Who are aviators that did amazing things, yet history never remembered? Who were these forgotten aviators from history?
They often don’t have a huge company named after them. They often didn’t create the fastest airliner, or the even the biggest one at that. But without these people, who knows where aviation might be today!
9. Bessie Coleman
When it comes to female aviators, seldom do we think of Bessie Coleman. More often than not, we think of Amelia Earhart, the famed pilot who went missing off Howland Island. But Bessie Coleman was as, if not more impressive than Amelia Earhart!
When Bessie started flying in 1921, it was difficult for a woman to get a license. Let alone a woman of color! Or even one of native-American descent! Bessie, however, was all three! A woman, of color and of native-American descent!
She is often a forgotten aviator, even by the pilots who came after her. However, to the native-American and black communities, both during and after her life, she was almost a legend!
8. Hereward de Havilland
You have probably heard of the infamous Geoffrey de Havilland. He was a world renowned aircraft designer, designing everything from the Spitfire, to the Mosquito to the Comet. All iconic aircraft in their own right!
But who flew them? Certainly not Geoffrey de Havilland! No, Mr. de Havilland enlisted his brother to help him in this endeavor. Hereward was de Havilland Aircraft’s chief test pilot.
He was the first to test the Comet and the Mosquito. He flew them, reviewed them and his brother altered their design according to Hereward’s reviews.
Quite frankly, without Hereward, de Havilland would’ve struggled to make more and better aircraft than their competitors. Especially as the Second World War loomed and eventually broke out (where the Mosquito would become famous!)
7. Edwin Albert Link
If you have ever flown in a flight simulator, you may have heard of a man named Link. If you’ve ever gotten a private pilot’s license, you’ve probably heard of a man named Link.
Link was the man who single handedly created the modern flight simulator. He did this because he saw just how expensive it was to fly, and just how dangerous it was for beginners to master.
As such, he began to develop a machine that didn’t fly, but felt as though you were flying at the same time. Naturally, once he’d mastered his machine, and made it as lifelike as possible, he took it to commercial market. And many people bought it rightly! Thousands of flight schools bought Link’s flight simulator.
Yes, Link did establish his own company to sell, something that was incredibly successful. But in the end, Link sold Link Aviation, Inc. (the company he’d set up to manufacture the flight simulator).
And by losing control of his company, he also lost his fame. Something that was quickly discarded afterwards.
6. Gustave Whitehead
Undoubtedly the most infamous person on this list! Undoubtedly, his inclusion on this list will annoy many, especially those from Europe.
He is well known for his spat with the Wright Brothers, where he claims that he was the first to accomplish powered flight with a heavier than air aircraft. Something that there is claimed to be no proof of.
Whilst alive, he gained much fame for publicly calling out the Wright Brothers. But after his death, he too became a forgotten aviator of history.
Whilst he has remained at the core of the avgeek culture, he has been forgotten by the rest of society, in favor for his rivals- the Wright Brothers.
5. Octave Chanute
One of the things that brought down Gustave Whitehead was the lack of publicity surrounding his flight. Octave Chanute is probably the reason why you are reading this in the first place!
He was the one to help the Wright Brothers (as well as other aviators!) publicize their experiments!
Chanute was also a budding engineer in his own right. After seeing Otto Lilienthal’s hand glider, Chanute decided that he would improve on Lilenthal’s design. One of these designs would be given to the Wright Brothers, who would alter it and form as the basis of their Wright Flyer!
4. Hans von Ohain
Although Sir Frank Whittle is often credited for being the inventor of the turbojet engine, there was another. Hans von Ohain had been developing his own jet engine for the Heinkel Aircraft Company and the Nazi government.
His engine was in fact the first to fly operationally in 1939, powering the Heinkel He 178, the first operational jet aircraft (although the Me 262 was the first to be used!)
Although Frank Whittle’s engine was the second to fly, in 1941, he is remembered as the father of the jet engine. As such, Hans von Ohain has become a forgotten aviator.
There were several reasons why Frank Whittle’s engine is considered to be the first. This includes:
- Frank Whittle’s was the first to be successfully tested (in a wind tunnel)
- Hans von Ohain was funded by the Nazis
- Most of his research was destroyed post-WWII
- The British were able to spread the word to more people, incldung the AMericans, before Ohain
3. Alberto Santos-Dumont
Some say that the Wright Brothers were the first to do manned flight of a heavier than air aircraft. But that’s not strictly true (for reference, I do not believe that Gustave Whitehead was first, although if evidence proves the contrary, by all means!)
Enter Alberto Santos-Dumont. He was the pioneer of the hot air balloon. In fact, he was the one who invented the hot air balloon! However, his hot air balloons weren’t like the ones we see today, no, they were more like Zeppelins in their design!
Partially due to the failure of airships (and their military counterpart, the Zeppelin) and the emergence of the Wright Brothers, Alberto Santos-Dumont was forgotten by the public.
In fact, people had truly forgotten him until a few years ago, and revived his image. Although there it’s still a long way off from him becoming a household name again!
2. Maxime Guillaume
Almost no one has heard of Maxime Guillaume! His Wikipedia page consists of only a few paragraphs stating little of his life or accomplishments. However, much like Hans von Ohain, he was cheated off the title of being the inventor of the jet engine.
This time, it’s due to some internationalist rivalry or a major war destroying someone’s reputation. But it’s the time frame itself. Guillaume filed a patent for what would become the jet engine, in 1921!
He is considered to be a forgotten aviator due to the fact that his patent was almost useless. In 1921, the design for his patent was impossible build, hence the reason he never built it.
He’d hoped that if he’d held on it for long enough, and the technology he needed was invented, that he could build it. But that never happened. Instead, his patent ran out, and no one was the wiser…
1. Harry Hawker
For those of you who are students of history, his last name may seem rather familiar. And that’s probably with good reason too! Hawker aircraft was one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the 1950’s.
Eventually, his company was merged into the infamous Hawker Siddeley, who manufactured some of the best aircraft of its time. This includes the Harrier, Hawker Siddeley Trident and the Hawker Siddeley Nimrod.
However, during the 1980’s, the British aerospace industry went under a massive change. The industry went under a massive wave of consolidation, where all of Britain’s independent aircraft manufacturers were merged into British Aerospace. This included Hawker Siddeley.
With the name change came a loss of prestige for Harry. Once, he had been one of the most famous people in all the UK. But once he had sold his company, he became a nobody.
And history doesn’t really remember his name… only the name of his company. He truly is one of the most forgotten aviators from history!
Got any other forgotten aviators from history? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of the German Federal Archives