25 Facts About Alex Henshaw

Alex Henshaw was awarded the Royal Humane Society Medal for saving the life of a boy from the River Witham.

Alex Henshaw made a name for himself in the 1930s in air racing.

Alex Henshaw flew a Leopard Moth and an Arrow Active which caught fire while he was performing aerobatics: Henshaw bailed out safely.

On 6 September 1935 Alex Henshaw's aircraft came down in the Irish Sea while he was competing in the King's Cup; he was rescued by the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company steamer, Ramsey Town.

Alex Henshaw later acquired Percival Mew Gull G-AEXF, with which he won the inaugural London-to-Isle of Man air race in 1937.

Alex Henshaw refuelled on the way out in Oran in Algeria, crossed the Sahara to land in the Belgian Congo and then Angola, landing at Wingfield Aerodrome Cape Town after flying 6,377 miles in 40 hours.

Alex Henshaw experienced hazardous landings at remote bush airstrips, battling through a tropical storm, and overcoming extreme exhaustion on the return leg.

Alex Henshaw completed the whole 12,754-mile round trip in 4 days, 10 hours and 16 minutes, breaking the record for each leg and setting a solo record for the round trip.

Alex Henshaw considered enlisting in the Royal Air Force at the start of the Second World War, but he instead became a test pilot for Vickers-Armstrongs.

Alex Henshaw subsequently took the rank of sergeant pilot to fly a fully armed Spitfire to defend the factory, if needed, although he was never called upon to fly in combat.

Alex Henshaw did not enjoy the work, and was on the point of leaving when Jeffrey Quill invited him to test Spitfires in Southampton.

In June 1940 Alex Henshaw moved to the Castle Bromwich factory in Birmingham, which had been taken over by Vickers after poor production results by the Nuffield group.

Alex Henshaw was appointed to the post of Chief Test Pilot, leading a team of 25 others.

The factory built over half of the total output of Spitfires ever made, and 350 Lancaster heavy bombers; Alex Henshaw tested both types of aircraft.

Alex Henshaw survived many forced landings and a catastrophic crash in Wednesfield near Wolverhampton on 18 July 1942 which destroyed his aircraft.

Alex Henshaw is the only pilot known to have performed a barrel roll in a Lancaster bomber, a feat that was considered by some to be reckless or impossible due to the aircraft's size and relatively modest performance.

Alex Henshaw flew this manoeuvre on several occasions with other members of his flight test team on board, including Peter Ayerst and Czech pilot Vaclav 'Venda' Jicha.

Alex Henshaw was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his wartime service.

Alex Henshaw was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct for his rescue work in the 1953 floods.

In 2005, Alex Henshaw donated his papers and mementoes to the RAF Museum, funding a curator to catalogue his collection.

Alex Henshaw wrote a third book, Wings across the Great Divide which was published in 2004.

In 1940, Alex Henshaw married Barbara, the widow of French race and test pilot Guy de Chateaubrun.

Alex Henshaw died at home in Newmarket on 24 February 2007.

Alex Henshaw was survived by their only child, Alexander Henshaw Jr.

An hour-long film biography of Alex Henshaw entitled The Extraordinary Mr Spitfire was broadcast for the first time on The History Channel UK in September 2007.