John de Havilland (pilot)
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John de Havilland | |
|---|---|
 John de Havilland (left) checking the flight log book with two fitters beside a Mosquito after a test flight, 1943 | |
| Born | 17 October 1918 |
| Died | 23 August 1943 (aged 24) Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England |
| Occupation | Test pilot |
| Father | Geoffrey de Havilland |
John de Havilland (17 October 1918 – 23 August 1943) was a British test pilot.[1]
John and his brothers, Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. and Peter, were sons of Geoffrey de Havilland, the famous designer and manufacturer.[2] All three brothers were pilots and flew as test pilots for the de Havilland company. John had been a sergeant in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) prior to the Second World War. Due to the demands for pilots in the de Havilland company, he was released from service and joined his father's firm.[3]
During a test flight of a de Havilland Mosquito Mark VI, flying with flight test observer John H. F. Scrope, he collided in the vicinity of St Albans with another Mosquito Mark VI flown by pilot George Gibbins.[4] Both aircraft disintegrated in the air, killing all four occupants aboard. Godfrey J. Carter was flying as an observer in Gibbins's aircraft.[5]
His elder brother Geoffrey Jr also died in an aircraft accident three years later, whilst carrying out high-speed tests in the de Havilland DH 108 TG306 which broke up over the Thames Estuary, on 27 September 1946.
