Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

Ernest Derek 'Dave' Glaser (20 April 1921 – 2001) was a British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

officer of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

, and later a notable

test pilot A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testin ...

Biography

Glaser was the son of a former

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

officer and brought up in

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. He was educated at Lancing House and

Bloxham School Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private co-educational day and boarding school of the Public school (United Kingdom), British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham ...

, before being accepted for flying training in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

in April 1939.

World War II

In 1940, Glaser was attached to No. 65 Squadron RAF, where he flew

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allies of World War II, Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced conti ...

s alongside Jeffrey Quill and Franciszek Gruszka in the

. His plane became known for its

nose art Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of an aircraft, usually on the front fuselage. While begun for practical reasons of identifying friendly units, the practice evolved to express the individuality often constrained by ...

, representing The Laughing Cavalier. Glaser was promoted to Flight Lieutenant and in July 1940 transferred to No. 234 Squadron RAF as a flight commander. It was while serving with No. 234 that he was mistakenly shot down on 13 July 1940 by a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

warship off the English south coast. He was promoted to Pilot Officer in 1941. He became temporary commander of the squadron in October. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in August 1942. In 1943, Glaser was posted to Australia as OC 'B' Flight of No. 549 Squadron RAF, a Spitfire squadron charged with defending Darwin against Japanese air attack. In early 1945 he was promoted Sqn Ldr and posted to command No 548 Squadron RAF, also at Darwin. In 1946 he was awarded the

Air Efficiency Award The Air Efficiency Award, post-nominal letters AE for officers, was instituted in 1942. It could be awarded after ten years of meritorious service to officers, airmen and airwomen in the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, Auxiliary and Royal Air Force ...

Test pilot

After two years he returned home, was granted a permanent commission and posted to Linton-on-Ouse, Yorkshire. There he was flight commander of No. 64 Squadron RAF, a half-strength Hornet fighter squadron. In 1949 Glaser passed the Empire Test Pilots' School and became a test pilot at the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

. He became a test pilot with Vickers Armstrong in 1952, and was involved in testing and developing planes such as the Vickers Varsity,

Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a retired British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. T ...

and the

Vickers Valiant The Vickers Valiant was a British high-altitude jet bomber designed to carry nuclear weapons, and in the 1950s and 1960s was part of the Royal Air Force's " V bomber" strategic deterrent force. It was developed by Vickers-Armstrongs in respon ...

. Glaser was also involved in testing the

BAC One-Eleven The BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111, BAC 1-11) is a retired early jet airliner produced by the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Conceived by Hunting Aircraft as a 30-seat jet, before its merger into BAC in 1960, it was launched as an 80-seat airl ...

. In 1979 he became flight operations manager and test pilot instructor of Rombac in Romania. In 1983 he retired from

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

and worked as a successful aviation consultant. He had been awarded the military Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1953, and was rewarded the commendation for civil test flying in 1968.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glaser, Dave 1921 births 2001 deaths BAC One-Eleven British Aircraft Corporation English aviators English test pilots The Few People educated at Bloxham School Recipients of the Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force squadron leaders Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II