Alex Henshaw

Infobox Person
name =Alex Henshaw


image_size =150px
caption =Alex Henshaw holding the Winner's trophy after winning the 1938 King's Cup Race
birth_date =7 November 1912
birth_place =Peterborough, United Kingdom
death_date =24 February 2007
death_place =Newmarket, United Kingdom
occupation =Aviator Author Businessman
spouse =Barbara Henshaw
parents =
children =Alexander Henshaw Jr.

Alexander Adolphus Dumfries Henshaw MBE (7 November 1912 - 24 February 2007) was a British air racer in the 1930s and a test pilot for Vickers Armstrong in the Second World War.

Early life

Henshaw was born in Peterborough, the eldest son of a wealthy Lincolnshire 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 (grammar school). He was awarded a Royal Humane Society medal for saving a boy from the River Witham.

Henshaw took to motorcycles, and then learned to fly at the Skegness and East Lincolnshire Aero Club in 1932 [ Riding 2007, p. 48. Note: Henshaw received his private pilot's licence (no. 4572) on 6 June 1932. ] , funded by his father, who bought him a de Havilland Gypsy Moth. He made a name for himself in the 1930s in air racing, competing against legendary pilots like Geoffrey de Havilland. Aged only 20, he competed in the blue riband of air racing, The Kings Cup, in 1933, in his Gypsy Moth, winning the Siddeley Trophy. After flying in a Comper Swift, Leopard Moth and an Arrow Active, Henshaw moved on to a Percival Mew Gull. He won the inaugural London-to-Isle of Man air race in 1937, and won the Kings Cup in 1938 with the fastest ever time, flying at an average speed of 236.25 mph (a record which still stands).

Henshaw then turned his attention to long distance flying. After reconnaissance of the eastern and western routes in 1938, he set off from Gravesend at 0335 GMT on Sunday 5 February 1939 to fly his Mew Gull to Cape Town and back. He refueled on the way out in Oran in Algeria, crossed the Sahara to land in the Belgian Congo and then Angola, landing in 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 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 which still stands. By the end, he was so tired that he had to be lifted out of the cockpit.

His account of this epic feat is given in his book "Flight of the Mew Gull" (1980) in which Henshaw describes hazardous landings at remote bush airstrips, battling through a tropical storm, and overcoming extreme exhaustion on the return leg. The aircraft he used, "G-AEXF", was restored to its Cape flight configuration in the 1980s and remains in flying condition at Breighton in Yorkshire. [ [http://www.realaero.com The Real Aeroplane Company] ]

econd World War

Henshaw volunteered for service with the RAF during the Second World War, but instead became a test pilot for Vickers Armstrong. He started with Wellingtons and Walruses at Weybridge. He did not enjoy the work, and was on the point of leaving when Jeffrey Quill invited him to test Spitfires in Southampton.

In June 1940, Henshaw moved to the Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham, taken over by Vickers after poor production results by the Nuffield group. He was soon appointed the chief test pilot. The factory built over half of the total output of Spitfires ever made, and 350 Lancaster heavy bombers. Henshaw tested both, leading a team of 25 others. The production/acceptance test flying job was essential, to ensure that faults were detected before aircraft were delivered to the frontline, but was also dangerous: two of his team were killed testing new aircraft. Henshaw survived many forced landings and a catastrophic crash between two houses in Willenhall in July 1942 which destroyed the aircraft.

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, and once flying the length of Broad Street in Birmingham at low level. He was the only pilot known to perform a barrel roll in a Lancaster bomber, a feat that was considered reckless and impossible due to the aircraft's size and relatively low speed. This he did with co-pilot Peter Ayerst, fighter ace and previous member of No. 124 ("Baroda") Squadron RAF.

Henshaw was awarded the Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his wartime service.

Postwar

After the war Alex' Henshaw became a director of Miles Aircraft in South Africa, but came back to England in 1948 to join his family's farming and holiday business in Lincolnshire. He was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery for his rescue work in the 1953 floods.

After retiring from running his family business, Henshaw wrote a book recounting his wartime experiences at the Castle Bromwich Aeroplane Factory (CBAF), "Sigh For A Merlin" (1979), the title referring to the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine of the same name which powered the Spitfire. 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. A feature film version of "The Flight of The Mew Gull" is planned.

The Air League awarded Henshaw the Jeffrey Quill Medal in 1997. He became a Companion of the Air League in 2002 and an honorary fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2003. He gave his papers and mementos to the RAF Museum in 2005, paying for a curator to catalogue his collection. He famously, albeit briefly, took the controls once again in a rare two-seater Spitfire, flown on the 70th anniversary of the flight of the first prototype on 5 March 2006 at Southampton Airport in England.

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.

He married his wife, Barbara, in 1940. She was the widow of Guy, Count 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 Jr.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Green, Peter and Ellis, Ken. "Alex Henshaw." "Flypast No. 310, May 2007".
* Henshaw, Alex. "Flight of the Mew Gull". London: John Murray Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 0-71953-740-1.
* Henshaw, Alex. "Sigh for a Merlin: Testing the Spitfire". London: Crecy Publishing, 1999 (2nd Revised edition). ISBN 0-9475-5483-5.
* Riding, Richard. "A Truly Remarkable Aviator." Aeroplane Monthly, Vol. 35, No. 5, May 2007".

External links

* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=I0NOA3RLATHNZQFIQMGSFF4AVCBQWIV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/news/2007/02/28/db2801.xml Obituary, "The Daily Telegraph", 28 February 2007]
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2023547,00.html Obituary, "The Guardian", 1 March 2007]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1480049.ece Obituary, "The Times", 7 March 2007]

Persondata
NAME= Henshaw, Alex
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=British air racer in the 1930s and a test pilot for Vickers Armstrong in the Second World War. Aviator, Author, and Businessman.
DATE OF BIRTH=7 November 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH=Peterborough, United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH=24 February 2007
PLACE OF DEATH=Newmarket, United Kingdom