Diana Barnato Walker
Encyclopedia
Diana Barnato Walker MBE
FRAeS (15 January 1918 - 28 April 2008) was an English aviatrix and horse rider, the first British
woman to break the sound barrier
.
who was Chairman of Bentley Motors and also a leading member of their racing team. Her mother was Dorothy Maitland Falk of White Plains, New York. Diana Barnato was a 1936 debutante
at the age of 18 and was presented to King Edward VIII at Buckingham Palace
.
From an early age, she became interested in aircraft and at age 20 she decided to become a pilot. Her initial training was in Tiger Moth
s at the Brooklands
Flying Club, the aerodrome being located within the famous motor racing circuit in Surrey
. She showed a natural aptitude for flying and made her first solo flight after only six hours of dual instruction. Soon after the outbreak of World War II
Diana volunteered to become a Red Cross nurse. In 1940 she was serving as a nurse in France before the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and later drove ambulance
s in London
during the Blitz
.
In early 1941 she applied to become one of the first women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary
(ATA) and successfully took her initial assessment flying test at their headquarters at White Waltham
, Berkshire, on 9 March 1941 with the ATA's Chief Flying Instructor, A.R.O. Macmillan, in the Tiger Moth's rear seat.
Diana was admitted to the ATA's Elementary Flying Training School at White Waltham on 2 November 1941. After a lengthy period of intensive flight instruction and tests in primary training aircraft, she joined her first ATA Ferry Pool (FP), No.15 FP at RAF Hamble, Hants, on 9 May 1942. She soon began to deliver low-powered single engine aircraft from factory or repair base to storage units and RAF and Naval flying units.
Further advanced training permitted her to deliver several hundred Spitfire
s, Hurricane
s, Mustangs, Tempest
s and other high performance fighter aircraft. After yet further training, Diana became eligible to deliver twin-engined aircraft and delivered Whitleys
, Blenheims
, Mosquito
s, Mitchell
s and Wellington
s, normally flying solo when doing so. She continued intensive flying with the ATA until the organisation was disbanded in late 1945. By that time she had flown 80 types of aircraft and had delivered 260 Spitfires.
After the death of her fiancé, Squadron Leader Humphrey Gilbert, at the controls of his Spitfire (he was taking a local WAAF for a joy ride), Diana married Wing Commander Derek Ronald Walker RAF on 6 May 1944, the ceremony being attended by numerous RAF and ATA friends of the bride and groom. Derek Walker continued active flying operations until he was killed on 14 November 1945 in bad weather whilst flying a North American Mustang fighter between two UK airfields. She vowed never to marry again, and became the lover of married English-based American pilot Whitney Straight
, who like her father had been a pre-war champion racing driver—the couple had a son Barney Barnato Walker in 1947, and having never asked Straight to leave his wife, her only comment was: "I was perfectly content. I had my own identity."
After the war's end, Diana continued to fly and gained her commercial flying licence. For many years she was a volunteer pilot with the Women's Junior Air Corps
(WJAC), later the Girls' Venture Corps
, giving flights to air-minded teenage girls to encourage them to enter the aviation industry. In July 1948, an aircraft that she was flying burst into flames near White Waltham
. Rather than bail out and lose the WJAC’s aircraft, she switched off the fuel and glided the aircraft back.
On 26 August 1963 she flew an English Electric Lightning T4
to Mach 1.65 (more than 1,000 mph) after convincing the Air Minister to let her fly it with Squadron Leader Ken Goodwin as her check pilot and so she became the first British woman to break the sound barrier. She also established by this flight a world air speed record for women. Shortly after her record-breaking flight, she was found to have cancer, and she had three operations.
Diana Barnato Walker was awarded the MBE
in 1965 for services to aviation, and was a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
. She died on 28 April 2008, aged 90.
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
FRAeS (15 January 1918 - 28 April 2008) was an English aviatrix and horse rider, the first British
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...
woman to break the sound barrier
Sound barrier
The sound barrier, in aerodynamics, is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. The term, which occasionally has other meanings, came into use during World War II, when a number of aircraft started to encounter the effects of compressibility, a collection of several...
.
Biography
Her father was the famous car racing driver Woolf BarnatoWoolf Barnato
Joel Woolf Barnato was a British financier and racing driver, one of the "Bentley Boys" of the 1920s. He achieved three consecutive wins out of three entries in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.-Early life:...
who was Chairman of Bentley Motors and also a leading member of their racing team. Her mother was Dorothy Maitland Falk of White Plains, New York. Diana Barnato was a 1936 debutante
Debutante
A débutante is a young lady from an aristocratic or upper class family who has reached the age of maturity, and as a new adult, is introduced to society at a formal "début" presentation. It should not be confused with a Debs...
at the age of 18 and was presented to King Edward VIII at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
.
From an early age, she became interested in aircraft and at age 20 she decided to become a pilot. Her initial training was in Tiger Moth
Tiger moth
Tiger moths are moths of the family Arctiidae.Tiger moth may also refer to:*de Havilland Tiger Moth, an aircraft; an aerobatic and trainer tailwheel biplane*de Havilland DH.71 Tiger Moth, an earlier monoplane produced by de Havilland...
s at the 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...
Flying Club, the aerodrome being located within the famous motor racing circuit in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. She showed a natural aptitude for flying and made her first solo flight after only six hours of dual instruction. Soon after the outbreak of World War II
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...
Diana volunteered to become a Red Cross nurse. In 1940 she was serving as a nurse in France before the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and later drove ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
s in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
.
In early 1941 she applied to become one of the first women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary
Air Transport Auxiliary
The Air Transport Auxiliary was a British World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields—but not to...
(ATA) and successfully took her initial assessment flying test at their headquarters at White Waltham
White Waltham
White Waltham is a village and civil parish, west of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. It has a population of 2,875, and is the location of White Waltham Airfield.-Extent:...
, Berkshire, on 9 March 1941 with the ATA's Chief Flying Instructor, A.R.O. Macmillan, in the Tiger Moth's rear seat.
Diana was admitted to the ATA's Elementary Flying Training School at White Waltham on 2 November 1941. After a lengthy period of intensive flight instruction and tests in primary training aircraft, she joined her first ATA Ferry Pool (FP), No.15 FP at RAF Hamble, Hants, on 9 May 1942. She soon began to deliver low-powered single engine aircraft from factory or repair base to storage units and RAF and Naval flying units.
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
s, Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
s, Mustangs, Tempest
Hawker Tempest
The Hawker Tempest was a British fighter aircraft primarily used by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War. The Tempest was an improved derivative of the Hawker Typhoon, and one of the most powerful fighter aircraft used during the war....
s and other high performance fighter aircraft. After yet further training, Diana became eligible to deliver twin-engined aircraft and delivered Whitleys
Armstrong Whitworth Whitley
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was one of three British twin-engine, front line medium bomber types in service with the Royal Air Force at the outbreak of the Second World War...
, Blenheims
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
, Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
s, Mitchell
B-25 Mitchell
The North American B-25 Mitchell was an American twin-engined medium bomber manufactured by North American Aviation. It was used by many Allied air forces, in every theater of World War II, as well as many other air forces after the war ended, and saw service across four decades.The B-25 was named...
s and Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
s, normally flying solo when doing so. She continued intensive flying with the ATA until the organisation was disbanded in late 1945. By that time she had flown 80 types of aircraft and had delivered 260 Spitfires.
After the death of her fiancé, Squadron Leader Humphrey Gilbert, at the controls of his Spitfire (he was taking a local WAAF for a joy ride), Diana married Wing Commander Derek Ronald Walker RAF on 6 May 1944, the ceremony being attended by numerous RAF and ATA friends of the bride and groom. Derek Walker continued active flying operations until he was killed on 14 November 1945 in bad weather whilst flying a North American Mustang fighter between two UK airfields. She vowed never to marry again, and became the lover of married English-based American pilot Whitney Straight
Whitney Straight
Air Commodore Whitney Willard Straight CBE, MC, DFC was a Grand Prix motor racing driver, aviator, businessman, and a member of the prominent Whitney family of the United States....
, who like her father had been a pre-war champion racing driver—the couple had a son Barney Barnato Walker in 1947, and having never asked Straight to leave his wife, her only comment was: "I was perfectly content. I had my own identity."
After the war's end, Diana continued to fly and gained her commercial flying licence. For many years she was a volunteer pilot with the Women's Junior Air Corps
Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets
The Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets is a voluntary uniformed youth organisation for girls aged between 11 and 20, It is also a registered charity, and by virtue of its work towards the personal and social development of young people, it is a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services...
(WJAC), later the Girls' Venture Corps
Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets
The Girls Venture Corps Air Cadets is a voluntary uniformed youth organisation for girls aged between 11 and 20, It is also a registered charity, and by virtue of its work towards the personal and social development of young people, it is a member of The National Council for Voluntary Youth Services...
, giving flights to air-minded teenage girls to encourage them to enter the aviation industry. In July 1948, an aircraft that she was flying burst into flames near White Waltham
White Waltham
White Waltham is a village and civil parish, west of Maidenhead, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the English county of Berkshire. It has a population of 2,875, and is the location of White Waltham Airfield.-Extent:...
. Rather than bail out and lose the WJAC’s aircraft, she switched off the fuel and glided the aircraft back.
On 26 August 1963 she flew an English Electric Lightning T4
English Electric Lightning
The English Electric Lightning is a supersonic jet fighter aircraft of the Cold War era, noted for its great speed and unpainted natural metal exterior finish. It is the only all-British Mach 2 fighter aircraft. The aircraft was renowned for its capabilities as an interceptor; Royal Air Force ...
to Mach 1.65 (more than 1,000 mph) after convincing the Air Minister to let her fly it with Squadron Leader Ken Goodwin as her check pilot and so she became the first British woman to break the sound barrier. She also established by this flight a world air speed record for women. Shortly after her record-breaking flight, she was found to have cancer, and she had three operations.
Diana Barnato Walker was awarded the MBE
MBE
MBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
in 1965 for services to aviation, and was a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
. She died on 28 April 2008, aged 90.
External links
- Bio at the RAF
- Diana Barnato Walker Telegraph.co.uk 5 May 2008
- The Times obituary 8 May 2008
- NY Times obituary