by Vickers-Armstrongs in the manufacturer of guns but on the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he joined the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

. Shepherd joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

in 1916 where he flew with 102 Squadron and 37 Squadron. He left the RFC in 1918 but re-joined in 1921 where he served in England and Egypt until 1929.

Test pilot

After a few years as a civil flying instructor he joined

in 1931. In 1935 he was appointed chief test pilot. Shepherd was responsible for the first flight of many of the companies engines, including the Merlin, Kestrel and Griffon piston engines and the Nene and Avon jet engines. After a serious illness in 1951 he relinquished his chief test pilot role and became a flying consultant. Although no longer flying full-time and aged 58 he made the first free flight of the unusual

Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig The Rolls-Royce Thrust Measuring Rig (TMR), was a pioneering vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft developed by Rolls-Royce in the 1950s. It has the distinction of being "the first jet-lift aircraft to fly anywhere in the world". The ...

a pioneering vertical take-off and landing aircraft on 3 July 1953. He was appointed an

Officer 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 1946 for his work as a test pilot and in particularly the development of the Merlin. He died on 1 March 1955 at his home at

Nuthall Nuthall is a village and civil parish located in Nottinghamshire, England, neighbouring Kimberley, Watnall, Cinderhill and Basford. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 6,311. It is part of the borough of Broxtowe. Nu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Ronald Thomas 1896 births 1955 deaths English test pilots English aviators Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Kensington Royal Air Force officers Royal Flying Corps officers