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 ...

Frank Linden Hopps, (3 December 1894 – 10 October 1976) was a senior officer of 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). During the First World War, Hopps was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The 5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (5th Bn KOYLI), was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force formed in 1908 from Volunteer Force, Volunteer units originally raised in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1860. It served in some of ...

, but later transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

(RFC). After training as a pilot, Hopps was posted in August 1917 to a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

(fighter) squadron on the Western Front, No. 20 Squadron RFC. (The RAF was formed from a merger of the RFC and

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 ...

on 1 April 1918.) Hopps remained in the RAF following the end of the war. In 1929, he graduated from the RAF College, Cranwell. After the beginning of the Second World War, Hopps (with the rank of temporary

group captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

) served as station commander at

RAF Eastchurch Royal Air Force Eastchurch or more simply RAF Eastchurch (formerly RNAS Eastchurch) is a former Royal Air Force station near Eastchurch village, on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent, England. The history of aviation at Eastchurch stretches back to the ...

during the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...

. During late 1942, he was posted to North-West Russia as commanding officer of the Search & Strike Force, an expeditionary

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

stationed in the Soviet Union, under the code name Operation Orator, to protect the Arctic convoy PQ 18. As a result of the operation's success, Hopps received the ''Orden Kutuzova'' (Order of Kutuzov) 3rd Class (OK3) – a Soviet military decoration awarded to senior officers for the skilful avoidance of attacks and/or leading successful counterattacks. In 1943–45, Hopps commanded No. 16 Group, which performed

reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...

duties for

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

. Following the end of the war, Hopps was appointed Air Officer in Charge of Administration (AOA) at the

British Air Forces of Occupation The Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, and ...

in Germany. In 1947 he was appointed commander of No. 19 Group, a Coastal Command unit which included reconnaissance and strike squadrons. Hopps retired from the RAF, with the substantive rank of

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 ...

on 24 March 1950. Between 1953 and 1968, he was chief executive of the

Agricultural Engineers Association Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA) is a trade association in the United Kingdom which represents manufacturers and importers of agricultural machinery and outdoor equipment to Government, Parliament, and the media. History The AEA was es ...

(UK).

Bibliography

* ''Lieutenant Frank Linden HOPPS. The King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry)'' (Officer's personal file; War Office), Public Records Office (ref. WO 374/34673) * ''Who Was Who: 1897–2000'', New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002, p. 403
Battle of Britain Historical Society, 2007, "Tuesday August 13th 1940 Adler Tag (Eagle Day) Begins"

FamilySearch, 2014, "Frank Linden Hopps, 1976", ''England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837–2007''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopps, Frank 1894 births 1976 deaths Royal Air Force air marshals Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Military personnel from the London Borough of Hackney Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd class Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell People from Hackney, London Territorial Force officers