Air Cdre Peter Thorne OBE, AFC**
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Air Cdre Peter Thorne OBE, AFC**
Air Cdre Peter Thorne sadly died recently after a long period of illness.
Peter saw wartime service as a Typhoon and Mustang pilot, before becoming a QFI and being posted to the advanced Flying Unit at Peterborough achieving A2 status.
After various posts at the CGS and attending the Pilot Attack Instructor course (and doing a second tour at the APS in Nicosia) he applied for test flying training and was accepted for the ETPS course at Farnborough in 1951.
After passing the ETPS course, he was posted to 'A' squadron testing new service aircraft. He will be forever associated with testing the Swift (he was the senior test pilot on the Swift programme) and he thoroughly evaluated the aircraft prior to standing up at the 1954 CFE and giving his views on the results of the testing programme.
Peter's tour was extended for a year, in which he flew the P1A and the F-100 Super Sabre (amongst other aircraft) on a visit to the US. He left this tour with an assessment of 'exceptional' as a test pilot.
He was posted to OR staff and was involved in the service releases of the Hunter 7, the Swift FR5 and F7 and the EE Lightning (and promoted to S/L). After a posting to The RAF Flying College at Manby, his next tour saw him posted as OC Flying wing at the APS RAF Sylt.
After this and a couple of staff tours, he was promoted to Group Captain and appointed CO RAF Farnborough and CO Experimental Flying RAE in 1965, during which he oversaw the SBAC shows.
He was appointed to the MOD, and then as Air Attache Iran and Afghanistan (70-73), and after attending the Royal Navy Senior Officers War Course, he was appointed Defence Attache (Moscow), prior to retiring from the RAF in 1978 as an Air Commodore. He was appointed OBE in 1961, and awarded the AFC in 1947, with bars in 1951 and 1956.
Peter was a consultant for Hunting and Lockheed Martin until finaly retiring in 1998. He spent many years as a volunteer at IWM Duxford, and was indeed the Chairman of the Duxford Associates (a volunteer group which used to provide guided tours and man the Information Office) for many years.
A fuller biography can be found in Nigel Walpole's fine tome 'Swift Justice'.
Peter saw wartime service as a Typhoon and Mustang pilot, before becoming a QFI and being posted to the advanced Flying Unit at Peterborough achieving A2 status.
After various posts at the CGS and attending the Pilot Attack Instructor course (and doing a second tour at the APS in Nicosia) he applied for test flying training and was accepted for the ETPS course at Farnborough in 1951.
After passing the ETPS course, he was posted to 'A' squadron testing new service aircraft. He will be forever associated with testing the Swift (he was the senior test pilot on the Swift programme) and he thoroughly evaluated the aircraft prior to standing up at the 1954 CFE and giving his views on the results of the testing programme.
Peter's tour was extended for a year, in which he flew the P1A and the F-100 Super Sabre (amongst other aircraft) on a visit to the US. He left this tour with an assessment of 'exceptional' as a test pilot.
He was posted to OR staff and was involved in the service releases of the Hunter 7, the Swift FR5 and F7 and the EE Lightning (and promoted to S/L). After a posting to The RAF Flying College at Manby, his next tour saw him posted as OC Flying wing at the APS RAF Sylt.
After this and a couple of staff tours, he was promoted to Group Captain and appointed CO RAF Farnborough and CO Experimental Flying RAE in 1965, during which he oversaw the SBAC shows.
He was appointed to the MOD, and then as Air Attache Iran and Afghanistan (70-73), and after attending the Royal Navy Senior Officers War Course, he was appointed Defence Attache (Moscow), prior to retiring from the RAF in 1978 as an Air Commodore. He was appointed OBE in 1961, and awarded the AFC in 1947, with bars in 1951 and 1956.
Peter was a consultant for Hunting and Lockheed Martin until finaly retiring in 1998. He spent many years as a volunteer at IWM Duxford, and was indeed the Chairman of the Duxford Associates (a volunteer group which used to provide guided tours and man the Information Office) for many years.
A fuller biography can be found in Nigel Walpole's fine tome 'Swift Justice'.
Last edited by Treble one; 12th Apr 2014 at 22:10. Reason: Typo.
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A serious gentleman with 3 x AFCs. Do we have such skill-sets these days?
Air Cdre Peter Thorne OBE, AFC**
MPN11.
Skill sets yes. Opportunities no.
You can't compare test flying in the early jet era with test flying nowadays. It's like comparing apples with tigers.
BV
Skill sets yes. Opportunities no.
You can't compare test flying in the early jet era with test flying nowadays. It's like comparing apples with tigers.
BV
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Telegraph Obituary
