Roger Topp

Air Commodore Roger Leslie Topp AFC (14 May 1923 – 6 March 2020) was a British Royal Air Force (RAF) officer, test pilot, and aerobatic innovator who founded the Black Arrows, a predecessor to the Red Arrows, the RAF's premier aerobatic display team. Topp is best known for leading the Black Arrows to achieve a world record for the largest number of aircraft looped in formation—22 Hawker Hunters—at the 1958 Farnborough Air Show, a record that remains unbroken.

Early life Roger Leslie Topp was born on 14 May 1923 near Chichester, West Sussex, the son of a farmer.

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.