Lionel Peter Twiss (born 23 July 1921) OBE DSC and bar is a British pilot, who held the World Air Speed Record. July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions, in decreasing order of seniority: Knight or Dame Grand... The Distinguished Service Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Navy (United Kingdom) and other services, and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for gallant or distinguished conduct during enemy actions at sea. ... Determining the fastest aircraft in the world is difficult, because of the wide variety of designs. ...

He had been rejected by the Fleet Air Arm as a pilot but when the Second World War broke out, he was accepted as a Naval Airman Second Class. He served initially on catapult ships flying Hawker Hurricanes. During the Malta convoys in 1942 he flew with 807 Squadron, firstly on Fairey Fulmars, and then Supermarine Seafires from the carrier HMS Furious. For these operations he received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). During Operation Torch (the Allied landings in Algeria and Morocco, he added a bar to his DSC. He then flew long range intruder operations over Germany from Ford Naval Air Station. During the war Twiss began to get opportunities to fly new aircraft and began test flying in 1944 in the United States. By the end of the war he was a lieutenant-commander. The Fleet Air Arm is the operational group of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of the aircraft on board their ships. ... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The Hawker Hurricane is a fighter design from the 1930s which was used extensively by the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain. ... The Fulmar was a carrier-borne fighter aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm built by Fairey Aviation during 1940. ... The still unpainted Spitfire protoype, K5054, shortly before its first flight The Supermarine Spitfire was a single-seat fighter used by the RAF and many Allied countries in World War II. Produced by Supermarine, the Spitfire was designed by R.J. Mitchell, who continued to refine it until his death... Five vessels of the British Royal Navy have been named HMS Furious: Furious, launched 1797, was a 12-gun gunvessel. ... The Distinguished Service Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the Royal Navy (United Kingdom) and other services, and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for gallant or distinguished conduct during enemy actions at sea. ... Combatants Western Allies (United States, United Kingdom, French resistance forces in Algiers) Germany Commanders Dwight Eisenhower François Darlan Strength 73,500 Casualties 479 dead + 720 wounded 1346 dead + 1997 wounded {{{notes}}} Operation Torch was the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North...

In 1946, Twiss joined Fairey Aviation as a test pilot and flew many of the company's aircraft, including the Fairey Primer, Fairey Gannet, Fairey Firefly, and the Fairey Rotodyne compound-helicopter. He worked two years on the Fairey Delta 2, a supersonic delta-winged research plane. Fairey Aviation Company logo The Fairey Aviation Company, Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer of the first half of the 20th century, notable for a number of important planes, including the Fairey III family and the Fairey Swordfish. ... The Fairey Gannet is a carrier-borne Anti-submarine warfare and Airborne Early Warning aircraft of the immediate post World War II-era developed for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. ... Fairey Firefly in flight, Oshkosh, 2003. ... The Fairey Rotodyne was a revolutionary concept in aerial transport, which was way ahead of its time. ... The Delta Two or FD2 was a British supersonic research aircraft produced by Fairey in response to a specification from the Ministry Of Supply. ...

On 10 March 1956, he flew the FD2 to a world speed record of 1820kph (1,132mph). In 1959 Fairey Aviation was sold to Westland Aircraft which is a helicopter manufacturer, which was not Twiss's area. Twiss joined Fairey Marine in 1960 and was responsible for development and sales of day-cruisers. He appeared in From Russia with Love driving one of the the company's speedboats. He also appeared in the film Sink the Bismark in which he flew a Fairey Swordfish. Today Twiss is a member of Lasham Gliding Society. March 10 is the 69th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (70th in Leap years). ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil in Somerset, formed just before the start of World War II. During the war the company produced a number of generally unsuccessful designs, but their Lysander would serve as an important liaison aircraft with the RAF. After the war the... A 2002 Penguin Books paperback edition From Russia with Love, published in 1957, is the fifth James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming. ... Sink the Bismarck! is a 1960 war film based on the book by C. S. Forester. ... The Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during World War II. Affectionately known as the Stringbag by its crews, it was outdated by 1939, but achieved some spectacular successes during the war. ... Location Lasham Airfield is 6 miles south-south-east of Basingstoke in Hampshire near the village of Lasham. ...

References

• Autobiography: Peter Twiss (2000). Faster than the Sun, Grub Street Publishing. ISBN 1902304438.

External links

• Biography