ERIC Brown was on a university exchange course in Germany in 1939 - and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him.

He was released, without them realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve. Big mistake.

Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm, going on to be one of the greatest test pilots in history - flying more aircraft types than anyone else.

At the end of the war he tested the Nazi jets and the suicidally dangerous Me 163 rocket plane.

Written in a refreshing style, this book will appeal to air buffs and armchair historians alike.