The story of Captain Eric Melrose “Winkle” Brown is one of the greatest WWII tales you’re every likely to come across. Many of us have seen dozens, perhaps even hundreds of documentaries about the Second World War, but this one is my favourite and I don’t think it’ll ever be usurped.
It’s difficult to condense the life of Captain Brown down into a blurb under a documentary so I’ll just tell you a few facts about him and let you make up your own mind. Eric Brown (known as “Winkle” to his friends due to his small stature) flew 487 different types of aircraft – more than any other pilot, he also performed 2,407 aircraft carrier landings – which is also a world record.
He was the Fleet Air Arm’s most decorated living pilot and he achieved several firsts in the history of flying – including the first landing on an aircraft carrier of a twin-engined aircraft, an aircraft with a tricycle undercarriage and a jet propelled aircraft.
Trust me when I recommend watching this documentary.
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
