Philip_Lucas

Philip Lucas

Philip Lucas GM (1902–1981) was an English aviator and test pilot who was awarded the George Medal for his courage and skill landing a damaged Hawker Typhoon prototype.[1]

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Philip Gadesden Lucas was born on 3 September 1902 at Bexleyheath, Kent and was educated at Epsom College before starting an apprenticeship with Vickers.[1] He joined the Royal Air Force in 1926 and by 1931 had joined Hawker Aircraft as a test pilot.[1] In 1939 he became Hawker's Chief Experimental Test Pilot operating from Brooklands in Surrey and Langley in Buckinghamshire.[1] He flew the Hawker Hurricane, Hawker Typhoon and Hawker Tempest straight from the production line and for development flying.[1]

In 1941 Lucas was flying a Hawker Typhoon prototype that he managed to land safely after it suffered a structural failure during flight. For his courage and skill he was awarded the George Medal:

Test Pilot Lucas displayed great courage and presence of mind during a test flight and, by his skill and coolness, saved an aircraft from destruction.

London Gazette[2]

Lucas retired from test flying in 1946 and became general manager of Hawker Aircraft, which by the time he retired in 1967 had become Hawker Siddeley Aviation.[1] He died in Crawley, West Sussex on 18 December 1981, aged 79.


References

  1. Mr Philip Lucas." Times [London, England] 5 January 1982: 10. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 18 March 2012.
  2. "No. 35156". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 May 1941. p. 2643.

Further reading


Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Philip_Lucas, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.