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 ...

Robert Stewart Blucke, (22 June 1897 – 2 October 1988) was a

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 ...

officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

RAF Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 19 ...

in 1952.

RAF career

Blucke was commissioned into the 3rd Battalion the

Dorsetshire Regiment The Dorset Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1958, being the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951, it was formally called the Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets". In 19 ...

in 1915 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 ...

and transferred to No. 63 Squadron on formation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice Marshal R S Blucke
/ref> He became a Signals Officer at the Experimental Section of the

Royal Aircraft Establishment The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...

in January 1934 and in February 1935 he flew a

Handley Page Heyford The Handley Page Heyford was a twin-engine biplane bomber designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Handley Page. It holds the distinction of being the last biplane heavy bomber to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). The ...

over

Stowe Nine Churches Stowe Nine Churches, also written as Stowe IX Churches, is a civil parish incorporating the settlements of Church Stowe and Upper Stowe in the West Northamptonshire district, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England. The population ...

becoming the first pilot to be detected by

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

. He served in 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 ...

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 ...

the Blind Approach Training and Development Unit and then as Officer Commanding the Wireless Investigation Development Unit before joining the Directorate of Flying Training 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 ...

in November 1940. He became Station Commander at

RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, or more simply RAF Holme is a former Royal Air Force List of former Royal Air Force stations, station located in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The site was built during the World War II, ...

in 1942, in which role he was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a Military awards and decorations, military award of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, awarded for operational gallantry for highly successful ...

for a bombing run over

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (), is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, second-largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, the States of Ger ...

in a damaged

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

, before becoming Station Commander at

RAF Ludford Magna Royal Air Force Ludford Magna or more simply RAF Ludford Magna is a former Royal Air Force station located on agricultural farmland immediately south of the village of Ludford, Lincolnshire, Ludford, Lincolnshire and was sited 21.4 miles (34.4& ...

in 1943 and Air Officer Commanding No. 1 (Bomber) Group in 1945. After the War he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at Air Headquarters India and then became Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Technical Training Command in 1947. He went on to be Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Far East Air Force in 1949, Air Officer Commanding Air Headquarters Malaya in 1951 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

in January 1952 before retiring in July that year.

Personal life

In 1967 he lived in Kent, where, on 10 February 1968, 24 year old window cleaner David Gilbert broke into his house, and assaulted police officer Peter Gundry. Gilbert was sentenced to three years in prison in March 1968. His son David also pursued a career with the

, becoming a

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 ...

and station commander of

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and h ...

. He died in the 1974 Norfolk mid-air collision, when the Phantom jet he was piloting made contact with a crop-spraying aircraft.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Blucke, Robert 1897 births 1988 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Companions of the Order of the Bath Dorset Regiment officers Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Dorset Militia officers