Jeffrey Quill
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey Kindersley Quill OBE AFC
FRAeS (1 February 1913–20 February 1996) was a British
Royal Air Force
officer, RNVR officer and Test pilot
and the second man to fly the Supermarine Spitfire
after Vickers' chief test pilot, Joseph "Mutt" Summers
. After succeeding Summers as Vickers' chief test pilot, Quill test-flew every mark of Spitfire, originally designed by R. J. Mitchell
.
Quill wrote several books about the Spitfire. He was President of the Spitfire Society.
, Sussex
, England
in 1913, the youngest of five children, and was educated at Lancing College
, which overlooks Shoreham Airport
. The aerial activity overhead quickened the already air-minded Quill's resolve to take a non-commissioned career in the Royal Air Force long before he left school in 1931. While still a pupil at Lancing, Quill had attended the famous annual RAF displays at Hendon
, and two years later he participated in the event, taking part in a mock bombing attack on 24 June 1933.
s and went solo after the remarkably short time of 5 hours 20 minutes (9 hours being regarded as the norm) flying time. He graduated on to Siskin
IIIA advanced trainers, and his flying ability was assessed as exceptional. In September 1932 he joined No. 17 Squadron RAF at Upavon
, where he began flying Bristol Bulldog
fighters. He flew as often as possible in order to familiarise himself with the aeroplane, practising aerobatics and flying in cloud. He was well aware of the dangers of flying and he later wrote:
At the end of 1933 Quill was posted to the RAF Meteorological Flight at Duxford. There, flying open-cockpit Siskins, the unit made twice-daily scheduled flights (except on Sundays) up to 25,000 ft to collect data for weather reports. After Quill took command of the flight in November 1934 he and his team managed to fly every slot for a whole year, regardless of unflyable weather, without missing a flight. For this achievement Quill was awarded the Air Force Cross at the age of 22. On one occasion, when letting down through cloud, his Siskin hit the ground very hard but in perfect landing attitude, bounced over a hedge and overturned, pushing Quill's head forward on to the cockpit coaming (its raised border). Had he not already received a broken nose from a boxing accident he would have qualified for the "Siskin nose" - a characteristic of many pilots of the period.
In January 1936 Quill joined Vickers
(Aviation) Ltd at Brooklands
as assistant to its chief test pilot, Joseph "Mutt" Summers. His initial task was the testing of the Wellesley
bomber, and it was while flying a production Wellesley that Quill had a narrow escape. The 74 ft 7 in-wingspan bomber refused to recover from a spin and at 3,000 ft Quill decided to bail out. As he descended, the spiralling bomber seemed intent on slicing the pilot with its wings; but he landed safely not far from the Kingston bypass.
There was some rivalry between Vickers (Aviation) Ltd and Hawker Aircraft
, whose Hurricane
had first flown four months earlier. Jeffrey Quill's long association with the Spitfire began when, aged 23, he made his first flight in the prototype K5054 on 26 March 1936 – Mutt Summers having made the maiden flight three weeks earlier – and his priority was to get the Spitfire cleared for acceptance by the RAF. The Spitfire needed a great deal of work before it was deemed safe for young RAF pilots to fly, and it did not enter squadron service until July 1938. However, developed through many marks and variants, the Spitfire remained a first-line fighter throughout the war.
at RAF Hornchurch
, privately hoping that it would be a permanent appointment. On 16 August he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109
and two days later he shared a victory over a Heinkel He 111
. His combat days were short-lived because he was recalled after 19 days, but they made Quill all the more determined to make the Spitfire an even better fighting machine.
In 1942 the Luftwaffe's Focke-Wulf Fw 190
was gaining the edge over Allied fighters, and it was an urgent priority to capture an example. For a while Quill was on standby to be taken to France in order to hijack a Fw190 back to England. Fortunately an example was delivered to the RAF on a plate in the meantime, when a disorientated German pilot, Oberleutnant Arnim Faber, mistook the Bristol Channel for the English Channel and landed a Fw 190 A-3 at RAF Pembrey in south Wales.
and Swift
; he later became a military aircraft marketing executive for the British Aircraft Corporation. He also became a prolific author, chronicling the Spitfire and its legacy through: Flying The World's Great Aircraft (1982), Spitfire: A Test Pilot's Story (1983), Spitfire (1986) and Birth of a Legend: Spitfire (1987).
After Jeffrey Quill's death in 1996, the British aviation society, the Air League
commemorated Quill by naming a new award after him, and since 1997 they have awarded the Jeffrey Quill Medal annually for an outstanding contribution to the development of air-mindedness in Britain’s youth.
Having retired with his wife Claire to the Isle of Man, Jeffrey Quill became involved with an annual lecture given by the Association of Manx Pilots.
This annual lecture is now known as the Jeffrey Quill Memorial Lecture.
Jeffrey Quill is buried in St Adrews church yard, Andreas, Isle of Man.
The church is near to the former RAF Andreas, which operated Spitfires from 1941 - 1942.
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
FRAeS (1 February 1913–20 February 1996) was a 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...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
officer, RNVR officer and Test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
and the second man to fly the Supermarine Spitfire
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...
after Vickers' chief test pilot, Joseph "Mutt" Summers
Joseph Summers
Captain Joseph "Mutt" Summers, CBE , was chief test pilot at Vickers-Armstrongs and Supermarine.During his career Summers flew numerous prototype aircraft , from the Supermarine Spitfire, to the Vickers Valiant...
. After succeeding Summers as Vickers' chief test pilot, Quill test-flew every mark of Spitfire, originally designed by R. J. Mitchell
R. J. Mitchell
Reginald Joseph Mitchell CBE, FRAeS, was an aeronautical engineer, best known for his design of the Supermarine Spitfire.-Early years:...
.
Quill wrote several books about the Spitfire. He was President of the Spitfire Society.
Early years
Jeffrey Quill was born at LittlehamptonLittlehampton
Littlehampton is a seaside resort town and civil parish in the Arun District of West Sussex, England, on the east bank at the mouth of the River Arun. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton and east of the county town of Chichester....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1913, the youngest of five children, and was educated at Lancing College
Lancing College
Lancing College is a co-educational English independent school in the British public school tradition, founded in 1848 by Nathaniel Woodard. Woodard's aim was to provide education "based on sound principle and sound knowledge, firmly grounded in the Christian faith." Lancing was the first of a...
, which overlooks Shoreham Airport
Shoreham Airport
- Sussex Police Air Operations Unit :The Sussex Police Air Operations Unit is headquartered at Shoreham Airport. The unit has been equipped since February 2000 with a MD Explorer, registered as "G-SUSX". The unit is headed by a Police Inspector, assisted by a Police Sergeant and two Police...
. The aerial activity overhead quickened the already air-minded Quill's resolve to take a non-commissioned career in the Royal Air Force long before he left school in 1931. While still a pupil at Lancing, Quill had attended the famous annual RAF displays at Hendon
Hendon Aerodrome
Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in Hendon, north London, England that, between 1908 and 1968, was an important centre for aviation.It was situated in Colindale, seven miles north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became "the Charing Cross of the UK's international air routes", but for the...
, and two years later he participated in the event, taking part in a mock bombing attack on 24 June 1933.
Aviation career
At the age of 18, Quill was accepted into the Royal Air Force as an Acting Pilot Officer. He learned to fly on Avro Tutor biplaneBiplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s and went solo after the remarkably short time of 5 hours 20 minutes (9 hours being regarded as the norm) flying time. He graduated on to Siskin
Armstrong Whitworth Siskin
The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a British biplane single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1920s produced by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. The Siskin was one of the first new RAF fighters to enter service after the First World War; it was noted for its aerobatic qualities.-Design and development:The...
IIIA advanced trainers, and his flying ability was assessed as exceptional. In September 1932 he joined No. 17 Squadron RAF at Upavon
Upavon
Upavon is a rural village in the English County of Wiltshire, England. As its name suggests, it is on the upper portions of the River Avon which runs from the north to the south through the village. It is situated about south of Pewsey, about southeast of the market town of Devizes, and about ...
, where he began flying Bristol Bulldog
Bristol Bulldog
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. The Bristol Bulldog . Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1965.* Barnes, C.H. Bristol Aircraft Since 1910. London: Putnam, 1964....
fighters. He flew as often as possible in order to familiarise himself with the aeroplane, practising aerobatics and flying in cloud. He was well aware of the dangers of flying and he later wrote:
"Unless aerobatics were practised assiduously to the point where one was familiar with every conceivable combination of speed and altitude of
which the aircraft was capable, one was not master of the aeroplane. Therefore a day would come when the aeroplane decided that it was in charge instead of the pilot, and that would be the last day. I never had cause to modify that view, and I kept my aerobatics well honed to the day of my last flight as a pilot."
At the end of 1933 Quill was posted to the RAF Meteorological Flight at Duxford. There, flying open-cockpit Siskins, the unit made twice-daily scheduled flights (except on Sundays) up to 25,000 ft to collect data for weather reports. After Quill took command of the flight in November 1934 he and his team managed to fly every slot for a whole year, regardless of unflyable weather, without missing a flight. For this achievement Quill was awarded the Air Force Cross at the age of 22. On one occasion, when letting down through cloud, his Siskin hit the ground very hard but in perfect landing attitude, bounced over a hedge and overturned, pushing Quill's head forward on to the cockpit coaming (its raised border). Had he not already received a broken nose from a boxing accident he would have qualified for the "Siskin nose" - a characteristic of many pilots of the period.
In January 1936 Quill joined Vickers
Vickers
Vickers was a famous name in British engineering that existed through many companies from 1828 until 1999.-Early history:Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by the miller Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828. Naylor was a partner in the foundry Naylor &...
(Aviation) Ltd at 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...
as assistant to its chief test pilot, Joseph "Mutt" Summers. His initial task was the testing of the Wellesley
Vickers Wellesley
The Vickers Wellesley was a British 1930s light bomber built by Vickers-Armstrongs at Brooklands near Weybridge, Surrey, for the Royal Air Force...
bomber, and it was while flying a production Wellesley that Quill had a narrow escape. The 74 ft 7 in-wingspan bomber refused to recover from a spin and at 3,000 ft Quill decided to bail out. As he descended, the spiralling bomber seemed intent on slicing the pilot with its wings; but he landed safely not far from the Kingston bypass.
There was some rivalry between Vickers (Aviation) Ltd and Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.-History:...
, whose 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...
had first flown four months earlier. Jeffrey Quill's long association with the Spitfire began when, aged 23, he made his first flight in the prototype K5054 on 26 March 1936 – Mutt Summers having made the maiden flight three weeks earlier – and his priority was to get the Spitfire cleared for acceptance by the RAF. The Spitfire needed a great deal of work before it was deemed safe for young RAF pilots to fly, and it did not enter squadron service until July 1938. However, developed through many marks and variants, the Spitfire remained a first-line fighter throughout the war.
Second World War
During the Second World War, Quill was in charge of development and production flying, a job that he took very seriously - so seriously that he felt he must obtain first-hand combat experience. He was temporarily released on 5 August 1940 to join 65 SquadronNo. 65 Squadron RAF
No. 65 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force.-World War I:The squadron was first formed at Wyton on 1 August 1916 as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps with a core provided from the training ground at Norwich. By the end of World War I, it had claimed over 200 victories...
at RAF Hornchurch
RAF Hornchurch
RAF Hornchurch was an airfield in the south of Hornchurch in what is now the London Borough of Havering. Known as Sutton's Farm during the First World War, it occupied of the farm of the same name and was situated east north-east of Charing Cross...
, privately hoping that it would be a permanent appointment. On 16 August he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
and two days later he shared a victory over a Heinkel He 111
Heinkel He 111
The Heinkel He 111 was a German aircraft designed by Siegfried and Walter Günter in the early 1930s in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Often described as a "Wolf in sheep's clothing", it masqueraded as a transport aircraft, but its purpose was to provide the Luftwaffe with a fast medium...
. His combat days were short-lived because he was recalled after 19 days, but they made Quill all the more determined to make the Spitfire an even better fighting machine.
In 1942 the Luftwaffe's Focke-Wulf Fw 190
Focke-Wulf Fw 190
The Focke-Wulf Fw 190 Würger was a German Second World War single-seat, single-engine fighter aircraft designed by Kurt Tank in the late 1930s. Powered by a radial engine, the 190 had ample power and was able to lift larger loads than its well-known counterpart, the Messerschmitt Bf 109...
was gaining the edge over Allied fighters, and it was an urgent priority to capture an example. For a while Quill was on standby to be taken to France in order to hijack a Fw190 back to England. Fortunately an example was delivered to the RAF on a plate in the meantime, when a disorientated German pilot, Oberleutnant Arnim Faber, mistook the Bristol Channel for the English Channel and landed a Fw 190 A-3 at RAF Pembrey in south Wales.
Postwar
In the immediate postwar era, Quill continued as a test pilot, flying the latest Supermarine jets including the AttackerSupermarine Attacker
The Supermarine Attacker was a British single-seat naval jet fighter built by Supermarine for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm . It was the FAA's first jet fighter.-Design and development:...
and Swift
Supermarine Swift
The Supermarine Swift was a British single-seat jet fighter of the Royal Air Force , built by Supermarine during the 1950s. After a protracted development period, the Swift entered service as an interceptor, but, due to a spate of accidents, its service life was short...
; he later became a military aircraft marketing executive for the British Aircraft Corporation. He also became a prolific author, chronicling the Spitfire and its legacy through: Flying The World's Great Aircraft (1982), Spitfire: A Test Pilot's Story (1983), Spitfire (1986) and Birth of a Legend: Spitfire (1987).
After Jeffrey Quill's death in 1996, the British aviation society, the Air League
Air League
For the Air League , see Australian Air LeagueThe Air League is an aviation society in the United Kingdom, founded in 1909.The aims and mission of the Air League are to promote the cause of British aviation by:...
commemorated Quill by naming a new award after him, and since 1997 they have awarded the Jeffrey Quill Medal annually for an outstanding contribution to the development of air-mindedness in Britain’s youth.
Having retired with his wife Claire to the Isle of Man, Jeffrey Quill became involved with an annual lecture given by the Association of Manx Pilots.
This annual lecture is now known as the Jeffrey Quill Memorial Lecture.
Jeffrey Quill is buried in St Adrews church yard, Andreas, Isle of Man.
The church is near to the former RAF Andreas, which operated Spitfires from 1941 - 1942.