Ken Wallis

Kenneth Horatio Wallis

Ken Wallis sitting in his autogyro Little Nellie
Born(1916-04-26)26 April 1916
Ely, Cambridgeshire, England
Died1 September 2013(2013-09-01) (aged 97)
Dereham, Norfolk, England
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Air Force
Years of service1939–1964
RankWing Commander
UnitNo. 268 Squadron RAF
No. 103 Squadron RAF
No. 37 Squadron RAF
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsMember of the British Empire
Other workLeading exponent of autogyros

Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis MBE CEng FRAeS RAF (26 April 1916 – 1 September 2013) was a British aviator, engineer, and inventor. During the Second World War, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany; after the war, he moved on to research and development, before retiring in 1964. He later became one of the leading exponents of autogyros and earned 34 world records, still holding eight of them at the time of his death in 2013.