B. C. Hucks

Bentfield Charles Hucks (25 October 1884 – 7 November 1918) was an aviation innovator in the early 20th century. As well as test flying numerous aircraft types, he was the first Briton to perform a loop in an aircraft, which he performed in his Blériot at Hendon airfield in September 1913.[1] He is also credited with the Hucks starter and many feats of test flying during the First World War, while working at Hendon for Airco.

Grave of Bentfield Charles Hucks in Highgate Cemetery

Captain B. C. Hucks RAF
Born(1884-10-25)25 October 1884
Stansted, Essex, England
Died7 November 1918(1918-11-07) (aged 34)
Bourne End, Wooburn, Buckinghamshire, England
Resting placeHighgate Cemetery
NationalityBritish
Aviation career
Full nameBentfield Charles Hucks
Flight licenseMay 1911
RankCaptain

Life

Hucks was born on 25 October 1884 at Bentfield End, Stansted, Essex the son of William and Kate Hucks. Hucks gained his Royal Aero Club certificate (number 91) in May, 1911, flying a Blackburn monoplane. He joined the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) when war broke out in August, 1914, and was sent to the Western Front. But he was sent home invalid after an attack of pleurisy before working as a test pilot at Hendon, north-west London.[2]

He died on 7 November 1918, just days before the end of the First World War, of double pneumonia. He was buried on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery.[3]

References
  1. "British Civil Aviation in 1913". Royal Air Force Museum. Self-published. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008.
  2. O'Neill, Dan (11 September 2001). "Reaching for the sky with 'B C' Hucks; 90 YEARS ago this month Ben C Hucks made aviation history". South Wales Echo. Cardiff: MGN. Retrieved 26 August 2016 – via The Free Library.
  3. "Hucks, Bentfield Charles". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
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