Air Vice Marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British infl ...

Colin Peter Brown &

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

(20 December 1898 – 19 October 1965) was a Scottish officer who began his career in the

Royal Naval Air Service The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty (United Kingdom), Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, before transferring to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF). A

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviation, military aviator credited with shooting down a certain minimum number of enemy aircraft during aerial combat; the exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ...

credited with 14 aerial victories, he remained in the RAF and served throughout the

Second World War 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 ...

, retiring in 1954.

Early life and career

Brown was born in

Langside Langside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated south of the River Clyde, and lies east of Shawlands, south of Queens Park, west of Cathcart and north of Newlands. The district is residential and primarily middle-clas ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and was educated at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

, London.Shores ''et.al.'' (1997), p. 89. He entered the

as a probationary flight officer on 28 January 1917, and was commissioned as a flight sub-lieutenant on 13 June. He was posted to the

Seaplane Defence Flight No. 213 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron was formed on 1 April 1918 from No. 13 (Naval) Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service.Halley 1988, p. 278. This RNAS squadron was itself formed on 15 January 1918 from the Sea ...

, a unit created to defend the seaplanes which operated out of

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, flying the

Sopwith Camel The Sopwith Camel is a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft that was introduced on the Western Front in 1917. It was developed by the Sopwith Aviation Company as a successor to the Sopwith Pup and became one of the b ...

. His first aerial victory came on 13 November 1917 when he destroyed an Albatros D.V east of

Nieuport Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company that primarily built racing aircraft before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I and between the wars. History Beginnings Originally formed as Nieuport-Duplex in ...

, but it was another five months before he gained a second victory, forcing down another Albatros D.V over

Uitkerke Uitkerke is in West Flanders and is part of the coastal city of Blankenberge, Belgium. The two neighboring communities were officially united in the early 1970s. History Uitkerke, as an independent village, is more than a thousand years old. Hist ...

on 27 April 1918. In between these two victories, on 15 January 1918 the Seaplane Defence Flight had been renamed No. 13 (Naval) Squadron, and on 1 April 1918 it became No. 213 Squadron RAF. Brown was granted a commission as a second lieutenant in the RAF on 3 July 1918. He was soon promoted to lieutenant, and on 9 August was appointed acting-captain while serving as a

flight commander A flight commander is the leader of a constituent portion of an aerial squadron in aerial operations, often into combat. That constituent portion is known as a flight, and usually contains six or fewer aircraft, with three or four being a common ...

. Brown was noted for his willingness to fight, attacking land and sea targets as well as enemy aircraft. He even went so far as to strafe

Zeebrugge Zeebrugge (; from , meaning "Bruges-on-Sea"; , ) is a village on the coast of Belgium and a subdivision of Bruges, for which it is the modern port. Zeebrugge serves as both the international port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and a seafront resort with ...

harbor in a night attack. He accrued victories steadily until his climactic solo destruction of three

Fokker D.VII The Fokker D.VII is a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the '' Fokker-Flugzeugwerke''. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the ''Luftstreitkräfte'', the D.VII ...

s on 4 October 1918. In total, Brown was credited with eight enemy aircraft destroyed and six driven down out of control in 374 flying hours. Eleven of his wins were over first-rate German fighters; Albatros D.Vs and Fokker D.VIIs. Two of his three victories over observation planes, he shared with other pilots, including the American ace, and future

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

rear admiral, David Ingalls. On account of his combat record Brown was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; firstly on 21 September 1918 and then again on 29 November. He also received the ''

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

'' from France, for his "services in Flanders" on 1 November. His citations read: Distinguished Flying Cross Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross

Inter-war career

On 1 August 1919 the RAF introduced its own rank structure and Brown changed from lieutenant to

flying officer Flying officer (Fg Offr or F/O) is a junior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Flying officer is immediately ...

. From 25 November he served aboard the aircraft carrier , and on 31 May 1920 was appointed an instructor at the School of Naval Co-operation and Aerial Navigation. On 5 January 1921 he was posted to No. 205 Squadron, and on 1 October to No. 3 Squadron, flying the

Airco DH.9A The Airco DH.9A is a British single-engined light bomber that was designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, cruciall ...

from

RAF Leuchars Royal Air Force Leuchars or more simply RAF Leuchars is a former Royal Air Force station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northe ...

. On 6 September 1922, he was injured after making a forced landing in the

Moray Firth The Moray Firth (; , or ) is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of the north of Scotland. It is the largest firth in Scotland, stretching from Duncans ...

, following an engine failure. On 1 April 1923 he was assigned to No. 420 Flight. Beginning in September 1923 he took the Signals Course at the Electrical and Wireless School at

RAF Flowerdown Royal Air Force Flowerdown, or more simply RAF Flowerdown, was a Royal Flying Corps, Royal Air Force and finally Royal Navy non-flying station located in Hampshire, England. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) School for Wireless Operators moved fr ...

, and in September 1924 was appointed a staff officer in the Signals Branch, at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 January 1925. From 19 September 1927 he attended the

RAF Staff College The RAF Staff College may refer to: *RAF Staff College, Andover (active: 1922 to 1940 and 1948 to 1970) *RAF Staff College, Bulstrode Park (active: 1941 to 1948) *RAF Staff College, Bracknell The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air ...

Andover, Hampshire Andover ( ) is a town in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the River Test, Test, and lies alongside the major A303 road, A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, ...

. On 29 January 1929 Brown was posted to No. 30 Squadron in Iraq, transferring to No. 84 Squadron at

RAF Shaibah The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (R ...

, Iraq, on 16 March to serve as a

. On 28 August he was posted to the Headquarters of Iraq Command. On 1 February 1931 Brown was posted to No. 13 Squadron at

RAF Netheravon The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of the Royal Flying Corps (R ...

to serve as a signals officer. On 12 December 1932 he became a staff officer in the Signals Branch. He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 October 1934, and from 1 December served as a signals officer, serving at No. 21 Group Headquarters, South Farnborough, on signals duties until 10 November 1935. On 5 October 1935 he was appointed commander of No. 26 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at

RAF Catterick Royal Air Force Catterick or RAF Catterick is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, sector station located near Catterick, North Yorkshire in England. It is located alongside the A6055 road on the outskirts of Catter ...

. On 30 August 1937 he was appointed station commander at RAF Catterick. On 1 January 1938 he was promoted to wing commander, and on 4 July was assigned to the Directorate of Staff Duties at the Air Ministry.

Second World War

Brown was promoted to acting group captain on 1 March 1940, and appointed Senior Air Staff Officer in No. 60 (Signals) Group, Fighter Command, which was responsible for the RAF's radar network. On 24 April he was transferred to the RAF's Technical Branch. On 1 September he was promoted to temporary group captain. In September 1941 he was made a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) "in recognition of distinguished services rendered in operational commands of the Royal Air Force during the period 1st October 1940 to 31st March 1941". He was appointed acting-air commodore on 19 August 1942, to serve as Director of Radar at the Air Ministry, appointed group captain (war substantive) on 19 February 1943, and promoted to group captain on 1 December. He served in the Directorate of Operational Requirements at the Air Ministry from 1945 until December 1947. On 14 June 1945, in the King's birthday honours, he was made a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

(CB).

Post-war career

Brown was promoted to air commodore on 1 July 1947, and from 1949 served as Chief Signals Officer, Middle East Air Force. He was appointed acting air vice-marshal on 7 April 1950 to serve as Assistant Controller of Supplies (Air) at the

Ministry of Supply The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed on 1 August 1939 by the Ministry of Supply Act 1939 ( 2 & 3 Geo. 6. c. 38) to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Ministe ...

, and was promoted to air vice-marshal on 1 January 1952. Brown was forced by ill-health to resign from his post in early 1953. He eventually left the RAF on 15 March 1954. Air Vice Marshal Brown died on 19 October 1965.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Colin Peter 1898 births 1965 deaths People from Langside People educated at Dulwich College Royal Naval Air Service aviators Royal Air Force personnel of World War I British World War I flying aces Scottish flying aces Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force air marshals Military personnel from Glasgow Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Companions of the Order of the Bath Commanders of the Order of the British Empire