Dave Glaser
Ernest Derek Glaser | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Hampshire, England |
| Died | July 4, 2001 (aged 80) |
| Occupation(s) | Royal Air Force officer, test pilot, aviation consultant |
| Years active | 1939–1983 |
| Known for | Service in the Battle of Britain, test piloting Vickers aircraft |
Template:EngvarB Template:Infobox military person Squadron Leader Ernest Derek 'Dave' Glaser Template:Postnominals (20 April 1921 – 4 July 2001) served as a British Royal Air Force officer during the Battle of Britain and subsequently became a distinguished test pilot.[1][2]
Biography
Glaser, son of a former Royal Flying Corps officer, was raised in Hampshire. His education included time at Lancing House and Bloxham School, prior to his acceptance into flying training with the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in April 1939.[3]
World War II
In 1940, Glaser was assigned to No. 65 Squadron RAF, piloting Supermarine Spitfire fighters alongside notable aviators such as Jeffrey Quill and Franciszek Gruszka during the Battle of Britain.[4] His aircraft featured distinctive nose art depicting The Laughing Cavalier. Promoted to Flight Lieutenant, he took up the role of flight commander with No. 234 Squadron RAF in July 1940.[5] During his tenure with No. 234 Squadron, he was unintentionally shot down by a Royal Navy vessel off England’s southern coast on 13 July 1940.[6] He attained the rank of Pilot Officer in 1941.[7]
In October of the same year, he was appointed temporary squadron commander. His service was recognised with the awarding of the Distinguished Flying Cross in August 1942.[8] In 1943, Glaser was posted to Australia as Officer Commanding 'B' Flight of No. 549 Squadron RAF, a Spitfire unit responsible for defending Darwin against air raids by the Empire of Japan.[9] Early in 1945, he earned promotion to Squadron Leader and assumed command of No. 548 Squadron RAF, also stationed at Darwin. The following year, he received the Air Efficiency Award.
Test pilot
Following a two-year period abroad, he returned to the UK, received a permanent commission, and was assigned to Linton-on-Ouse in Yorkshire. There, he served as the flight commander for No. 64 Squadron RAF, which operated a reduced-strength Hornet fighter unit.
In 1949, Glaser successfully completed training at the Empire Test Pilots' School and took on the role of test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Establishment. By 1952, he had joined Vickers Armstrong as a test pilot, contributing to the evaluation and advancement of aircraft including the Vickers Varsity, Vickers Viscount, and Vickers Valiant. His responsibilities also extended to flight testing the BAC One-Eleven. In 1979, Glaser advanced to become flight operations manager and instructor for test pilots at Rombac in Romania. He concluded his career at British Aerospace in 1983, after which he pursued a successful path as an aviation consultant. Throughout his career, Glaser was honored with the military Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in 1953 and later received the commendation for civil test flying in 1968.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Dave Glaser profile
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ BBC – WW2 People's War, Sgt Pilot Harold Orchard RAF – Part 4 https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/17/a6812417.shtml (Accessed 8 January 2015)
- ↑ Peter Brown, '6 October', RAF Southend (The History Press, 1 June 2012)
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ↑ Template:London Gazette
- ↑ Template:London Gazette
- ↑ Andrew Thomas, Spitfire Aces of Burma and the Pacific (Osprey Publishing, 2009), 93.