Denis Barnett

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Sir Denis Hensley Fulton Barnett GCB CBE DFC (born February 11, 1906 in New Zealand ; † December 31, 1992 ) was a British Air Force officer in the Royal Air Force , who last served as General ( Air Chief Marshal ) between 1962 and 1964 as Commander in Chief of the Air Force in the Middle East ( RAF Near East Air Force ) and in personal union was commander of the British armed forces in Cyprus ( British Forces Cyprus ) as well as head of the administration of the military bases in Cyprus SBAA ( Sovereign Base Areas Administration ).

Life

Pilot training and time before World War II

Barnett began after school education and studying at the University of Cambridge and entered during this time on 15 August 1927 in the Volunteer Reserve of the Air Force RAFO ( Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve ) and was in this August 15, 1928 Lieutenant ( Pilot Officer ) and on February 15, 1929 promoted to first lieutenant ( flying officer ).

After completing his studies with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) he was accepted as a professional soldier ( Permanent Commission ) in the RAF on October 5, 1929 and promoted to Lieutenant ( Pilot Officer ), this promotion being dated back to October 5, 1928. At the same time he was used as a pilot on the No. 5 Flying Training School RAF , before becoming a pilot on March 4, 1930 for No. 13 Squadron RAF and there on April 5, 1930 his promotion to first lieutenant ( flying officer ). He then completed an instructor course at the Central Flying School and, after completing it on April 17, 1932, became a QFI ( Qualified Flying Instructor ) flight instructor himself at No. 5 Flying Training School RAF .

Then Barnett was on September 2, 1932 pilot and instructor in aviation service at RAF Duxford, where his instructor status was increased from A2 to A1. On June 1, 1934 he was promoted to captain ( flight lieutenant ). In 1935 he completed postgraduate studies in the USA , in which he dealt with the training methods of the US armed forces and which he completed with a Master of Arts (MA). After returning to Great Britain, he was a flight instructor and examination officer at the Central Flying School from September 11, 1935 and then took over his first command post on March 15, 1937, as a commanding officer of the liaison air force in Iraq .

After his promotion to Major ( Squadron Leader ) on February 1, 1938, Sinclair took over on April 14, 1938 the post of commander of No. 84 Squadron RAF and was then from November 21, 1938 as an officer in No. 1 RAF Depot in RAF Uxbridge. At the end of 1939 he belonged to a group of officers in Italy who were buying Italian aircraft for the RAF.

Second World War

At the beginning of World War II Barnett was at the beginning of the Battle of Britain on June 3, 1940 Commander based RAF Wyton stationed No. 40th Squadron RAF . This was at first with light bombers of the type Bristol Blenheim equipped before starting in November 1940, equipped with Vickers Wellington was carried -Bombern. For his flying services he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on December 24, 1940 . On April 7, 1941 he became an officer in the headquarters of the bomber command ( RAF Bomber Command ) and took over from May 1942 the post of base commander of RAF Swanton Morley. Because of his military services he was mentioned in the war report on June 11, 1942 ( Mentioned in dispatches ). In June 1943 he returned to the headquarters of the bomber command and worked there for a few days as head of the operations group. On June 14, 1943, however, he changed as an officer to the administrative staff at the headquarters of the tactical air fleet TAF ( Tactical Air Force ) responsible for Northern Europe .

He then became Deputy Head of the Bomber Operations Department in the Air Force Staff in 1944 and then on January 16, 1945 as Deputy Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), Deputy Chief of the Bomber Command Staff. On January 1, 1945 he was meanwhile Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). On January 25, 1945 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel ( Wing Commander ), which was dated back to June 1, 1944.

Staff officer in the post-war period

After the end of the Second World War, Barnett became head of the bomber operations department in the Air Force Staff on June 11, 1945 and, after his promotion to Colonel ( Group Captain ) on October 1, 1946, a staff officer at the AHQ ( Air Headquarters ) in British India . After joining the Joint Services Staff College (JSCC) in 1948 , he was appointed commander of the Central Bomber Establishment in 1949 . At the same time he was on April 26, 1949 Aide-de-camp of King George VI.

Barnett was on October 25, 1949 Head of Operations in the Air Ministry and was promoted to Air Commodore on January 1, 1950 . In 1952 he was a graduate of the Imperial Defense College (IDC) in London .

After graduating from the IDC, Barnett became the representative of the British Chiefs of Staff at the UN headquarters in Tokyo , where he was promoted to Major General ( Air Vice Marshal ) on July 1, 1953 . As the successor to Air Vice Marshal Harold Satterley , he took over on June 30, 1954 the post of Commander ( Air Officer Commanding ) of No. 205 Group RAF . On August 10, 1954, he was appointed commander of the US Legion of Merit . From October 1955 he initiated the relocation of the headquarters of this unit stationed in Egypt to Cyprus . On January 2, 1956, he was also Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). After the handover of the last air force base in Egypt, RAF Abu Suwayr, to the Egyptian air force on April 14, 1956, the No. 205 Group RAF disbanded.

Barnett then took over from Air Marshal Douglas Macfadyen in April 1956 as commandant of RAF Staff College Bracknell .

Commander of the Air Force in the Suez Crisis

Burning oil tanks in Port Said after the Anglo-French attack during the Suez Crisis on November 5, 1956

After the nationalization of the Suez Canal on July 29, 1956, tensions arose between Egypt and France and Great Britain and Israel , which was supported by both Western powers. The Suez Crisis led to the brink of armed conflict, after which Barnett became the air force command of Operation Musketeer , which was planned for a war with Egypt . Air Vice Marshal Roy Faville followed on August 1, 1956, in his role as Commandant of RAF College Cranwell . His staff consisted predominantly of officers from the Imperial Defense College, who were involved in the preparation of this operational planning at an early stage.

His election for the position and the appointment of a planning staff separated the existing command structure in the Middle East. The local commanders of the British Armed Forces in the Middle East, Air Marshal Hubert Patch as Commander in Chief of the MEAF ( Middle East Air Force ) there and Air Vice Marshal William Crisham as Commander of the Levant Air Force Headquarters ( AHQ Levant ), viewed this decision critically. On the other hand, Barnett was more knowledgeable about operations and, due to his previous use, knew more about the situation in Egypt than any other general in the RAF. The Air Task Force under him was intended to bomb the Egyptian air bases in order to gain the necessary air supremacy.

Barnett then gave the order to begin the bombing on October 31, 1956 at 4:15 p.m. On November 2, 1956, he reported that the Egyptian Air Force was no longer an effective combat air force, which was later confirmed by the Operations Research Department of the Bomber Command.

Promotion to Air Chief Marshal

After the Suez Crisis ended, Barnett became the first Air Secretary on February 4, 1957, and was responsible for career planning, promotions and appointments of officers in the RAF in the Air Ministry. On June 13, 1957 he was beaten Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and from then on carried the suffix "Sir". On April 15, 1958, he was awarded both the dignity of commander of the French Legion of Honor and the Croix de guerre . He remained at the post of Air Secretary until his replacement by Air Chief Marshal Theodore McEvoy on May 1, 1959.

Barnett himself was then on May 16, 1959 as the successor to Air Marshal Andrew McKee Commanding General ( Air Officer Commanding in Chief ) of the transport command ( RAF Transport Command ). In this assignment he was promoted to Lieutenant General ( Air Marshal ) almost six weeks later on July 1, 1959 . On April 30, 1962, Air Marshal Edmund Hudleston succeeded him as commanding general of the transport command.

Most recently Barnett was promoted to General ( Air Chief Marshal ) on July 1, 1962 and then took over on July 16, 1962 from Air Chief Marshal William MacDonald, Commander in Chief of the Middle East Air Force ( RAF Near East Air Force ). He was also the commander of the British Forces Cyprus and also head of the administration of the military bases in Cyprus SBAA ( Sovereign Base Areas Administration ). On June 13, 1964 he was raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). He was succeeded in these uses on September 25, 1964, Air Vice Marshal Thomas Prickett , who served as his chief of staff during Operation Musketeer in the Suez Crisis. On November 27, 1964, he retired from active military service.

In 1965 Barnett became a member of the UKAEA ( United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority ) and was responsible for nuclear weapons research and development until 1972.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ London Gazette . No. 33308, HMSO, London, August 15, 1927, p. 5678 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 33414, HMSO, London, August 21, 1928, p. 5576 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  3. ↑ London Gazette . No. 33468, HMSO, London, February 15, 1929, p. 1198 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  4. ↑ London Gazette . No. 33543, HMSO, London, October 15, 1929, p. 6551 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  5. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 33607, HMSO, London, May 20, 1930, p. 3156 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  6. ↑ London Gazette . No. 34055, HMSO, London, June 1, 1934, p. 3487 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  7. ↑ London Gazette . No. 34478, HMSO, London, February 1, 1938, p. 670 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  8. ↑ London Gazette . No. 35022, HMSO, London, December 24, 1940, p. 7214 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  9. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 36866, HMSO, London, January 1, 1945, p. 18 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  10. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 41360, HMSO, London, April 11, 1958, p. 2365 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  11. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 43343, HMSO, London, June 13, 1964, p. 4939 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
  12. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 43447, HMSO, London, September 25, 1964, p. 8212 ( PDF , accessed February 20, 2016, English).
personal data
SURNAME Barnett, Denis
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Barnett, Denis Hensley Fulton (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Air Force officer in the United Kingdom
DATE OF BIRTH February 11, 1906
PLACE OF BIRTH New Zealand
DATE OF DEATH December 31, 1992