F. P. Raynham
Encyclopedia
Frederick Phillips Raynham (1893–1954) was a British
pilot
from the early days of aviation, gaining his aviator's certificate in 1911. He test-flew Avro
, Martinsyde
, Sopwith and Hawker
aircraft before and after first World War
. He later formed the Aircraft Survey Co. and the Indian Air Survey and Transport Co., flying in India
and Burma.
. He was born on 15 July 1893. His father died in 1895 and the family moved first to Ipswich
, then to Ramsgate
and finally, in about 1899, to Banbury
. Raynham went to school there, apart from a short time away at Leamington Spa
and he was at Ark House School, Banbury until at least 1906. Early in 1909 he was an office worker at the Harper Adams Agricultural College, Newport, Shropshire
but in October got his first job in aviation, with J.V. Neale at Brooklands
. After Neale's departure in February 1911, Raynham joined A.V. Roe
, also at Brooklands.
amongst others, he flew alongside early British flyers like Tommy Sopwith, Harry Hawker
, Gordon Bell
and Ronald Kemp.
He was the first man successfully to recover from a spin, entered whilst flying in cloud in a Avro biplane in 1911, though he did not know how he had done it.
On 24 October 1912, in pursuit of the British Empire Michelin Trophy No.1 for the longest flight by a British pilot in an all-British aircraft, he flew for 7.5 hr in an Avro G. He seemed to have won the £500 prize, only for Harry Hawker to set a longer time just an hour later. This was the first of a series of competitive near misses.
Raynham did much of the test and development flying on the Avro 504
. He flew it for the first time on 18 September 1913 then, two days later gained fourth place in the annual Aerial Derby at Hendon
, averaging 66.5 mph (107 kmh). On 29 September Avro responded to Blackburn Aircraft's challenge to a race to and from Leeds
via York
and other northern towns, pitting the 504 prototype against the new Blackburn Type I. This race, which became known as the Wars of the Roses
, was won by the Yorkist Blackburn, after the Lancastrian Avro had to put down in bad weather. In a newsworthy flight on 14 February 1914, Raynham flew the prototype 504 to a height of 15,000 ft (4,600 m) over Brooklands then made a deliberately unpowered 20 mile (32 km) glide to Hendon. A few days later he set an official UK passenger carrying altitude record of 14,420 ft (4,395 m) in the 504.
During World War I he was a Martinsyde test pilot. Immediately afterwards he was one of several British aviators competing for the Daily Mail transatlantic non-stop crossing prize
but his Martinsyde Raymor biplane twice crashed, overladen, on take off from St John's, Newfoundland in 1919. Uninjured and back in Europe, Raynham competed in the 1920 Gordon Bennett
trophy at Etampes
in a Martinsyde Semiquaver, though engine failure prevented a finish. In the Kings Cup Race of 1922, flying a Martinsyde F6, he came a close second to F. L. Barnard.
He retained an association with George Handasyde after the closure of the Martinsyde company and flew the longest duration British glider flight (113 minutes) at the British Glider Competition held at Itford Hill in 1922 in a Handasyde glider
designed for him by Handasyde and Sydney Camm, the latter a draughtsman at Handasyde's at the time. His position looked strong; but events unfolded in an echo of those at the British Empire Michelin Trophy, his time bettered almost immediately by Alexis Moneyrol who took the £1,000 first prize. Raynham did receive both the Ogilvie prize of £50 and the 1922 Brittannia Trophy for his flight. He competed both in the first Lympne light aircraft trials
in 1923 in the Handasyde Monoplane and in the second, the following year, in a Hawker Cygnet
. In the Cygnet, Raynham looked once more well placed to win, needing only to complete the course, but engine failure intervened. He had joined Hawker's as their test pilot in 1923.
Sir Sydney Camm later recalled Raynham as "unlucky", referring to the number of times he had just failed to win the main prizes. On the other hand, he walked away largely unscathed from several potentially fatal crashes, the 1911 spin, loss of a tail unit from a Martinsyde in 1916, the two take-off failures of the Raymor in 1919 and the loss of the Hawker Horsley
. The saving of the seriously out-of-balance Avro Pike
prototype in 1916, which involved Roy Dobson crawling along the top of the fuselage to the rear gunner's position, speaks both to Robson's courage and Raynham's flying skills. His good luck and his airmanship were also severely tested whilst flying the little Handfley Page Ship's Fighter in 1924. He lost elevator control at 2,000 ft (610 m): feeling around the bottom of the control column, he found that the linkage had become disconnected but that he could, leaning down, just grasp the end of the control rod. With his head down in the cockpit, his other hand on the magneto switch for engine control and the occasional glance outside, he managed to land the aircraft without much damage.
He later formed the Aircraft Survey Co. and the Indian Air Survey and Transport Co. with Ronald Kemp. He joined the Aircraft Survey board of directors in November 1928 and was managing director of the Indian concern. As a result he flew widely in India
and the far east; he and his wife spent most of the period 1925-1938 abroad. He received an OBE in 1935.
During the Second World War
he worked at the Air Ministry
as a member of the Air Accident Board from 1940 to 1943.
. The couple had no children.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pilot
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...
from the early days of aviation, gaining his aviator's certificate in 1911. He test-flew Avro
Avro
Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, with numerous landmark designs such as the Avro 504 trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the delta wing Avro Vulcan, a stalwart of the Cold War.-Early history:One of the world's...
, Martinsyde
Martinsyde
Martinsyde was a British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer between 1908 and 1922, when they were forced into liquidation by a factory fire.-History:...
, Sopwith and Hawker
Hawker
Hawker may refer to:Places*Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra*Hawker, South Australia, in the Flinders Ranges*Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South AustraliaPeople...
aircraft before and after first World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He later formed the Aircraft Survey Co. and the Indian Air Survey and Transport Co., flying in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Burma.
Early life
"Freddie" Raynham was the second child of James and Minnie Raynham, née Phillips, farmers in SuffolkSuffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. He was born on 15 July 1893. His father died in 1895 and the family moved first to Ipswich
Ipswich
Ipswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, then to Ramsgate
Ramsgate
Ramsgate is a seaside town in the district of Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century and is a member of the ancient confederation of Cinque Ports. It has a population of around 40,000. Ramsgate's main attraction is its coastline and its main...
and finally, in about 1899, to Banbury
Banbury
Banbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
. Raynham went to school there, apart from a short time away at Leamington Spa
Leamington Spa
Royal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
and he was at Ark House School, Banbury until at least 1906. Early in 1909 he was an office worker at the Harper Adams Agricultural College, Newport, Shropshire
Newport, Shropshire
Newport is a market town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. It lies some north of Telford and some west of Stafford sitting on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border...
but in October got his first job in aviation, with J.V. Neale at Brooklands
Brooklands
Brooklands was a motor racing circuit and aerodrome built near Weybridge in Surrey, England. It opened in 1907, and was the world's first purpose-built motorsport venue, as well as one of Britain's first airfields...
. After Neale's departure in February 1911, Raynham joined A.V. Roe
A.V. Roe
A.V. Roe may refer to:*Alliott Verdon Roe, British aircraft pioneer and manufacturer*A.V. Roe and Company - generally known as Avro - British aircraft manufacturer founded by Alliott Verdon Roe...
, also at Brooklands.
Flying career
Raynham began flying young; he was only 17 when he gained his Aviator's Certificate (no.85) in 1911 on a Roe biplane at Brooklands. Even before that he had experimented with the Neale VI monoplane. As well as piloting for A.V. Roe and MartinsydeMartinsyde
Martinsyde was a British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer between 1908 and 1922, when they were forced into liquidation by a factory fire.-History:...
amongst others, he flew alongside early British flyers like Tommy Sopwith, Harry Hawker
Harry Hawker
Harry George Hawker MBE, AFC, was an Australian aviation pioneer and co-founder of Hawker Aircraft, the firm that would later be responsible for a long series of successful military aircraft.-Early life:...
, Gordon Bell
Gordon Bell
C. Gordon Bell is an American computer engineer and manager. An early employee of Digital Equipment Corporation 1960–1966, Bell designed several of their PDP machines and later became Vice President of Engineering 1972-1983, overseeing the development of the VAX...
and Ronald Kemp.
He was the first man successfully to recover from a spin, entered whilst flying in cloud in a Avro biplane in 1911, though he did not know how he had done it.
On 24 October 1912, in pursuit of the British Empire Michelin Trophy No.1 for the longest flight by a British pilot in an all-British aircraft, he flew for 7.5 hr in an Avro G. He seemed to have won the £500 prize, only for Harry Hawker to set a longer time just an hour later. This was the first of a series of competitive near misses.
Raynham did much of the test and development flying on the Avro 504
Avro 504
The Avro 504 was a World War I biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the War totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind that served in World War I, in any military capacity, during...
. He flew it for the first time on 18 September 1913 then, two days later gained fourth place in the annual Aerial Derby 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...
, averaging 66.5 mph (107 kmh). On 29 September Avro responded to Blackburn Aircraft's challenge to a race to and from Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
via York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
and other northern towns, pitting the 504 prototype against the new Blackburn Type I. This race, which became known as the Wars of the Roses
Wars of the Roses
The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars for the throne of England fought between supporters of two rival branches of the royal House of Plantagenet: the houses of Lancaster and York...
, was won by the Yorkist Blackburn, after the Lancastrian Avro had to put down in bad weather. In a newsworthy flight on 14 February 1914, Raynham flew the prototype 504 to a height of 15,000 ft (4,600 m) over Brooklands then made a deliberately unpowered 20 mile (32 km) glide to Hendon. A few days later he set an official UK passenger carrying altitude record of 14,420 ft (4,395 m) in the 504.
During World War I he was a Martinsyde test pilot. Immediately afterwards he was one of several British aviators competing for the Daily Mail transatlantic non-stop crossing prize
Daily Mail aviation prizes
Between 1907 and 1925 the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in...
but his Martinsyde Raymor biplane twice crashed, overladen, on take off from St John's, Newfoundland in 1919. Uninjured and back in Europe, Raynham competed in the 1920 Gordon Bennett
Gordon Bennett
-People:*Gordon Bennett , Australian artist*Gordon Bennett , US Roman Catholic priest*Gordon Bennett , UK football coach*Gordon Bennett , Australian soldier...
trophy at Etampes
Étampes
Étampes is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris . Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department....
in a Martinsyde Semiquaver, though engine failure prevented a finish. In the Kings Cup Race of 1922, flying a Martinsyde F6, he came a close second to F. L. Barnard.
He retained an association with George Handasyde after the closure of the Martinsyde company and flew the longest duration British glider flight (113 minutes) at the British Glider Competition held at Itford Hill in 1922 in a Handasyde glider
Handasyde glider
-External links:...
designed for him by Handasyde and Sydney Camm, the latter a draughtsman at Handasyde's at the time. His position looked strong; but events unfolded in an echo of those at the British Empire Michelin Trophy, his time bettered almost immediately by Alexis Moneyrol who took the £1,000 first prize. Raynham did receive both the Ogilvie prize of £50 and the 1922 Brittannia Trophy for his flight. He competed both in the first Lympne light aircraft trials
Lympne light aircraft trials
The Lympne Light Aircraft Trials were held to encourage the development of practical light aircraft for private ownership, with a strong but not exclusive emphasis on fuel economy. They were held in 1923, 1924 and 1926. Each year saw different restrictions on engine size, framed initially in terms...
in 1923 in the Handasyde Monoplane and in the second, the following year, in a Hawker Cygnet
Hawker Cygnet
-See also:-Bibliography:*Mason, Francis K. Hawker Aircraft since 1920. London:Putnam, 1991.ISBN 0 85177 839 9.-External links:*...
. In the Cygnet, Raynham looked once more well placed to win, needing only to complete the course, but engine failure intervened. He had joined Hawker's as their test pilot in 1923.
Sir Sydney Camm later recalled Raynham as "unlucky", referring to the number of times he had just failed to win the main prizes. On the other hand, he walked away largely unscathed from several potentially fatal crashes, the 1911 spin, loss of a tail unit from a Martinsyde in 1916, the two take-off failures of the Raymor in 1919 and the loss of the Hawker Horsley
Hawker Horsley
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Jarrett, Philip. "By Day and By Night: Hawker Horsley part 1". Aeroplane Monthly, Volume 21 No 10, Issue 246, October 1993. pp. 32–40....
. The saving of the seriously out-of-balance Avro Pike
Avro Pike
|-References:NotesClimb to 5,000 ft in 9 min 30 sec.CitationsBibliography* Jackson, A.J. Avro Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1990. ISBN 0-85177-834-8....
prototype in 1916, which involved Roy Dobson crawling along the top of the fuselage to the rear gunner's position, speaks both to Robson's courage and Raynham's flying skills. His good luck and his airmanship were also severely tested whilst flying the little Handfley Page Ship's Fighter in 1924. He lost elevator control at 2,000 ft (610 m): feeling around the bottom of the control column, he found that the linkage had become disconnected but that he could, leaning down, just grasp the end of the control rod. With his head down in the cockpit, his other hand on the magneto switch for engine control and the occasional glance outside, he managed to land the aircraft without much damage.
He later formed the Aircraft Survey Co. and the Indian Air Survey and Transport Co. with Ronald Kemp. He joined the Aircraft Survey board of directors in November 1928 and was managing director of the Indian concern. As a result he flew widely in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and the far east; he and his wife spent most of the period 1925-1938 abroad. He received an OBE in 1935.
During the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he worked at the Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
as a member of the Air Accident Board from 1940 to 1943.
Marriage
In 1923 Raynham married Margery "Dodie" McPherson in WokingWoking
Woking is a large town and civil parish that shares its name with the surrounding local government district, located in the west of Surrey, UK. It is part of the Greater London Urban Area and the London commuter belt, with frequent trains and a journey time of 24 minutes to Waterloo station....
. The couple had no children.