Air Marshal Sir Raymund George Hart, (28 February 1899 – 16 July 1960) was a senior commander in 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

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 ...

and the post-war decade. Throughout this period, he was a specialist in military signals and a pioneer in the development of Radar. During the latter part of 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 ...

, Hart was a pilot in 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 ...

and RAF. Between the wars, Hart was a junior and middle-ranking officer in the RAF.

Early life

Hart was born in Merton, Surrey on 28 February 1899 and was educated at the Simon Langton School.

First World War

Hart joined the

in 1917 and was posted to the Western Front with 15 Squadron. On 11 April 1918 he was flying a Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 two-seat biplane on a artillery observation patrol. Over Bouzincourt he was attacked by four German fighters, the elevator controls were damaged by gun fire and Hart attempted to recover the aircraft. His observer Second Lieutenant L.F. Handford managed to shoot three of the fighters down. The R.E.8 crashed and Hart and Handford were wounded. Both men were later awarded the Military Cross for the action.

Royal Air Force

Hart rejoined the Royal Air Force in 1926 and from 1936 he worked at RAF Bawdsey on the first experimental radar station. In 1941 he moved to 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 ...

as deputy director of Radar before moving to Fighter Command as the Command Signals Officer. In 1944 Hart became Chief Air Signals Officer at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allies of World War II, Allied forces in northwest Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. US General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the ...

whener he was involved in the planning for the D-Day landings. After the war he became Air Officer Commanding of No. 90 Group and from 1951 in the Air Ministry as Director General of Engineering and later Controller of Engineering and Equipment before he retired in 1959.

Family life

Hart was married and had one son. Hart died on 16 July 1960 at his home at Aston Rowant in Oxfordshire, he was electrocuted while connecting power to an electric lawn mower, he was aged 61.

References

Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir Raymund Hart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Raymund George 1899 births 1960 deaths British World War I pilots Companions of the Order of the Bath Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Military Cross Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Military personnel from Surrey Accidental deaths by electrocution People educated at Simon Langton Grammar School for Boys Accidental deaths in England