Sub-lieutenant Victor Soutar Lowden

DSC DSC or Dsc may refer to: Education * Doctor of Science (D.Sc.) * District Selection Committee, an entrance exam in India * Doctor of Surgical Chiropody, superseded in the 1960s by Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Educational institutions * Dyal Sin ...

(13 September 1923 – 13 June 1998) was a Scottish businessman and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is the naval aviation component of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy (RN). The FAA is one of five :Fighting Arms of the Royal Navy, RN fighting arms. it is a primarily helicopter force, though also operating the Lockhee ...

fighter pilot during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. On 15 August 1945 he flew as fighter escort with one of the last Allied bombing raids on

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

, subsequently participating in the last

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

of the war, for which he was honoured.

Early life

Victor Lowden was born in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

where his father was working as an accountant. He was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

and

Strathallan School Strathallan School is a private boarding and day school in Scotland for boys and girls aged 5-18. The school has a campus at Forgandenny, a few miles south of Perth. School roll The school has 73 full-time staff, and 18 part-time staff. It h ...

in Scotland and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. Lowden graduated with a BA (Hons) in economics, which had been accelerated over two years, so that he could join the Fleet Air Arm. His younger brother was Gordon Lowden.

Naval career

Lowden joined the Fleet Air Arm in July 1942 and completed his basic flying training at

RAF Sealand MOD Sealand (formerly RAF Sealand), is a Ministry of Defence installation in Flintshire, in the northeast corner of Wales, close to the border with England. It was a Royal Air Force station, active between 1916 and 2006. Under defence cuts an ...

and

RCAF Station Kingston RCAF Station Kingston was a World War II air training station built in 1940 at Collins Bay near Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The station was originally built by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) for use by the Royal Air Force (RAF). Like othe ...

in Canada. Whilst training at RNAS

Henstridge Henstridge is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated east of Sherborne in the South Somerset district, near the border with Dorset. The parish includes the hamlet of Yenston. In 2011, the village had a population of 1,814. ...

Lowden came to the attention of Commander R Mike Crosley who described him as a 'natural'. He started flying the

Supermarine Seafire The Supermarine Seafire is a naval version of the Supermarine Spitfire fighter adapted for operation from aircraft carriers. It was analogous in concept to the Hawker Hurricane variants#Sea Hurricanes, Hawker Sea Hurricane, a navalised aircraft ...

in August 1943 and joined 899 Naval Air Squadron in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

before embarking on . Lowden's first

sortie A sortie (from the French word meaning ''exit'' or from Latin root ''surgere'' meaning to "rise up") is a deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops, from a strongpoint. The term originated in siege warf ...

took place in June 1944 near

Peterhead Peterhead (; , ) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It is the council area's largest settlement, with a population of 19,060 at the 2022 Census for Scotland, 2022 Census. It is the largest fishing port in the United Kingdom for total landi ...

, Scotland as part of the

Air Defence of Great Britain The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) command comprising substantial army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles. It lasted from 1925, following recommendations that the RAF take contr ...

. He then flew sorties over France during

Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil), known as Débarquement de Provence in French ("Provence Landing"), was the code name for the landing operation of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15Augu ...

and over the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

in September 1944. In April 1945, 899 Naval Air Squadron arrived in Australia aboard . The squadron was dismantled and pilots and planes transferred to the

fleet carrier A fleet carrier is an aircraft carrier designed to operate with the main fleet of a nation's navy. The term was developed during World War II, to distinguish it from the escort carrier and other less capable types. In addition to many medium-size ...

. In May 1945 he officially joined

887 Naval Air Squadron 887 Naval Air Squadron (887 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, which last disbanded during March 1946. It was formed as a Fleet Fighter squadron in May 1942 at HMS ''Daedalus'', RNAS, Lee-on-Solent. The squadron emb ...

as part of the

British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy formation that saw action against Japan during the Second World War. It was formed from aircraft carriers, other surface warships, submarines and supply vessels of the RN and British Commonwealth ...

Task Force 37 Task Force 37 (TF 37) was a United States Navy task force active during World War II. Task Force numbers were in constant use, and there were several incarnations of TF 37 during World War II. The British Pacific Fleet The British Pacific Flee ...

off the

Sakishima Islands The (or 先島群島, ''Sakishima-guntō'') (Okinawan language, Okinawan: ''Sachishima'', Miyakoan language, Miyako: ''Saksїzїma'', Yaeyama language, Yaeyama: ''Sakїzїma'', Yonaguni language, Yonaguni: ''Satichima'') are an archipelago loca ...

, Japan. As part of

Task Force 38 The Fast Carrier Task Force (TF 38 when assigned to Third Fleet, TF 58 when assigned to Fifth Fleet) was a group of ships in World War II. It was the main striking force of the United States Navy in the Pacific War from January 1944 through th ...

from July 1945, he was engaged in

combat air patrol Combat air patrol (CAP) is a type of flying mission for fighter aircraft. A combat air patrol is an aircraft patrol provided over an objective area, over the force protected, over the critical area of a combat zone, or over an air defense area, ...

s off

Shikoku is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu ...

and

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. Ramrod operations continued over the next few weeks, with attacks on shipping and shore installations near

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

Raid on Tokyo Bay

On 15 August 1945, the British launched an attack from HMS Indefatigable on

Kisarazu Air Field is a military aerodrome of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force . It is located north northwest of Kisarazu in the Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Operations JGSDF Kisarazu is home to the JGSDF 1st Helicopter Brigade, which is attached to the Central ...

in Tokyo Bay. Eight Supermarine Seafires were tasked with escorting six

Grumman TBF Avenger The Grumman TBF Avenger (designated TBM for aircraft manufactured by General Motors) is an American World War II-era torpedo bomber developed initially for the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and eventually used by several air and naval a ...

s to the target. Sub-lieutenant Fred Hockley was the lead fighter of five Seafires which provided close cover for the Avengers, whilst Lowden was lead fighter of three Seafires providing top cover. Due to bad weather the formation changed target to a chemical factory at Odaki Bay, south of Tokyo. En route to the chemical factory, the formation was attacked from behind by a dozen Japanese

Mitsubishi A6M Zero The Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" is a long-range carrier-capable fighter aircraft formerly manufactured by Mitsubishi Aircraft Company, a part of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It was operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) from 1940 to 1945. The ...

naval fighter aircraft. Hockley's radio failed and his Seafire hit instantly; taking to his parachute he was captured by the Japanese and executed. The remaining Seafires entered the battle, which they won convincingly. The top cover Seafires, led by Lowden, downed six Zeroes. Lowden was credited with two destroyed, one shared and two damaged. Lowden's wingman, 'Taffy' Williams, destroyed one zero and shared another with him. The number three, 'Spud' Murphy, downed another two Zeroes. At the same time, the close cover Seafires, were also engaged in battle. Hockley's wingman Ted Garvin, damaged one Zero and Don Duncan a further two. Randy Kay shot one down, probably another and damaged a third Zero. Meanwhile, four Zeroes managed to attack the six Avenger bombers. One of the bombers was very badly damaged but remained in formation. Another Avenger claimed to have downed a Zero from their gun turret. All six bombers made it to the chemical factory and dropped their bombs. Overall, the Seafires claimed seven destroyed, three probably destroyed and four damaged Zeroes. The Fleet Air Arm lost one Seafire and one Avenger. The damaged Avenger had deliberately ditched next to a destroyer on the return journey. Lowden's plane was the last to return to HMS Indefatigable. Later that day,

Emperor Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

, announced via a pre-recorded radio address that Japanese forces had surrendered to the Allies. Following the official surrender on 2 September 1945 in Tokyo Bay, HMS Indefatigable returned to Sydney. On 11 September 1945, Lowden was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for his actions over Tokyo Bay.

Businessman

After the war, Lowden returned to Scotland and joined the graduate programme at Low and Bonar, the

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

based textile and electronics group. He became chief executive of the company's textile division with responsibility for all their textile units worldwide. Lowden was also a former chairman of the Dundee Jute and Linen Merchants' Association.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowden, Victor 1923 births 1998 deaths People educated at the High School of Dundee People educated at Strathallan School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Fleet Air Arm aviators Royal Navy officers of World War II 20th-century Scottish businesspeople Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Fleet Air Arm personnel of World War II British expatriates in Thailand Scottish airmen