Английская Википедия:Henry Biard

Henry Biard (also known as Henri)Шаблон:Efn was a British pilot and aircraft racer. As chief test pilot for the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine, he won the 1922 Schneider Trophy air race and briefly held the world record for the fastest speed in a seaplane.

Biard was born in Surrey, where his father worked as a public school teacher, and spent time as a child on his mother's native island of Jersey, where he was educated at Victoria College. He first learned to fly in 1910 at the school of Claude Grahame-White in Hendon, and gained his aviator's certificate in 1912. He joined and resigned from the Royal Flying Corps shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, then worked as a flying instructor at the Grahame-White school. In 1917, he joined the Royal Naval Air Service, where he instructed pilots, flew anti-submarine patrols and saw aerial combat over the Western Front.

Biard joined Supermarine after being demobilised from the Royal Air Force, the successor to the RNAS, in 1919, and became a close colleague of R. J. Mitchell, the company's chief designer. He tested many Mitchell-designed aircraft, including the Swan, the Southampton, the Seagull and the Scarab. He was also the pilot for three of Supermarine's entries into the Schneider Trophy, winning the race in 1922, placing third in 1923 and being forced to withdraw after crashing his aircraft, the experimental Supermarine S5, the day before the 1925 race. Shortly beforehand, on 13 September 1925, he had set a world speed record of Шаблон:Convert for a seaplane over Шаблон:Convert.

After Supermarine's acquisition by Vickers (Aviation) Ltd in 1928, Biard lost his position as chief test pilot. He continued to work for the company until 1933, and released his autobiography, Wings, in 1934. During the Second World War, he re-joined the RAF, but resigned his commission in 1944 on the grounds of ill health. He settled with his wife in Guernsey, and died in Charminster on 18 January 1966.

Early life (1892–1919)

Henri Charles Amédée de La Faye BiardШаблон:Sfn was born in Godalming, Surrey,Шаблон:Sfn on 1 January 1892. He was the second of three sons of Raymond Biard,Шаблон:Sfnm Шаблон:Efn a Frenchman working as an assistant French master at Charterhouse School,Шаблон:Sfn and Lucy Constance Delmaine, a native of St Helier, Jersey.Шаблон:Sfn Henry Biard learned to swim at the age of four, and was described as a "water baby" in a 1958 article in The Liverpool Echo; he remained a keen swimmer and fisherman throughout his life.Шаблон:Sfn

Biard attended Victoria College, a public school on Jersey, between 1906 and 1907.Шаблон:Sfn The family lived at 2 Claremont Terrace in St Helier.Шаблон:Sfn They left the island in 1908: the Jersey historian Barrie Bertram has suggested that this was a consequence of a criminal charge made against Lucy Delmaine in May, by which she was accused of taking an eighteen-year-old woman, Elizabeth Mary Price, into her home "for the purposes of debauchery" with her eldest son, Raymond, who was nineteen.Шаблон:Sfnm

Photograph of a wooden biplane

A replica Bristol Boxkite, photographed in 2014

In 1910,Шаблон:Sfn Biard went to the flying school run by the aviation pioneer Claude Grahame-White in Hendon, northwest London, to take lessons.Шаблон:Sfn According to the Liverpool Echo, his parents considered flying "a crazy, dangerous business".Шаблон:Sfn On his first day in Hendon, Biard bought a chequered cap in the same style as that worn by Grahame-White,Шаблон:Sfn and spent the remainder of the day waiting for a pilot to take him up. The following day, he tricked his way onto a Bristol Boxkite that had been warmed up for flight, took off, piloted the aircraft for a mile across the aerodrome, picked up a mechanic, and flew back safely.Шаблон:Refn He later wrote that he had made the flight "more or less by French leave".Шаблон:Sfn Biard subsequently received formal instruction at the school, during which the instructor sat astride his aircraft's fuel tank. He gained his aviator's certificate, numbered 218, on 4 June 1912,Шаблон:Sfn and became an instructor at the Grahame-White school.Шаблон:Sfn

On 16 April 1913, Biard was commissioned as a probationary second lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps,Шаблон:Sfn and was posted to its Central Flying School at Upavon on Salisbury Plain.Шаблон:Sfn He recounted in 1934 that, during his time at Upavon, the school's assistant commandant – the future head of the Royal Air Force, Hugh Trenchard – took him as a passenger in a test-flight of an experimental aircraft: the flight ended in a crash, from which both escaped unhurt.Шаблон:Sfn He resigned his commission in the RFC; this was reported in the London Gazette of 2 June 1914 as effective the following day.Шаблон:Sfn Шаблон:Quote box Biard was staying at his paternal grandfather's farm in northern France when the First World War broke out in August 1914. The farm was on a route used by refugees fleeing the fighting, and was burned by advancing German cavalry.Шаблон:Sfn He returned to England and to work at Grahame-White's school, where in May 1916 he piloted the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw on an acrobatic flight.Шаблон:Refn On 2 December 1917, Biard was commissioned into the Royal Naval Air Service; he is named in the Navy List as holding the rank of probationary flight officer, which usually denoted a newly-recruited officer under training, in March 1918.Шаблон:Refn He is believed to have undergone training at the RNAS's flight school in Vendôme, France.Шаблон:Sfn He served as a flying instructorШаблон:Sfn and took part in anti-submarine patrols, flying a Wright seaplane.Шаблон:Sfn He later described dropping bombs against a U-boat and seeing oil in the water, usually a sign of a sinking.Шаблон:Sfn He also fought over the Western Front, where he shot down a German Albatros aircraft.Шаблон:Sfn On 1 April 1918, the RNAS was merged with the RFC to form the Royal Air Force.Шаблон:Sfn The London Gazette reported that Biard had been entered onto the RAF's unemployed list on 22 May 1919, with the rank of second lieutenant.Шаблон:Sfn

Test pilot for Supermarine

Black-and-white photo of aircraft sheds, facing out onto the sea.

The Supermarine aviation works at Woolston, near Southampton, photographed in 1924

Upon leaving the RAF, Biard became the chief test pilot for the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine.Шаблон:Sfn He was the most experienced of six pilots, all former RNAS aviators, hired by the firm's owner Hubert Scott-Paine: the others included F. J. Bailey and Basil Deacon Hobbs. Hobbs, later a decorated member of the Royal Canadian Air Force,Шаблон:Sfn piloted the Supermarine Sea Lion I for the 1919 Schneider Trophy, an annual speed trial for seaplanes. Biard accompanied Hobbs's team and flew spectators around the bay in one of Supermarine's flying boats for a price of three guineas (£3.3s, Шаблон:Inflation),Шаблон:Sfnm described by the historian Ralph Pegram as "a huge sum at the time".Шаблон:Sfn The race was ultimately declared void amidst poor visibility due to fog and confusion among organisers and pilots.Шаблон:Sfnm In March 1921, Biard flew a delegation of Japanese military and civil officials out above the English Channel in a Channel II aircraft, despite poor weather: the aircraft's good performance in these conditions led Japan to purchase three.Шаблон:Sfn When there was no flying to be done, Biard was tasked with other jobs around the Supermarine works: he was once introduced to a set of prospective customers while shovelling coal from a lorry.Шаблон:Sfn

During the railway strike of 27 September–5 October 1919, Scott-Paine tasked Biard with flying a daily route in a Channel II from Supermarine's headquarters at Woolston in Hampshire to Le Havre in Normandy, replacing the steam-powered ships that normally sailed from Southampton and whose crews had struck in solidarity with the railway workers.Шаблон:Sfn Biard was to fly each day in all weathers, usually alongside another Supermarine pilot.Шаблон:Sfn On the return journey from his first crossing, Biard ran out of fuel, having waited in the air around half an hour for his colleague, Hobbs, to take off, and was forced to land at Bembridge on the Isle of Wight: Hobbs did not notice Biard's absence until he himself landed at Woolston. An aerial search was launched to find Biard, who managed to find petrol and return safely.Шаблон:Sfn The flights carried passengers for a fare of £12.10s (Шаблон:Inflation),Шаблон:Efn and occasionally mail.Шаблон:Sfn During an impromptu race against Biard on a return flight from Le Havre, for which neither pilot had any passengers, his colleague Bailey crashed near the Isle of Wight: Biard located the wreckage, where he was met by another aircraft carrying Bailey as a passenger. Having been picked up by a fishing boat and taken to Southampton, Bailey had undertaken to be flown back to the crash site to prove that he had survived.Шаблон:Sfn

While at Supermarine, Biard became close friends with R. J. Mitchell, who became its chief designer in the same year as Biard joined.Шаблон:Refn Biard's reports on the performance of Mitchell's designs were an important influence on the development of several of them.Шаблон:Sfn Biard flew passenger services to the Channel Islands,Шаблон:Sfn which may have included the first commercial flight to them.Шаблон:Sfn He was certainly the pilot of the first commercial flights to Guernsey, which commenced in August 1923 under the auspices of British Marine Air Navigation Co Ltd, a short-lived collaboration between Supermarine and Southern Railway from August until November 1923.Шаблон:Refn Biard made these flights in a Supermarine Sea Eagle, initially landing in L'Ancresse Bay; later services would fly to the island's capital, Saint Peter Port.Шаблон:Sfn

Biard's colleague at Supermarine, Harry Griffiths, described him in 2006 as "what would now be termed a 'characterШаблон:'";Шаблон:Sfn Hubert Broad, alongside whom Biard was due to fly the 1925 Schneider Trophy, called him "fey".Шаблон:Sfn Biard made a practice of shooting cormorants with a shotgun on the water around Supermarine's Hythe factory, often while riding as a passenger in a seaplane. In an anecdote related by Griffiths, Biard brought a snake hidden in a box to a dinner of the Supermarine design staff, and released the animal partway through the proceedings: the snake bit Biard, and caused a commotion in which a visiting director of the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate cracked his prosthetic leg.Шаблон:Sfn

1922 Schneider Trophy victory

Silver trophy, with various inscribed plates screwed to it, showing a winged figure kissing another who is lying on (his?) back

The Schneider Trophy

By 1920, the Schneider Trophy was considered, in the words of the historian Terry Gwynn-Jones, "the world's most fabled air race".Шаблон:Refn It had also become the only remaining international aviation race in 1920, after the French pilot Joseph Sadi-Lecointe had secured his country's third consecutive victory in the Gordon Bennett race, allowing France to retain the trophy and ending the competition.Шаблон:Sfn The Schneider Trophy was won by Italy in both 1920 and 1921; three consecutive wins would have allowed them to retain the trophy in perpetuity in the same fashion.Шаблон:Sfn

In previous iterations of the event, competing aircraft had been required to carry a payload to simulate the armament of a military aircraft; this rule was removed in 1922, allowing the construction of more specialised racing machines.Шаблон:Sfn Supermarine decided to construct a racing aircraft, the Sea Lion II, specifically for the event. This project was initiated towards the middle of 1921 by R. J. Mitchell at the behest of James Bird, a former naval aviator turned Supermarine director. The prototype aircraft was constructed secretly through the winter of 1921–22 in a hangar at the back of Supermarine's works; Biard, who was to fly the aircraft, was not told of its existence until early July 1922, when he agreed to be the pilot for the race.Шаблон:Refn The race had originally been scheduled for 26 August, but in mid-July the Italian Шаблон:Lang – who were hosting the race as the winners of the previous year – announced, possibly under governmental pressure, that it would be moved forward to 12 August.Шаблон:Sfn

In contrast to its later stature after 1927, when the British entry to the race was co-ordinated by the Air Ministry and the event became one of the most popular sporting events in the country, British participation in the Schneider Trophy in the early 1920s received no government funding and was entirely organised by aircraft manufacturers.Шаблон:Sfn A substantial entry fee was charged to ensure that only serious contenders put themselves forward.Шаблон:Sfn In order to raise the necessary funds,Шаблон:Sfn Supermarine entered a partnership with D. Napier and Son, who made the Sea Lion II's engine.Шаблон:Sfn This contrasted with their French and Italian rivals, whose teams were sponsored by the state; the Italian team was organised by the Blackshirt leader and future marshal of the Italian Air Force, Italo Balbo.Шаблон:Sfn Scott-Paine intended his company's entry into the competition to generate publicity and additional orders for its aircraft, and to reverse the trend by which Supermarine – which specialised in flying boats – had gained few government orders compared with its British rivals.Шаблон:Sfn

Black-and-white photograph of a biplane, facing away from the camera, floating on calm water.

The Sea Lion II, photographed on the Bay of Naples in 1922

At the time of the Italian announcement, the Sea Lion II – which was given the number N.157 – had not yet been air-tested: in its first test flight, Biard's engine cut out due to an air lock, and he was forced to make an emergency landing. Modifications to the fuel system were made, followed by further test flights over the succeeding days and further modifications to improve the aircraft's speed and handling.Шаблон:Sfn On his second flight, Biard reported reaching almost Шаблон:Convert, then the fastest speed ever recorded in a flying boat.Шаблон:Sfn While the French entry was forced to withdraw, citing their inability to bring their aircraft to Naples in time for the revised date, the Supermarine team were delivered by what the competition's historian Edward Eves calls a "patriotic" coming-together of various British firms: the General Steam Navigation Company, whose management included friends of Scott-Paine, redirected their SS Philomel to transport the crew and aircraft, while Castrol, directed by its founder Charles Cheers Wakefield, donated the team's oil and provided additional money towards its undertakings.Шаблон:Sfn

The course consisted of thirteen laps, each of Шаблон:Convert, of a course around the Bay of Naples.Шаблон:Sfn Turning points were marked by balloons.Шаблон:Sfn In his practice flights, which were widely advertised to the Italian aviators, Biard flew slowly and with what the aviation historian Jonathan Glancey describes as a "deliberate insouciance", aiming to create a false sense of security in his rivals.Шаблон:Sfnm During one test flight, over Mount Vesuvius, Biard was unexpectedly lifted Шаблон:Convert on a thermal, but the aircraft's unusually good manoeuvrability allowed him to escape without incident.Шаблон:Sfnm The Savoia S.51, which was to be flown by the Italian pilot Шаблон:Ill, failed the mandatory flotation test held on 10 August (by which all aircraft were required to remain afloat at anchor for six hours, without needing to be bailed out): under the rules, it should have been disqualified from the race, but Scott-Paine considered it unsporting to lodge a protest to that effect, and so Passaleva was allowed to compete.Шаблон:Sfn During the navigability trials of 11 August, which all aircraft passed, Biard continued his strategy of disguising his aircraft's capabilities by flying slowly and making unnecessarily wide turns. Passaleva suffered from vibration caused by his propeller, which was beginning to delaminate after being immersed in water the previous day. The competition rules, however, forbade him from changing it.Шаблон:Sfn

Vector map showing a triangular course around the Gulf of Naples, with turning-points marked by balloons.

Map of the course of the 1922 Schneider Trophy air race around the Gulf of Naples

The event, in common with most major sporting competitions in Italy, was held in the afternoon, starting at 4pm. Conditions were calm and warm; Biard flew in a shirt and flannel trousers, following his usual habit of eschewing a flight suit. Pilots drew lots to determine the order in which they would fly. Biard was allocated the first lap, which he completed in a time of 7 minutes and 10 seconds – the fastest lap time of any competitor in the race, representing an average speed of Шаблон:Convert and reaching a maximum of over Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfnm Шаблон:Efn The second to depart was Piero Corgnolino, flying a Macchi M.7bis; Arturo Zanetti departed third, flying relatively slowly with a first lap time of 7 minutes 31.7 seconds owing to concerns as to his machine's airworthiness. Biard flew fastest for the first seven laps, gradually dropping to a lap time of 7 minutes 29.3 seconds for the final lap.Шаблон:Sfn He won in a total time of 1 hour, 34 minutes and 51.6 seconds, flying at an average speed of Шаблон:Convert and beating Passaleva by two minutes and Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfnm Biard flew two additional laps of the course, as he had previously arranged with the race's timekeepers, to take his total distance to Шаблон:Convert and so to set speed records for all of the Шаблон:Convert, 200 km and 400 km distances.Шаблон:Efn

Eves suggests that Biard's faster flying over the first seven laps, which represented a distance of 200 km, was similarly intended to ensure that he broke the record for that distance.Шаблон:Sfn Biard's own account of the race, in his autobiography, has been described by Pegram as "a work of pure fiction".Шаблон:Sfn According to Biard's account, the three Italian pilots had worked together to require him to gain height in order to overtake them. This version of events is inconsistent with the distances between the aircraft during the race: owing to his earlier start, Biard remained several miles behind Passaleva throughout the race and overtook the other pilots only once; Zanetti on Biard's fourth lap and Corgnolino on his sixth.Шаблон:Sfn

The aviation historians David Coles and Peter Sherrard credit Biard's victory to his "superb flying skills", and his success with driving the expansion of Supermarine and Mitchell's design team; in the aftermath of the victory, Mitchell hired Joseph Smith, who would eventually succeed him as chief designer after Mitchell's death in June 1937, as well as Alan Clifton, who became the firm's chief designer in the 1950s, and Arthur Shirvall, who specialised in designing floats for seaplanes, including those used on variants of the Spitfire.Шаблон:Refn On 28 December 1922, Passaleva set a new seaplane world speed record, flying an S.51 at Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn On his return from Naples, Biard was due to fly in the King's Cup, a round-Britain race, which was flown between 8–9 September, as the favourite: however, he was unable to make it back to Britain in time, and the race was won by Frank L. Barnard.Шаблон:Sfnm Biard eventually returned to Britain to a hero's welcome.Шаблон:Sfn

Schneider Trophy 1923: Cowes

Photograph of a man in a flight suit and life preserver, standing the cockpit of a biplane floating on water. He is speaking to another man stood just outside the aircraft.

Biard aboard the Sea Lion III, photographed in Flight magazine, October 1923

Supermarine's entry was submitted only shortly before the 1923 competition, at Cowes on the Isle of Wight, was held on 28 September. The company had sold the Sea Lion II to the Air Ministry following Biard's victory the previous year, but borrowed it back and tasked Mitchell with increasing its speed by Шаблон:Convert. Mitchell made aerodynamic improvements including shortening its wingspan from Шаблон:Convert, redesigning its floats, moving its outer struts within the structure of the aircraft and enclosing the engine in a compact, aerodynamic cowling.Шаблон:Sfn The new aircraft, designated the Sea Lion III, used a Шаблон:Convert Napier Lion engine, Шаблон:Convert more powerful than that used for the Sea Lion II, and had its nose cone painted with the face and whiskers of a sea lion.Шаблон:Sfnm On first seeing the aircraft, Biard predicted that it was "going to be a bit playful to get off the water":Шаблон:Refn indeed, the aircraft tended to jump off the water before it had reached its full flying speed, possibly due to its higher take-off speed than its predecessor.Шаблон:Sfn

Biard was the only British competitor in the race. Initially, Sopwith had entered the Sopwith Schneider, an aircraft originally intended to compete in the cancelled 1919 edition of the race, subsequently rebuilt (as the Sopwith Rainbow) into a landplane, and re-modified in 1922 into a seaplane. However, the Schneider's propeller spinner fell off during a test flight, forcing the pilot, Walter Longton, to land it on a golf course, where it overturned and was too badly damaged to enter the race.Шаблон:Refn The other British entry was from Reginald Kenworthy, the chief test pilot for the Leeds-based Blackburn Aeroplane and Motor Company: Kenworthy was forced to withdraw after three aborted test flights: the aircraft capsized in the first, and overheated its engine in the second. On his third test flight, during navigability trials on 27 September, Kenworthy crashed into the water, spent almost a minute underwater and lost consciousness when pulled onto a rescue boat; his life was saved by his wife, who gave him artificial respiration.Шаблон:Sfnm His aircraft – the Blackburn Pellet – was subsequently nicknamed the "Plummet".Шаблон:Sfn

The course, around the Solent, was five laps each of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn The race began at 11am in calm conditions, with a slight breeze from the west.Шаблон:Sfn By agreement, the two American pilots – lieutenants David Rittenhouse and Rutledge Irvine of the United States Navy, flying Curtiss CR-3 aircraft – took off first. Biard followed, and was almost disqualified as his aircraft bounced on chop on the sea surface, crossing the start line in the air, against the rule that aircraft could take off only after crossing it. The race committee initially announced his disqualification, but Supermarine's director James Bird lodged a protest and Sefton Brancker, the chair of the Royal Aero Club's racing committee, had the decision overturned.Шаблон:Refn Biard completed his first lap in 17 minutes 11.2 seconds, representing an average speed of Шаблон:Convert, against 15 minutes 27.6 seconds from Irvine.Шаблон:Sfn On the fifth and final lap, Rittenhouse flew at an average of Шаблон:Convert to finish in 14 minutes and 11 seconds, his fastest time of the race; Biard similarly flew his fastest lap at Шаблон:Convert in 15 minutes 59 seconds. Overall, he flew at an average of Шаблон:Convert, Шаблон:Convert faster than his winning speed the previous year, and finished third, twenty minutes behind the two Americans.Шаблон:Sfn Rittenhouse won the race at a speed of Шаблон:Convert,Шаблон:Sfnm followed by Irvine at an average speed of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn

Biard flew the Sea Lion III to the Isle of Grain air station at RAF Kingsnorth, probably in 1924, to return it to the Air Ministry. It was then taken to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment at Felixstowe. The aircraft was destroyed on 5 July of that year, when its pilot, Flying Officer E. E. Paull-Smith, attempted to take off without applying full throttle; this caused the aircraft to make one of its characteristic "bounces", rising Шаблон:Convert into the air before crashing into the sea, killing Paull-Smith.Шаблон:Sfnm

Schneider Trophy 1925: Baltimore

Photograph of two men in suits, in front of an aeroplane, facing the camera.

Biard (left) and R. J. Mitchell (right) in front of the Supermarine S4

The 1925 Schneider Trophy race was held on 24 October in Baltimore,Шаблон:Efn with a course over Chesapeake Bay. Biard was due to fly the Supermarine S4, an aircraft designed by Mitchell and built in collaboration with Napier Lion and the Air Ministry.Шаблон:Sfnm Biard had been the pilot for the S4's first flight, which took place on 24 August.Шаблон:Sfn The S4 used a monoplane design against the biplane configuration most common in contemporary seaplanes: no major international race had been won in a monoplane since the French aviator Maurice Prévost had won the Gordon Bennett Trophy in a Deperdussin Monocoque in 1913.Шаблон:Refn According to the historian Constance Babington Smith, Biard was "frankly awestruck" by the elegance of the Supermarine S4, and its contrast with what she calls "the galumphing flying-boats of the era, with their clutter of struts and wires".Шаблон:Sfn Eves, by contrast, writes that Biard "heartily disliked" the limited visibility afforded by the aircraft and was, like most pilots of his era, unfamiliar with flying monoplanes.Шаблон:Sfn On 13 September, on a three-mile course at Calshot in Hampshire, Biard set a world seaplane speed record, flying at Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfnm

During the crossing from England, aboard SS Minnewaska, Biard broke his wrist playing tennis on the deck; after arriving in the United States, he caught influenza for the first time in his life.Шаблон:Sfnm Facilities to store the visiting aircraft had yet to be completed, which delayed the unloading of the S4 from the Minnewaska:Шаблон:Sfn eventually, a large tent was erected to serve as a makeshift hangar, and the aircraft was damaged when one of the tent-poles fell on its tail in bad weather.Шаблон:Sfnm The captain of the British team, Charles B. Wilson, suggested to Biard that he withdraw in favour of the reserve pilot, Bert Hinkler, but Biard refused.Шаблон:Sfn

On 25 October, the day before the race was due to be held,Шаблон:Sfn Biard stalled at approximately Шаблон:Convert during a navigability trial.Шаблон:Sfnm Observers saw him make a steep right-hand bank at high speed, which suddenly changed into a steep left-hand bank; the aircraft then began to stall and yaw, eventually entering a deep stall and making a precipitous fall from approximately Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn Biard was able to bring the aircraft to a landing on the water, narrowly missing the nearby RMS Majestic, but its undercarriage collapsed from the impact.Шаблон:Sfnm Mitchell had positioned himself on a speedboat – owned by Louis Mountbatten, the future Viceroy of India – and put on his swimming trunks underneath his suit in preparation for a possible rescue, but the boat broke down. Broad, who had taken off for his own trial before Biard, landed and taxied over to Biard, finding him conscious and floating on the water, and held onto him until the rescue boat arrived, almost an hour after the crash.Шаблон:Sfn Various accounts report that Mitchell's first words to Biard were to sardonically ask whether the water was warm enough for him. Biard withdrew to the team's base at the Southern Hotel, with concussion and having broken two ribs and rebroken his wrist: he played no part in the following day's race.Шаблон:Sfnm The United States Army's James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, who would later be awarded the Medal of Honor for his 1942 raid on Japan, won the race, maintaining an average speed of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn The following day, Doolittle set a new world record on a straight course, flying at Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfnm

Biard blamed the crash on wing flutter, with which Broad concurred; this assessment was factored into Mitchell's design of the later S6, which was fitted with wing stiffeners.Шаблон:Sfn Later experiments using a scale model in a wind tunnel were generally inconclusive, but suggested that airflow over the wings may have interfered with the aircraft's elevators and tailplanes, causing aileron flutter.Шаблон:Sfnm The historian Derek James has suggested that the accident may have been caused by aileron reversal, which can itself be caused by flutter, or by the failure of a wing flap and aileron interconnection system.Шаблон:Refn Glancey has also suggested that poor visibility – the aircraft's engine obscured much of its pilot's field of view – may have contributed to the crash;Шаблон:Sfn it has also been suggested that the flutter may have been caused by the aircraft's ailerons being too large, or that Biard might have stalled by misjudging a turn.Шаблон:Sfnm

Britain made no entry into the 1926 Schneider Trophy, after a meeting of the Air Ministry, the Royal Aero Club and the Society of British Aircraft Constructors took the view that Britain would not be able to produce a race-winning aircraft in time. From the 1927 competition onwards, the training and selection of pilots was conducted by the RAF, which formed its High Speed Flight on 1 October 1926 for the purpose.Шаблон:Efn Шаблон:Sfnm Britain retained the trophy and ended the competition after its third consecutive win – by John Boothman, who flew with no foreign opponents – in 1931.Шаблон:Sfn Had he flown in 1925, Biard would have been the only pilot ever to appear three times in the race.Шаблон:Sfn

Other work for Supermarine

Biard tested the Supermarine Swan on its first flight on 25 March 1924.Шаблон:Sfn On 10 March 1925, he made the first flight of the Supermarine Southampton, in an aircraft numbered N9896, at Woolston. The aircraft's wing-tip float was damaged during the flight,Шаблон:Sfn leading to the adjustment of its angle of incidence and subsequent total redevelopment.Шаблон:Sfn The Southampton was subsequently adopted by the RAF, as well as by Argentina, Turkey and Australia,Шаблон:Sfn and was credited as "a new standard for marine aircraft" by the aviation historians C. F. Andrews and E. B. Morgan.Шаблон:Sfn Other aircraft he tested included the Seamew,Шаблон:Sfn the Seagull and the Scarab, a militarised version of the Sea Eagle designed for the Spanish Navy.Шаблон:Sfnm He met the future Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales, on 27 July, during the prince's tour of the Supermarine works.Шаблон:Sfn On 12 August 1924, Biard flew in the King's Cup, in a Seagull, with F. J. Bailey as his navigator. Biard and Bailey were forced to withdraw from the race when, flying over Newcastle at around Шаблон:Convert, a blade of the propeller broke off, striking Biard and briefly rendering him unconscious.Шаблон:Sfnm

Biard made the first flight of the Sparrow, Supermarine's first attempt at designing a landplane, on 11 September 1924. During his early test flights, Ernest Mansbridge, a designer for Supermarine, sat in the aircraft's second seat with an alarm clock to measure the aircraft's rate of climb, as well as bags of sand to be thrown out in order to adjust its weight.Шаблон:Sfn Biard characterised the Sparrow as being "as impudent as its name implied".Шаблон:Sfn During a demonstration flight, watched by Mitchell and Supermarine's directors, the aircraft's engine failed in mid-air; Biard made an emergency landing, crashing through a hedge, from which he escaped unhurt.Шаблон:Sfn The aircraft had been designed for the Royal Aero Club's Two-Seater Light Aeroplane Competition, held at Lympne in Kent during late September and early October 1924, which carried a prize of £2,000 (Шаблон:Inflation).Шаблон:Sfnm The Air Ministry criticised the Sparrow's design, particularly that of its landing gear and controls, as lacking attention to detail and as limiting the pilot's view from the cockpit;Шаблон:Sfn the aircraft was subsequently eliminated from the Lympne trial when a connecting rod in its engine failed: the engine which was fitted to replace it initially failed to start, then seized in mid-air, forcing Biard to make another emergency landing. Biard did, however, race the aircraft on 14 October at Lympne for the Grosvenor Cup; he placed fourth with an average speed of Шаблон:Convert.Шаблон:Sfn

Photograph of a gravestone in front of a Celtic cross.

Grave of Samuel Kinkead at All Saints' Church, Fawley

Supermarine rebuilt the Sparrow, now designated the Sparrow II, with a Шаблон:Convert Bristol Cherub III engine for the 1926 competition.Шаблон:Efn The aircraft, Шаблон:Convert heavier and Шаблон:Convert slower than the Sparrow I,Шаблон:Sfn was forced to land in poor weather before passing the start line for the race on 12 September: Biard had noticed that its rivets were becoming loose and that the wings were in danger of falling off.Шаблон:Sfn On 12 March 1928, he witnessed, along with Mitchell, the death of his close friend Samuel Kinkead, an ace and former RNAS pilot, while attempting to set a speed record in the Supermarine S5.Шаблон:Refn Biard was subsequently quoted as blaming the crash on structural failure of the aircraft.Шаблон:Sfn

In November 1928, Supermarine was acquired by its rival firm Vickers (Aviation) Ltd.Шаблон:Sfn In mid-1930, Biard was demoted, and it was decided that future Supermarine aircraft would be test-flown by Vickers pilots only. Pegram has suggested that Biard's demotion may have been a result of the new management's hostility to his well-known irreverent attitude and propensity for practical jokes. Biard later attributed his disfavour to his increasing age; he turned thirty-eight in 1930.Шаблон:Sfn The last prototype he flew was the Supermarine Air Yacht, in February 1930:Шаблон:Sfn his colleague Harry Griffiths reported a story that Biard refused to fully fuel the aircraft, believing that it would not be able to take off fully loaded, but rather pretended to do so by "pumping" fuel from empty barrels.Шаблон:Sfn The Air Yacht was purchased in 1932 by an American client, June Jewell James: she contracted Biard to fly it for her on a cruise of the Mediterranean, though he was forced to withdraw halfway through the voyage for an operation on his stomach injury from the 1925 Schneider Trophy crash. The aircraft would later crash on 25 January 1933; James broke her leg and the aircraft was scrapped.Шаблон:Refn

Biard continued to test Vickers aircraft that used Supermarine floats, and flew the Vickers Vildebeest on a tour of the Baltic in 1931.Шаблон:Sfn He remained a public figure; when he was hospitalised in Southampton for a sudden illness over a weekend in 1932, the story was reported in The Scotsman.Шаблон:Sfn He left Supermarine in 1933.Шаблон:Refn

Later and personal life

Biard moved to Titchfield in Hampshire, where he ran a small shop.Шаблон:Sfn Unusually among test pilots in the era, he wrote an autobiography for the popular market, which he titled Wings and released in 1934.Шаблон:Sfn He wrote for various British newspapers, including a series of five columns, titled Learn to Fly Now, for a local Hampshire newspaper in 1934 and another series on the history of flight for London's Sunday Dispatch in the same year.Шаблон:Sfnm In September 1936, he wrote a piece in the Bradford Observer, arguing that it would be impossible to stop a bomber offensive in the event of a major war, and consequently that British defence spending on air defence – particularly from the Royal Navy – was misguided.Шаблон:Sfn

Biard moved to Guernsey and worked for the Guernsey Meteorological Service, but returned to Hendon after the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, as a communications pilot for the RAFШаблон:Sfn with the service number 70062.Шаблон:Sfn He spent most of his Second World War service in the RAF's Administrative and Special Duties Branch, except for a transfer to the General Duties Branch between 1 August 1940 and 17 March 1941.Шаблон:Refn On 2 July 1944, he relinquished his commission on the grounds of ill health, leaving at the rank of flying officer.Шаблон:Sfn He co-wrote a book on aviation, Modern Air Transport, with F. S. Stuart, which was published in 1946.Шаблон:Sfn

In 1933, the Daily Mirror reported that Biard had two sons: Claude, then aged thirteen, and Michael, then aged six.Шаблон:Sfn By 1958, Biard and his wife had returned to Guernsey;Шаблон:Sfn he lived in later life in a bungalow near Rocquaine Bay. He died on 18 January 1966 in the village of Charminster, in Dorset. The Guernsey historian James Marr gave him the sobriquet "Rocquiane's dare-devil of the skies".Шаблон:Sfn

Footnotes

Explanatory notes

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References

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Works cited

Period newspapers and reports

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Printed and web sources