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Wings on My Sleeve

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Wings on My Sleeve

By: Eric 'Winkle' Brown
Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
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About this listen

 THE WORLD'S GREATEST TEST PILOT TELLS HIS STORY
'When you read through his life story, it makes James Bond seem like a bit of a slacker'
Kirsty Young, Desert Island Discs

'The greatest test pilot who ever lived. A true inspiration'
Tim Peake, astronaut and former regular British Army Air Corps officer

'The stories beggar belief'
Guardian

'Fascinating reading . . . His amazing life story is quite literally "stranger than fiction"'
Today's Pilot

In 1939, Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve: and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else.

During his lifetime he made a record-breaking 2,407 aircraft carrier landings and survived eleven plane crashes. One of Britain's few German-speaking airmen, he went to Germany in 1945 to test the Nazi jets, interviewing (among others) Hermann Goering and Hanna Reitsch. He flew the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane, and tested the first British jets.

Wings on My Sleeve is 'Winkle' Brown's incredible story.©2006 Eric Brown (P)2016 Orion Publishing Group Air Forces Armed Forces Engineering Military Military & War Aviation War US Air Force Submarine
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This is truly a must read; an amazing book about an amazing life in the air.

an amazing book

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Interesting if you are interested in planes, fascinating if you love planes and their history

Great

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Really enjoyed this book, but felt that i didn't really get to know much about Eric Brown personally. A couple of things that I knew about him, for example that he attended the 1933 Olympics and not shaking Hermann Goering's hand, were absent. Highly recommended nontheless.

Great story about an incredible flying career.

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Was really interesting story and a must listen for ww2 fighter plane fans. Top narrative and well writen.

Top story

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Definitely one of my favourite books. Eric Brown’s story is unique and well written, capturing the extraordinary times of his life and the flying experiences he had. Told with a humility that is rare amongst his peers, the story gives a glimpse of the hard work, discipline and focus on perfection that laid solid foundations for all Navy air arms for generations to come.

Unique, fascinating, humble

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