Roger Topp

Roger Leslie Topp was born on 14 May 1923 near Chichester, West Sussex, the son of a farmer. He was educated at North Mundham School and left at age 15 to join the RAF as a boy entrant in the apprenticeship scheme in 1939. He began training at the wireless and radio school at RAF Cranwell, but the outbreak of World War II interrupted his three-year course. After two years, he served as a wireless mechanic at RAF Gosport. ==Military career==

World War II In 1944, Topp was selected for pilot training and sent to Canada under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. In 1950, Topp attended the Empire Test Pilots' School at Farnborough and remained as a test pilot at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE). He conducted high-risk trials, including airborne structural testing of the de Havilland Comet following catastrophic crashes in the Mediterranean, earning a second Bar to his AFC in 1955. Facing low morale, he introduced aerobatics to boost the squadron's spirit, forming the Black Arrows in 1956. Under his leadership, the Black Arrows performed a world record-breaking loop of 22 Hawker Hunters at the 1958 Farnborough Air Show, followed by the first-ever 16-aircraft barrel roll. Topp also set a speed record on 8 August 1956, flying a Hawker Hunter from Edinburgh to London at an average speed of 717.504 mph, covering 331.6 miles in 27 minutes and 52.8 seconds. ==Personal life==

Topp married Audrey Jeffery in May 1945; she predeceased him in 1999. They had a son and a daughter. Topp died on 6 March 2020 in Norwich, Norfolk, aged 96. Tributes highlighted his inspirational role in aerobatic aviation, with historian David Eade noting that Topp's "foresight" influenced the Red Arrows. ==Legacy==

Topp's leadership of the Black Arrows and their record-breaking performances elevated the RAF's aerobatic reputation, directly influencing the creation of the Red Arrows. ==References==