The London interview

Title

The London interview

Genre

Interview

TX Date

11 Oct 1980

Year of production

1980

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Duration

00:53:08

Description

The London Interview, with Bob Holness. World War II fighter pilot John Cunningham tells how he ended up fighting at night. Cunningham describes being one of the first pilots to use radar and discusses the adoption of the rumour that carrots can make you see better in the dark. He speaks of his involvement in the D-Day invasions and rescuing the first RAF Prisoner of War, and his experiences as a test pilot after the end of the War (including testing the first jet engine-powered aircraft). He also recalls the deaths of fellow test pilots Geoffrey de Havilland Jr and John Derry. Cunningham talks about the development of multi-engine aircraft with Boeing, and his future plans for retirement. In two parts, with break in recording.

Contributors

Bob Holness; John Cunningham

Keywords

Aircraft; Civil aviation; Military aircraft; Pilots; Second World War (1939-1945); First World War (1914-1918); Operation Overlord (1944); Battle of Britain (1940); Aerospace industry; Aircraft spotting; Air transport; Jet engines; Radar; Air battles; Aircraft engineering; Aircraft research; John Derry; Geoffrey de Havilland Jr; Military aviation research; Applied research

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