Peter Hillwood

Peter Hillwood, DFC (born Adolf Bergolz; 7 January 1920 – 9 November 1966) was an RAF and test pilot.

Peter Hillwood
Born(1920-01-07)January 7, 1920
London
DiedNovember 9, 1966(1966-11-09) (aged 46)
the Netherlands
Other namesBuster
OccupationAviator
Spouse(s)Gwendoline St Johnston
ChildrenSusan Hillwood
Parent(s)Dagmar Sorenson and Felix Bergolz

World War II and RAF

Hillwood was born in London, the son of Dagmar Sorenson and Felix Bergolz. He married Gwendoline Hillwood (née St Johnston) and they had one child, Susan Hillwood.

In the Battle of Britain,[1] he flew Hawker Hurricanes in RAF 56 Squadron[2] at North Weald where he shot down a Junkers Ju 87.[3] He was shot down in a Hurricane over the Thames Estuary off Sheerness in 13 August 1940.

In 1943 he returned to fighter command in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. In 1944 he joined RAF 127 squadron[4] at North Weald where he flew IX Spitfires. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 22 June 1948.

Post World War II

In July 1949 he became an experimental test pilot with English Electric[5] mainly test-flying de Havilland Vampires. In January 1950 he made his first test flight in the English Electric Canberra and on 26 August 1952 he was co-pilot on the record-breaking Atlantic crossing between Aldergrove (Ireland) and Gander (Canada) in Canberra VX185.[6][7]

On 16 February 1956 he piloted the Canberra on the record-breaking flight between London and Cairo.[8] In the late 1950s he became Deputy Chief Test Pilot for English Electric flying Lightnings amongst other aircraft. He left English Electric in 1965.

Film work

In 1964 he re-constructed, from original designs, and flew[9] an Avro Triplane Mk IV for the 1965 film Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes. In 1965 he was a stunt pilot in the 1966 war film The Blue Max[10] in which he also played a dead German pilot.

He continued as a test pilot until his death, which occurred while flying a prototype Britten Norman BN-2 "Islander" over the Netherlands on 9 November 1966.

Awards

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 22 June 1948. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order.

References
  1. "Battle of Britain London Monument - Sgt. P Hillwood". www.bbm.org.uk. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  2. Christopher Shores & Clive Williams, Aces High: The Fighter Aces of the British and Commonwealth Air Forces in World War II. pg31 Pub. Neville Spearman Ltd, London 1966
  3. "Test & Research Pilots, Flight Test Engineers: Peter Hillwood DFC 1920-1966". Thetartanterror.blogspot.co.uk. 15 December 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  4. E.A.W. Smith, Spitfire Diary. Pub. William Kimber, London 1988 ISBN 0718306929
  5. "english electric | boulton paul | 1953 | 1214 | Flight Archive". Flightglobal.com. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  6. English Electric Canberra
  7. "english electric | fireflash | canberra | 1956 | 0206 | Flight Archive". Flightglobal.com. 26 August 1952. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  8. "The English Electric Canberra Records". Bywat.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  9. "JetAgeRMC_EP-Pioneers". Glostransporthistory.visit-gloucestershire.co.uk. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  10. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060177/trivia
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