To me it was the most exciting thing on the horizon, a totally new experience. I remember watching the ground crew very carefully before take-off, wondering if they thought they were waving goodbye to me forever or whether they thought this thing was going to return. The noise it made was absolutely thunderous and it was like being in charge of a runaway train; everything changed so rapidly and I really had to have my wits about me. [31] Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown, second right, with other pilots at Farnborough, Hampshire. Photograph: BBC/Eric Brown Fluent in German, Brown helped interview many Germans after the Second World War, including Wernher von Braun and Hermann Göring, [35] Willy Messerschmitt, Ernst Heinkel [36] and Kurt Tank. However, he described the interviews as being minimal, due to the need to begin the Nuremberg trials, and limited to matters related to aviation. [4]

Subsequently, Brown and Martindale, along with several other members of the Aerodynamics Flight and assisted by a co-operative German pilot, later ferried twelve Ar 234s across the North Sea and on to Farnborough. The venture was not without risk, as before their capture, the Germans had destroyed all the engine log books for the aircraft, leaving Brown and his colleagues no idea of the expected engine hours remaining to the machines. Because of the scarcity of the special high-temperature alloys for use in their construction, the Junkers Jumo 004 engines had a life of only 25 hours – it was thus not known whether the engines were brand new or just about to expire. [27] In February 1945, Brown learned that the Aerodynamics Flight had been allocated three Sikorsky R-4B Hoverfly/Gadfly helicopters. He had never seen one of these tail-rotor machines, so a trip to Farnborough was arranged and Brown had a short flight as a passenger in one. A few days later, Brown and Martindale were sent to RAF Speke to collect two new R-4Bs. In his book Wings on My Sleeve, Brown records his admiration of a number of colleagues who deserve recognition:- In November 2014, he was the guest for the 3,000th edition of BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs. During the programme, the 95-year-old said that he still enjoyed driving and had just bought himself a new sports car. His musical choices included " At Last" by the Glenn Miller Orchestra and " Amazing Grace" by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. His favourite was " Stardust" by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra. [72] a b "Guild News" (PDF). Gapan.org. June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2012 . Retrieved 14 November 2014.Not only did Brown not have the benefit of high-tech simulators, but flew the aircraft with the benefit of a slide rule rather than the array of modern computers available today. He was also one of the first test pilots to attach notes to his leg, helping remind him which one he was flying. a b "Eric Brown references, articles and publications". Theaviationindex.com. Archived from the original on 9 June 2011 . Retrieved 14 November 2014. Brown read modern languages at Edinburgh, specialising in German, joined the university air squadron, and spent a year as an exchange teacher in France and in Germany, where he renewed his aquaintanceship with Udet and Reitsch. Meeting the latter after the war, Brown found that her fanatical loyalty to Hitler “made my blood run cold”.

Audacity was torpedoed and sunk on 21 December 1941 by the German submarine U-751, commanded by Gerhard Bigalk. [13] The first rescue ship left because of warnings of a nearby U-boat, and Brown was left in the sea overnight with a dwindling band of survivors, until he was rescued the next day. [4] He was the one of two of the 24 to survive hypothermia; the rest succumbed to the cold. [14] Of the complement of 480, 407 survived, [ citation needed]On 24 February 2015, Brown delivered the University of Edinburgh Mountbatten Lecture, entitled "Britain's Defence in the Near Future". [73] Speaking at the Playfair Library, he warned: "They [the Russians] are playing a very dangerous game of chess. ... They are playing it to the hilt. It may develop into that. It is certainly showing the same signs as what caused the Cold War." [74] Brown flight-tested all three of the German jet designs to see front-line action in the war: the Messerschmitt Me 262A Schwalbe and the Arado Ar 234B Blitz, each type powered by twin Junkers Jumo 004 engines, and the single-engined BMW 003-powered Heinkel He 162A Spatz turbojet combat aircraft. [32] He would later fly the He 162A at the Farnborough Air Show, and described it as having the best controls of any aircraft he had ever flown but as being difficult to handle. [33] One of his colleagues at Farnborough died trying the aircraft type in an evaluation. [34] BBC News – Desert Island Discs to feature war veteran on 3,000th show". BBC News. 7 November 2014 . Retrieved 14 November 2014. Throughout his career, Brown’s bravery, ingenuity and indomitable spirit was matched only by his fierce commitment to keep the Navy’s historic aircraft flying as an inspiration to future generations.

a b c d "Britain's Greatest Pilot: The Extraordinary Story of Captain Winkle Brown". Bbc.co.uk . Retrieved 1 June 2014. Harrison, William A. (1998). "Fairey Firefly Variants". Wings of Fame. Westport, Connecticut: AIRTime Publishing. 12: 113. ISBN 1-880588-23-4. Greatest pilot" war hero Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown dies aged 97, crawleynews.co.uk; accessed 24 February 2016. CAPT ERIC BROWN 21 January 1919 – 21 February 2016". Aeroplane. No.April 2016. Stamford: Key Publishing. pp.28–32. ISSN 0143-7240.

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World's greatest' aviator Eric Winkle Brown dies at 97". Edinburgh News. 21 February 2016 . Retrieved 21 February 2016. It was while on this mission that Brown’s War took quite a different turn. Fluent in German he was asked to accompany a medical unit to help liberate Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. The experience was to affect him deeply for the rest of his life including interrogating Hermann Göering, founder of the Gestapo and other senior members of the Nazi regime. During the war, Brown’s fluency in German and expertise on aircraft made him valuable in interviewing many important figures, including captured German pilots – gathering crucial information about their aircraft, tactics and training. As a fellow airman, he knew the right questions to ask, consequently gaining invaluable insights. Brown, Eric (18 September 2008). Wings on My Sleeve: The World'S Greatest Test Pilot Tells His Story. Orion Publishing Group. pp.204–5. ISBN 978-0-297-85690-0– via Google Books.