Harry Broadhurst
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Henry Broadhurst :''See also Harry Broadhurst'' Henry Broadhurst (13 April 1840 – 11 October 1911) was a leading early British trade unionist and a Lib-Lab politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons for various Midla ...
for the trade unionist and politician''
Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air 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 i ...
Sir Harry Broadhurst, (28 October 1905 – 29 August 1995), commonly known as Broady, was a senior
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 ...
commander and
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 ...
of 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 ...
.


Early life

Broadhurst was born in 1905 in
Frimley Frimley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath, in Surrey, England. It lies approximately south-west of central London. The town is of Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Saxon origin, although it is not listed in Domesday Book of 1086. Hi ...
, Surrey, England. He joined the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
as a second lieutenant in the
Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
and then, in 1926, transferred 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).Shores and Williams 1994, p. 150.


Early RAF career

Completing his training, he joined No. 11 Squadron RAF in India in 1928,Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst
/ref> flying the Westland Wapiti and
Hawker Hart The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraf ...
over the North West frontier. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1931, joining No. 41 Squadron RAF flying the
Bristol Bulldog The Bristol Bulldog is a British Royal Air Force single-seat biplane Fighter aircraft, fighter designed during the 1920s by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. More than 400 Bulldogs were produced for the RAF and overseas customers, and it was one ...
. By the mid-1930s, Broadhurst was an accomplished pilot, flying fighters and doing acrobatics at air shows, gaining a reputation as an aerial daredevil with a flair for aerial acrobatics. In 1936, as a Flight Lieutenant, he was personally congratulated by the
king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
on his aerobatic showing in the
Gloster Gauntlet The Gloster Gauntlet was a single-seat biplane fighter designed and produced by the British aeroplane manufacturer Gloster Aircraft in the 1930s. It was the last fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) to have an open cockpit, and ...
. Awarded an Air Force Cross in 1937, he served at the RAF Staff College in Andover. In January 1939 he was posted as
Officer Commanding The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually giv ...
No. 111 Squadron.


War service

In May 1940, Broadhurst was appointed Station Commander at RAF Coltishall, before joining No. 60 Wing in France as
wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr or W/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 countries that have historical British influence. Wing commander is immediately se ...
. He participated in ground support during the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
, an experience that taught him the importance of close air support for later operations in the war. He was heavily involved in 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 ...
and as Officer Commanding RAF Wittering, often flew with the squadrons under his command, both day and night fighter units. In December 1940, he was posted to command the
Hornchurch Hornchurch is a suburban town in East London in the London Borough of Havering. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross. It comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential area. It historically formed a large ancient par ...
Sector of No. 11 Group Fighter Command, and continued to fly on operations, even as a group captain. On 4 July 1941, leading No. 54 Squadron as Red 1, he was involved in a dogfight with Bf 109s, claiming two Bf 109Es destroyed at 15.30 over Béthune before he was hit and his aircraft badly damaged by a Bf 109. He managed to return to base, belly landing his crippled Spitfire, with slight splinters in left arm and left thigh. On 7 July 1941 his Spitfire Mk.Vb was severely damaged by a JG 26 pilot. In the combat he was Red 1 and claimed 1-1-0 Bf 109F at 09.50 over
Gravelines Gravelines ( , ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Nord (French department), Nord departments of France, department in Northern France. It lies at the mouth of the river Aa (France), Aa southwest of Dunkirk, France, Dunkirk. It was form ...
area. In May 1942 he became Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), No. 11 Group, although he continued to fly operationally where possible. His final kill claims were made on 19 August 1942, bringing his total to 13 destroyed, seven probables and 10 damaged. In late 1942, he was posted to the Middle East and became Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) to Air Vice Marshal Arthur Coningham, commander of the
Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allies of World War II, Allied tactical air force ...
(DAF). Broadhurst came into conflict with Coningham over the use and objectives of the Desert Air Force. Broadhurst took command of the DAF in January 1943, becoming (at the age of 38) the youngest (until Air Commodore Don Bennett was so promoted on 6 December 1943 at the age of 33)
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 ...
in the Royal Air Force. He quickly perfected the way he perceived fighter aircraft ought to be employed as ground support fighter-bombers. His fighter squadrons were trained intensively to strafe and bomb German and Italian vehicles, tanks, transport and communication lines. This aerial cover of the 8th Army won the approval and appreciation of General
Bernard Montgomery Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the ...
and would form the basis of the ground attack principles used during the
D-Day landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...
and beyond. Broadhurst's enthusiastic backing of the Army and his frank opinions did not always go down well with his superiors in the RAF. He returned to the UK in 1944 to command No. 83 Group, part of
2nd Tactical Air Force 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, an ...
. In September 1945, he became Air Officer Administration at
RAF Fighter Command RAF Fighter Command was one of the commands of the Royal Air Force. It was formed in 1936 to allow more specialised control of fighter aircraft. It operated throughout the Second World War, winning fame during the Battle of Britain in 1940. The ...
.


Post-war

In August 1946, Broadhurst was made Air Officer Commanding No. 61 Group and in 1949, attended the Imperial Defence College. After promotion to air vice marshal again in July 1949, he became Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in April 1952 and then Commander-in-Chief of Second Tactical Air Force in December 1953 in the rank of air marshal. Broadhurst was appointed Air Officer Commander-in-Chief Bomber Command in January 1956. In 1956, at the peak of Broadhurst's career as Commander in Chief of
RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the Strategic bombing during World War II#Europe, strategic bombing of Germany in W ...
, his reputation suffered following a fatal accident to an
Avro Vulcan The Avro Vulcan (later Hawker Siddeley Vulcan from July 1963) was a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing, high-altitude, strategic bomber, which was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A.V. Roe ...
. Broadhurst took aircraft XA897, the first Vulcan delivered to the RAF, and a full Vulcan crew, on a round-the-world tour.Blackman 2007, p. 142. On return to the UK, Broadhurst was to land at London
Heathrow Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdo ...
Airport, a civil airport, to complete the successful tour before the assembled aviation media. However, the weather at Heathrow was poor and RAF aircraft were not equipped to use the Instrument Landing System installed at Heathrow and other civil airports so a Ground-controlled approach (GCA) was carried out. XA897 struck the ground about 2,000 feet short of the runway just as power was applied. XA897 was damaged by the initial impact but rose back in the air. The pilot, Squadron Leader D.R. "Podge" Howard, and Broadhurst, who was occupying the co-pilot seat, both ejected from the aircraft and survived. The aircraft again hit the ground and broke up. The Vulcan had only two
ejection seat In aircraft, an ejection seat or ejector seat is a system designed to rescue the aircraft pilot, pilot or other aircrew, crew of an aircraft (usually military) in an emergency. In most designs, the seat is propelled out of the aircraft by an exp ...
s, for the pilot and co-pilot. The other four occupants on XA897, including Howard's usual co-pilot, died in the accident. In his book ''The Hidden Truth'' Maurice Hamlin, a former member of the RAF on duty the day of the crash, claims that Broadhurst ignored three direct orders to divert away from Heathrow due to the poor weather conditions (noting other aircraft had already been diverted). Pilots, he goes on to say, cannot ignore these orders but Hamlin believes that Broadhurst continued to attempt to land due to the waiting press and dignitaries. He further claims a fifty-year D-Notice was placed on the incident (that has now expired). The AAIB inquiry concluded that the inherent lag in the system of issuing of instructions by the ground controller combined with the Vulcan's normal higher than usual rate-of-descent in comparison with the types of aircraft normally handled by Heathrow's controllers, allowed the aircraft to descend below a safe height before corrective instructions could be issued and complied-with. Subsequently, the Vulcan later became one of the first aircraft qualified for full autoland. Broadhurst was promoted to Air Chief Marshal in February 1957, and in 1959 he became Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe, until March 1961, when he retired from the RAF. After retiring, Broadhurst was appointed managing director of Avro Aircraft. In 1965, he became managing director of Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd., and in 1968 a Director of the Hawker Siddeley Group Limited, retiring in 1976.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', Tuesday, 2 October 1956; pg. 8 * Blackman, Tony. ''Vulcan Test Pilot: My Experiences in the Cockpit of a Cold War Icon''. London: Grub Street, 2007. . * Shores, Christopher & Clive Williams. ''Aces High''. London: Grub Street, 1994. . page 150-151; full biog.


External links


Royal Air Force Officers 1939−1945Imperial War Museum Interview
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