Les Colquhoun
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Leslie Robert Colquhoun, (15 March 1921 – 2001) was a
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 ...
photographic reconnaissance pilot during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, test pilot and
hovercraft A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the ...
pioneer.


Early life

Colquhoun was born on 15 March 1921 at
Hanwell Hanwell () is a town in the London Borough of Ealing. It is about west of Ealing Broadway and had a population of 28,768 as of 2011. It is the westernmost location of the London post town. Hanwell is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. St ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
and was educated at
Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...
.


Royal Air Force

He joined the Royal Air Force in August 1940 and trained as a pilot. His first posting was to
603 Squadron No. 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron is a squadron of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. On reforming on 1 October 1999, the primary role of 603 Squadron was as a ''Survive to Operate'' squadron, as well as providing ...
where he flew the
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 ...
on operations over France and convoy protection patrols. Later in 1941 Colquhoun was delivering a photographic reconnaissance Spitfire to
Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
but during a stop at
Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
he was ordered to join 69 Squadron when it was decided that their need for a PR Spitfire was more important. For nine months in 1941 and 1942, Colquhoun flew operational sorties in his unarmed and pale blue painted Spitfire over Italy. By the time more aircraft arrived in May 1942 aboard HMS ''Eagle'' Colquhoun had carried out 154 operational
sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...
s. For his work with 69 Squadron Sergeant Colquhoun was awarded the
Distinguished Flying Medal The Distinguished Flying Medal (DFM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Air Force and other British Armed Forces, and formerly to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for "exceptional val ...
and commissioned as a
Pilot Officer Pilot officer (Plt Off or P/O) is a junior 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. Pilot officer is the lowest ran ...
. Colquhoun returned to the United Kingdom where he trained to fly the photographic reconnaissance variant of
de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...
at 2 OTU in Scotland. In 1943 he joined 682 Squadron based in Algeria and later moved to Italy. He stayed with the squadron until October 1944 and carried out 262 operational sorties. For his work with 682 Squadron he was awarded the DFC. After a short period as an instructor at 2 OTU he was posted to Vickers Supermarine as a production test pilot. He was part of a team that test flew Spitfires as they left the production lines.


Test pilot

In 1946 when he left the RAF he was invited to remain at Vickers as part of the test flying team. He soon showed an aptitude for testing new types and was soon involved in the testing of new naval fighters the jet-powered
Attacker {{For, the term "attacker" in computer security, Hacker (computer security), Adversary (cryptography), Adversary (online algorithm) In some team sports, an attacker is a specific type of player, usually involved in aggressive play. Heavy attacker ...
and
Scimitar A scimitar ( or ) is a single-edged sword with a convex curved blade of about 75 to 90 cm (30 to 36 inches) associated with Middle Eastern, South Asian, or North African cultures. A European term, ''scimitar'' does not refer to one specific swor ...
. In May 1950 Colquhoun was flying an Attacker to test the effectiveness of the air brakes. On the third of two dives the outer portion of the starboard wing folded up and the
ailerons An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
became locked. Colquhoun decided not to eject and managed to do a high-speed landing at Chilbolton, he used all but the last 100 yards (90m) of the runway and burst a tyre. He had saved the aircraft so the cause could be discovered and was awarded the
George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...
for his efforts.


Hovercraft

Colquhoun was soon testing the new hovercraft being produced by Vickers and went on to become operations manager of Vickers' Hovercraft division. In 1962 Colquhoun piloted a Vickers VA-3 on the first public hovercraft service which was between Wallasey and Rhyl. In 1966 he joined
Hoverlloyd Hoverlloyd operated a cross-Channel hovercraft service between Ramsgate, England, and Calais, France. Originally registered as ''Cross-Channel Hover Services Ltd'' in 1965, the company was renamed Hoverlloyd the following year. It was initiall ...
as operational manager for the cross channel hovercraft service, he later becoming managing director. When Hoverlloyd was taken over by
Seaspeed Seaspeed was a British hovercraft operator which ran services in the Solent and English Channel between 1965 and 1981, when it merged with a rival to form Hoverspeed. Seaspeed was a jointly owned subsidiary of railway companies British Rail ...
he then ran their jetfoil service to Dieppe.


Later life

Colquhoun became custodian of
Chiddingstone Castle Chiddingstone Castle is situated in the village of Chiddingstone, near Edenbridge, Kent, England, south-southeast of London and in the upper valley of the River Medway. The castle was built by the Streatfeild family and served as their seat ...
before he retired to live at
Broadstairs Broadstairs () is a coastal town on the Isle of Thanet in the Thanet district of east Kent, England, about east of London. It is part of the civil parish of Broadstairs and St Peter's, which includes St Peter's, and had a population in 2011 ...
in Kent. He died in 2001 leaving a wife and four daughters.


Honours and awards

* 1 August 1950 – Leslie Robert Colquhoun, DFC, DFM, Civil Test Pilot, Vickers Armstrongs Ltd., Supermarine Works. (Chilbolton, Hampshire) is awarded the
George Medal The George Medal (GM), instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI,''British Gallantry Medals'' (Abbott and Tamplin), p. 138 is a decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for gallantry, typically ...
:


References


Bibliography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colquhoun, Les 1921 births 2001 deaths Recipients of the George Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) English test pilots English aviators Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force airmen Royal Air Force personnel of World War II British World War II pilots