{{Short description|Royal Air Force Air Commodore (1903-1989)}} {{Use British English|date=August 2014}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox military person |name= Ronald Swain |image= Squadron_Leader_Francis_Ronald_Downs_Swain.jpg |image_size= |alt= |caption= Swain in 1936 |nickname= |birth_date= {{birth date|1903|08|31|df=yes}} |birth_place= [[Southsea]], [[Hampshire]], England |death_date= {{death date and age|1989|09|28|1903|08|31|df=yes}} |death_place= [[Gainesville, Florida]], United States |burial_place= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= [[Royal Air Force]] |service_years= 1922–1954 |rank= [[Air Commodore]] |service_number= |unit= [[No. 2 Squadron RAF]]<br/>[[No. 11 Squadron RAF]]<br/>[[No. 23 Squadron RAF]]<br/>[[No. 6 Squadron RAF]] |commands= [[No. 28 Group RAF]] (1949–50)<br/>No. 13 Base (1944–45)<br/>[[RAF Kinloss]] (1943)<br/>[[No. 1 Squadron RAF]] (1937) |battles= [[Second World War]] |awards= [[Companion of the Order of the Bath]]<br/>[[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]<br/>[[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]<br/>[[Mentioned in Dispatches]] |spouse= Sarah Mitchell LeFevre |relations= |laerwork= }} [[Air Commodore]] '''Francis Ronald Downs Swain''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100|sep=,|CB|CBE|AFC}}<ref name=bio /><ref>{{cite news|title=CENTRAL CHANCERY OF THE ORDERS OF KNIGHTHOOD|url=https://www.london-gazette.co.uk/London/issue/40053/supplement/4/data.pdf|access-date=10 June 2014|work=The London Gazette|date=1 January 1954}}</ref> (31 August 1903 – 28 September 1989) was a British [[Royal Air Force]] pilot who held the [[Flight altitude record#Fixed-wing aircraft|World Altitude Record]] for airplanes from 1936 to 1938.

==Early life and career== Swain was born on 31 August 1903 and was the fourth and youngest child of Charles Swain and Rose Downs.<ref name=ancestry>{{cite web|title=Francis Ronald Downs Swain Family Tree|url=http://records.ancestry.com/francis_ronald_swain_records.ashx?pid=159275479|website=Ancestry|access-date=10 June 2014}}</ref> He grew up in [[Portsmouth]]<ref name=flight>{{cite news|title=Britain Highest!|url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%202649.html|access-date=9 June 2014|work=Flight|date=1 October 1936}}</ref> and joined the RAF in 1922, becoming a member of [[No. 2 Squadron RAF]] as a pilot. He was quickly transferred to [[No. 11 Squadron RAF|No. 11 Squadron]], subsequently spending time with [[No. 23 Squadron RAF|No. 23 Squadron]] and [[No. 6 Squadron RAF|No. 6 Squadron]] as a Flight Commander, commanding the Cairo-[[Rhodesia]] Flight in 1933.<ref name=bio />

==World altitude record== In 1935, now with the rank of [[squadron leader]], Swain became a test pilot in the experimental section at the [[Royal Aircraft Establishment]] (RAE) where he was involved in high-altitude experiments. Departing from [[Farnborough, Hampshire]] at 07:30 on 28 September 1936, Swain achieved a fixed-wing aircraft's world altitude record with a height of 49,967&nbsp;ft in a modified [[Bristol Type 138|Bristol Type 138A]].<ref name=flight /> During his descent, his [[pressure suit]] failed causing him to lose visibility through his visor and find it difficult to breathe. He was forced to cut his visor open with his knife in order to maintain consciousness, eventually landing safely at [[RAF Netheravon|Netheravon]], Wiltshire at 10:30.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article17267408|title=Altitude Record|date=1 October 1936|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=9 June 2014}}</ref>

==Later career== In 1937, Swain left the RAE to command [[No. 1 Squadron RAF|No. 1 Squadron]].<ref name=bio>{{cite web|title=Air Commodore F R D Swain|url=http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Swain.htm|website=Air of Authority|access-date=10 June 2014}}</ref> He then attended the [[RAF Staff College, Andover|RAF Staff College]] in 1938, and spent the [[Second World War]] and his remaining career in various staff positions. His last appointment was SASO/Deputy Head of the Air Staff, British Joint Services Mission, Washington, D.C., retiring from the RAF in 1954 with the rank of [[Air Commodore]].

==Personal life== Swain married American Sarah Mitchell Le Fevre in Portsmouth on 5 November 1938, going on to have three children together.<ref name=ancestry /> He died in [[Gainesville, Florida]] on 28 September 1989.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl34lxR0lDo World Altitude Record (1936)] – British Pathé newsreel * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPo6FyUpbds British Pathé interview] * [https://www.northlincsweb.net/RAFElshamWolds/html/f_r_d_-_ferdy-_swain.html "Ferdie" Swain] at the RAF Elsham Wolds website

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Swain, Ronald}} [[Category:1903 births]] [[Category:1989 deaths]] [[Category:Royal Air Force air commodores]] [[Category:English test pilots]] [[Category:English aviators]] [[Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)]] [[Category:Companions of the Order of the Bath]] [[Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire]] [[Category:Flight altitude record holders]] [[Category:British aviation record holders]] [[Category:British expatriates in the United States]] [[Category:Military personnel from Portsmouth]]