Obituary

MBE MRAeS RN Ret’d
1921-2021

John Fay died recently at the age of 99, only a few months before his 100th birthday. John was a professional pilot who enjoyed flying, although he did not convey the carefree image of Chuck Yeager or Top Gun.

He approached his task with quiet confidence that made one feel safe with him. John was born in Brazil in 1921 and brought up in New Zealand until the age of nine when he came to England.

He was educated at Bradfield College and went straight from there to join the Fleet Air Arm in 1940. His training was on Miles Magister, Fairey Battle and then on to Swordfish and Albacore.

He was appointed to 832 Squadron in HMS Victorious and operated firstly on the Arctic convoy runs to Murmansk and subsequently to the Mediterranean. He also had a short spell at Manston operating in the English Channel.

Victorious crossed the Atlantic at the end of 1942 and after some modifications joined the US fleet in the Pacific. In the meanwhile, 832 Squadron converted to Grumman Avengers and had the distinction of being the first British squadron to operate from an American carrier, which was the USS Saratoga.

After returning from the Pacific he joined the Service Trial Unit at Crail until being appointed to the first helicopter course in Britain at Hanworth in March 1944.

With the war over, he joined the British European Helicopter Unit, which carried out pioneering work, such as mail, passenger instrument flying and pilot training.

On joining Westland aircraft as a test pilot and instructor, he flew the aircraft being produced there, such as the Dragonfly, Whirlwind, Widgeon, Wessex, Bell 47 and Hughes 269.

He also trained some 300 service and civilian pilots from Britain and foreign countries, including King Hussein of Jordon.

He demonstrated many Westland aircraft at Farnborough Air Shows in the 1950s and 1960s.

He has published several books on helicopters, notably The Helicopter: History, Piloting and How it Flies, which achieved four editions and was translated into several languages.

Dave Gibbings
​OBE MRAeS