Bill Humble
Encyclopedia
William Humble MBE (14 April 1911 – 1 March 1992) was a well-known pre-Second World War aviator
, known as an air racer and for his aerobatic displays, he was also an officer in the Royal Air Force
Special Reserve, and the Auxiliary Air Force. Although he qualified as a mining engineer the lure of flying proved too strong, and he did not enter the family mining company. During the war he became an important test pilot
for aircraft manufacturer Hawker Siddeley. Having tested some of the early jet aircraft, he retired from test flying in 1948, becoming a sales executive for Hawker. He was the grandfather of British television presenter, Kate Humble
.
, and also associated with the Staveley Coal and Iron Company
. Humble was educated at Repton School
and the University of Cambridge
, following his father in qualifying as a mining engineer in 1930. He learnt to fly in the Auxiliary Air Force in 1929 (while still at university), and on 27 July 1930 he was commissioned as a pilot officer
on probation in the Special Reserve of the Royal Air Force
, his rank was confirmed on 25 October 1931, and he was promoted flying officer
on 27 January 1932. He was a founder member of No. 504 (City of Nottingham) Squadron
, and during this period received flying instruction from Arthur Marshall. He transferred to the Reserve of Air Force Officers, Class A on 16 May 1932. In 1935 he entered the King's Cup Air Race, flying a Miles Hawk
, he would enter again on several subsequent occasions. On 24 April 1936 he transferred to the Auxiliary Air Force, becoming a founder pilot of No. 609 (West Riding) (Bomber) Squadron
, he returned to the Reserve of Officers on 31 August 1937. He married for the first time in 1936, but divorced just a few years later.
as they came off the production line at the rate of seven a day. Having proven his ability, he was soon assigned to help test and develop new aircraft types, initially the Hawker Typhoon
, and then later types derived from it, the Hawker Tempest
, Hawker Fury and Sea Fury
. The Typhoon became particularly important as a "tank-buster" during the Normandy Campaign
, and the Tempest in the fight against the V-1 flying bomb
.
Development of the Fury was a particularly difficult experience. The aircraft could approach the sound barrier
in a dive, causing unexpected handling problems; the Bristol Centaurus
engine was also still relatively new and experienced many problems, on more than one occasion it was only Humble's skill as a pilot which prevented a crash. Bulman had retired towards the end of the war, Lucas then became Hawker's chief test pilot. In mid-1945, Lucas was promoted to the board of the company, and in early January 1946, Humble was appointed the new chief test pilot. Hawker now moved into the jet age, with Humble making the first test flight of the Hawker P.1040 from Boscombe Down on 2 September 1947. This ultimately entered service as the Hawker Sea Hawk
.
he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1949.
He returned the United Kingdom permanently in the late 1980s when his health began to deteriorate. He died on 1 March 1992, survived by his second wife, Georgina, his son (by his first wife) and his daughter. In an episode of the BBC television programme, Who Do You Think You Are?, first broadcast on 29 July 2009, TV presenter Kate Humble
investigated her family history, starting by finding out more about her grandfather, Bill Humble. During a visit to the RAF Museum
at Hendon
, she was shown film footage of her grandfather flying, and spoke to one of his former colleagues, Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown.
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, known as an air racer and for his aerobatic displays, he was also an officer in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
Special Reserve, and the Auxiliary Air Force. Although he qualified as a mining engineer the lure of flying proved too strong, and he did not enter the family mining company. During the war he became an important test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
for aircraft manufacturer Hawker Siddeley. Having tested some of the early jet aircraft, he retired from test flying in 1948, becoming a sales executive for Hawker. He was the grandfather of British television presenter, Kate Humble
Kate Humble
Katherine 'Kate' Humble is an English television presenter, mainly for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes...
.
Early life
Humble was born on 14 April 1911, the son of William Humble senior, a mining engineer and mine owner in the South Yorkshire coalfieldSouth Yorkshire Coalfield
The South Yorkshire Coalfield is defined by a triangle lying between Barnsley, Doncaster and Sheffield, though a few mines within the coalfield lie outside this area. It is part of the larger Midland coal field which stretches from Nottingham in the south to Bradford and Leeds in the north...
, and also associated with the Staveley Coal and Iron Company
Staveley Coal and Iron Company
The Staveley Coal and Iron Company Limited was an industrial company based in Staveley, near Chesterfield, North Derbyshire. It exploited local ironstone quarried from land owned by the Duke of Devonshire on the outskirts of the village...
. Humble was educated at Repton School
Repton School
Repton School, founded in 1557, is a co-educational English independent school for both day and boarding pupils, in the British public school tradition, located in the village of Repton, in Derbyshire, in the Midlands area of England...
and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, following his father in qualifying as a mining engineer in 1930. He learnt to fly in the Auxiliary Air Force in 1929 (while still at university), and on 27 July 1930 he was commissioned as a pilot officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
on probation in the Special Reserve of the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, his rank was confirmed on 25 October 1931, and he was promoted flying officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
on 27 January 1932. He was a founder member of No. 504 (City of Nottingham) Squadron
No. 504 Squadron RAF
No. 504 Squadron was one of the Special Reserve Squadrons of the Auxiliary Air Force. It was integrated into the AAF proper in 1936. Based at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland, 504 Squadron used a variety of light bombers before being re-tasked to fighters with the Hawker Hurricane in 1939. It subsequently...
, and during this period received flying instruction from Arthur Marshall. He transferred to the Reserve of Air Force Officers, Class A on 16 May 1932. In 1935 he entered the King's Cup Air Race, flying a Miles Hawk
Miles Hawk
-See also:-Bibliography:* Amos, Peter. and Brown, Don Lambert. Miles Aircraft Since 1925, Volume 1. London: Putnam Aeronautical, 2000. ISBN 0-85177-787-0....
, he would enter again on several subsequent occasions. On 24 April 1936 he transferred to the Auxiliary Air Force, becoming a founder pilot of No. 609 (West Riding) (Bomber) Squadron
No. 609 Squadron RAF
No. 609 Squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, originally formed as a bomber squadron and in World War II active as fighter squadron, nowadays provides personnel to augment and support the operations of the Royal Air Force. The squadron is no longer a flying Squadron, but instead has the role...
, he returned to the Reserve of Officers on 31 August 1937. He married for the first time in 1936, but divorced just a few years later.
Test pilot
Following the outbreak of the Second World War Humble was invited to join Hawker Siddeley's team of test pilots, taking up the role on 10 October 1940. The testing team was led by George Bulman and Philip Lucas. Humble was initially involved in testing HurricanesHawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
as they came off the production line at the rate of seven a day. Having proven his ability, he was soon assigned to help test and develop new aircraft types, initially the Hawker Typhoon
Hawker Typhoon
The Hawker Typhoon was a British single-seat fighter-bomber, produced by Hawker Aircraft. While the Typhoon was designed to be a medium-high altitude interceptor, and a direct replacement for the Hawker Hurricane, several design problems were encountered, and the Typhoon never completely satisfied...
, and then later types derived from it, the Hawker Tempest
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
, Hawker Fury and Sea Fury
Hawker Sea Fury
The Hawker Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft developed for the Royal Navy by Hawker during the Second World War. The last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, it was also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built.-Origins:The Hawker Fury was an...
. The Typhoon became particularly important as a "tank-buster" during the Normandy Campaign
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, and the Tempest in the fight against the V-1 flying bomb
V-1 flying bomb
The V-1 flying bomb, also known as the Buzz Bomb or Doodlebug, was an early pulse-jet-powered predecessor of the cruise missile....
.
Development of the Fury was a particularly difficult experience. The aircraft could approach the sound barrier
Sound barrier
The sound barrier, in aerodynamics, is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. The term, which occasionally has other meanings, came into use during World War II, when a number of aircraft started to encounter the effects of compressibility, a collection of several...
in a dive, causing unexpected handling problems; the Bristol Centaurus
Bristol Centaurus
|-See also:-Bibliography:*Bridgman, L, Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II. Crescent. ISBN 0-517-67964-7*Gunston, Bill. Development of Piston Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 2006. ISBN 0-7509-4478-1...
engine was also still relatively new and experienced many problems, on more than one occasion it was only Humble's skill as a pilot which prevented a crash. Bulman had retired towards the end of the war, Lucas then became Hawker's chief test pilot. In mid-1945, Lucas was promoted to the board of the company, and in early January 1946, Humble was appointed the new chief test pilot. Hawker now moved into the jet age, with Humble making the first test flight of the Hawker P.1040 from Boscombe Down on 2 September 1947. This ultimately entered service as the Hawker Sea Hawk
Hawker Sea Hawk
The Hawker Sea Hawk was a British single-seat jet fighter of the Fleet Air Arm , the air branch of the Royal Navy , built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its origins stemmed from earlier Hawker piston-engined fighters, the Sea Hawk became the...
.
Later life and legacy
Humble retired from testing in 1948, remaining with Hawker as a sales executive. He continued to give demonstration flights, and his skill as a display pilot is credited with helping to win Hawker sales. His main sales territory was the Middle East, and he spent much time in Egypt, Lebanon and Cyprus. According to his obituary in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
he was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1949.
He returned the United Kingdom permanently in the late 1980s when his health began to deteriorate. He died on 1 March 1992, survived by his second wife, Georgina, his son (by his first wife) and his daughter. In an episode of the BBC television programme, Who Do You Think You Are?, first broadcast on 29 July 2009, TV presenter Kate Humble
Kate Humble
Katherine 'Kate' Humble is an English television presenter, mainly for the BBC, specialising in wildlife and science programmes...
investigated her family history, starting by finding out more about her grandfather, Bill Humble. During a visit to the RAF Museum
RAF Museum
The Royal Air Force Museum London, commonly known as the RAF Museum, is a museum located on the former Hendon Aerodrome, dedicated to the history of aviation and the British Royal Air Force. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and a registered charity...
at Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
, she was shown film footage of her grandfather flying, and spoke to one of his former colleagues, Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown.