Joan Hughes

Joan Hughes
MBE
Born Joan Lily Amelia Hughes
(1918-04-27)27 April 1918
West Ham, Essex, England
Died 16 August 1993(1993-08-16) (aged 75)
Somerset, England
Occupation Pilot
Years active 1933–1985

Joan Lily Amelia Hughes, MBE (27 April 1918 – 16 August 1993) was a World War II ferry pilot and one of Britain's first female test pilots.

Early life

Hughes was born in West Ham, Essex in 1918. She started flying training at the age of 15, before age restrictions were introduced, and by 17 had become the youngest female pilot in Britain.

Air Transport Auxiliary

As an experienced aviator she joined the Air Transport Auxiliary, and soon had more than 600 hours' experience ferrying aircraft around the country. Though small in stature, she ferried all types of aircraft including heavy four-engined bombers such as the Short Stirling. She became both a senior pilot and the only woman qualified to instruct on all types of military aircraft then in service.

Post war

Hughes continued to fly after the war, using her talents as an instructor. She was featured in "The Eagle Special Investigator Meets Joan Mills in 'Special Investigator Flies Solo'", an article on page 61 of the 1953 book Eagle Special Investigator by Macdonald Hastings, published by Michael Joseph.

In the 1960s, Hughes served as a flying instructor with the Airways Aero Association, first at White Waltham Airfield, and then at Booker Airfield.

In early 1964, due to her low weight and considerable experience, Hughes was recruited for testing a near-replica of the 1909 Santos-Dumont Demoiselle monoplane, ultimately flying it for the shooting of the 1965 film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. She also flew replica World War I aircraft for the film The Blue Max (1966) and a Tiger Moth bi-plane for the live-action flying shots in Thunderbird 6 (1968).

During the June 20, 1966 episode of To Tell The Truth, Hughes appeared as herself; two of the four panelists correctly picked her as the contestant.[1]

She retired at Booker Airfield in 1985, with 11,800 flight hours in her logbook.

Honours

Hughes was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1946 for her war work.[2]

Later life

Hughes died in Somerset on 16 August 1993, aged 75.

Notes

  1. ↑ "To Tell the Truth - Movie stunt pilot; Penguin expert; Lightning expert (Jun 20, 1966)". To Tell The Truth. CBS. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  2. ↑ "No. 37412". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 January 1946. p. 296.

References

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