George Stainforth Wing Commander George Hedley Stainforth AFC RAF ( 1899 - 27 September 1942 ) was a British Royal Air Force pilot and the first man in the world to exceed 400 miles per hour . Early life . George Hedley Stainforth was the son of a solicitor , George Staunton Stainforth . He attended Dulwich College and Weymouth College . He joined the Army before joining the Royal Air Force . Career . George Stainforth joined the Royal Air Force on 15 March 1923 and was posted to No 19 ( F ) Squadron on 10 April 1924 . He was promoted after four years to Flight Lieutenant on 1 July 1928 , and was posted to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment ( MAEE ) for duties with the High Speed Flight , also known as " The Flight " . 1929 Schneider Trophy . Stainforth was serving with " The Flight " in 1929 , as pilot of the Gloster VI entrant . The aircraft was withdrawn for technical reasons shortly before the competition , which was then won by his team - mate Flt . Lt . H . Waghorn in a Supermarine S . 6 . On the following day , 10 September 1929 , Stainforth took the Gloster VI up for an attempt at the record over a measured mile course . He achieved a top speed of 351 . 3 mph and a ratified world absolute speed record , averaged over four runs of 336 . 3 mph . This record was held but briefly , as a later run by the S . 6 managed to raise it over 350 mph . 1931 Schneider Trophy and the 400mph barrier . Flight Lieutenant Stainforth was also one of the team in 1931 when the Trophy was won for the third time in a row , and thus the competition won outright . Following the Trophy triumph on 16 September , he had the chance to once again break the airspeed record . His first attempt was made in Supermarine S . 6B S1596 , in which he achieved 379 mph . Following a minor taxiing accident during testing though , he caused S1596 to turn over and sink . Although she was recovered by divers the next day , he now transferred to S1595 . This was another S . 6B , which could also be fitted with the same specially prepared 2 , 600 bhp Rolls - Royce R " sprint " engine , serial R27 and airscrew for the record attempt . The engine was using a specially prepared fuel mixture of petrol , methanol and ethyl . Starting the engine was uneasy and there was considerable danger of engine explosion . On 29 September 1931 , the record attempt was made . Due to the aircraft having no flaps , Stainforth took off from the water after a very long run up . The record was established at a height of 400 m . He made a perfect record run over the four timed miles in opposing directions and achieved an average of , being the first man in the world to exceed 400 mph . For this achievement he was awarded the Air Force Cross on 9 October 1931 . He later went on to break another record , this time by flying upside down for 12 minutes . Career after " The Flight " . Leaving the MAEE in 1935 , Stainforth spent a short period as Adjutant aboard HMS Glorious . He was promoted to Squadron Leader on 1 June 1936 and served with No 802 Squadron as the Officer Commanding No 30 ( B ) Squadron in Iraq . In February 1939 , he returned to CFS Upavon ( as Officer Commanding " Examining and Handling Flight " ) . On 12 January 1940 , he was promoted to Wing Commander and commanded No 600 ( F ) Squadron . In June 1940 , Stainforth and Stanford Tuck , the Battle of Britain ace , were posted to Farnborough in south central England . His task was to take part in comparison trials of a captured Me - 109E and a Spitfire Mark II . The tests began with Stainforth flying the Messerschmitt and Tuck flying the Spitfire in level flight , dives and turns , and at various speeds at different altitudes . Stainforth was appointed as Officer Commanding No 89 ( Night Fighter ) Squadron in October 1941 . At the end of that year , the Squadron was posted to the Middle East , and on the night of 27 September 1942 , Wing Commander Stainforth was killed in action whilst piloting the aircraft Beaufighter " X7700 " at Gharib , near the Gulf of Suez . He was buried with full military honours , at the British Cemetery Ismailia , Egypt . Following his death , a dossier was compiled by his friends detailing many of his achievements , recorded remarks and memories of him by distinguished officers and men who served with him during his lifetime . It also includes extracts from his own thoughts and writings . A copy of the dossier has been presented to the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon . The Stainforth Trophy . The trophy was originally presented in 1974 to the Air Officer Commanding - in - Chief RAF Strike Command , Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Smallwood , KCB CBE DSO DFC RAF by members of the No 89 Squadron Reunion Club , to commemorate the long and distinguished career , both as an aviator and as a Royal Air Force Officer , of Wing Commander George Hedley Stainforth AFC RAF . The Trophy had been commissioned and paid for , anonymously , by a Mrs Stella Sketch who died in May 2000 . The Stainforth Trophy is awarded annually by the Air Officer Commanding - in - Chief RAF Strike Command to the operational station within the Command which has produced the best overall performance and is their most prestigious trophy . The Stainforth family are still represented at the presentation . Design . The Stainforth Trophy was designed by Robin Beresford . The trophy depicts in silver three supersonic aircraft and spiralling vapour trails soaring into the stratosphere . The artist also tried to display an awareness of the achievements of the Schneider Trophy Team in the design , being aware that these achievements resulted in the improved design and development , by R . J . Mitchell , of the Spitfire , which played such a major role in Britain ' s victory in World War II . In the design of the trophy , the artist has tried to show the Earth as seen by the astronauts , vapour trail s ending in arrows to depict high speed altitude flight , and with an outward sweep to infinity , which suggests that the sky is literally the limit of man ' s achievement in the air . Into his design , he has incorporated a star and its orbit to evoke the achievements of science and the Royal Air Force motto " Per ardua ad astra " . Trivia . Cigarette cards . The image of G H Stainforth appeared in a number of Cigarette Card Sets including : Stainforth Weather Vane , Greenhill Gardens , Weymouth . The weather vane was originally presented to Weymouth College in 1932 ( at that point known as Weymouth Grammar School , later renamed Weymouth Secondary School ) as a memorial to Stainforth , its former pupil , who had set the world air speed record the previous year . Made of hardwood and covered in a copper sheath , the vane was erected above Weymouth College chapel in 1932 , but moved for safety at the start of World War II . It was later presented to the borough council and placed in Greenhill Gardens in May 1952 . In 1996 , the vane had to be taken down after the effects of years of sea spray and coastal winds had taken their toll , but it has since been restored and is now back in the gardens .