Eric Melrose "Winkle" Brown,
CBE,
DSC,
AFC,
Hon FRAeS had a pretty good run when it came to number of types.
Brown held the
world record for the most
aircraft carrier deck take-offs and landings performed (2,407 and 2,271 respectively)
[2] and achieved several "firsts" in
naval aviation, including the first landings on an aircraft carrier of a twin-engined aircraft, an aircraft with a
tricycle undercarriage, a
jet aircraft, and a rotary-wing aircraft.
Brown flew almost every category of Royal Navy and
Royal Air Force aircraft: glider, fighter, bomber, airliner, amphibian, flying boat and
helicopter. During the
Second World War, he flew many types of captured German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft, including new jet and rocket aircraft. He was a pioneer of jet technology into the postwar era.
Brown flew aircraft from Britain, the United States, Germany, the Soviet Union, Italy and Japan and is listed in the
Guinness Book of World Records as holding the record for flying the greatest number of different aircraft. The official record is 487, but includes only basic types. For example, Brown flew 14 versions of the
Spitfire and
Seafire and although these versions are very different they appear only once in the list. This list includes only aircraft flown by Brown as "Captain in Command".
