S/Ldr James 'Jimmy'.C.Nelson AFC 1920-1989

Jimmy Nelson was born in Colorado, USA in 1920 and served in the RAF's No.133 (Eagle) Squadron, he did not transfer to the USAAF in 1942, staying in the RAF. He flew Spitfires before going to RAE Farnborough as a test pilot in 1943. In March 1944 he had a bad crash in a Mosquito which kept him out of action for a few months, before returning to the RAE on the Jet Development Flight. He joined Avro in 1948 after three years as a test pilot for Miles Aircraft. Besides the Avro 707 he flew the Ashton, Shackleton and Athena but then returned to the USA in 1953.