Edward Gordon Jones

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Sir Edward "Tap" Gordon Jones KCB CBE DSO DFC (born August 31, 1914 in Widnes , Cheshire , † February 20, 2007 ) was a British Air Force officer in the Royal Air Force , who last served in the rank of Lieutenant General ( Air Marshal ) between 1966 and 1969 Commanding General ( Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief ) of the Air Force in the Middle East ( RAF Near East Air Force ) and from 1967 to 1969 Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces in the Middle East ( Commander-in-Chief Near East Air Force ).

Life

Degree and aeronautical training

Early in his military career Jones was pilot of a biplane - fighter aircraft of type Gloster Gauntlet

Jones was the third son of Dr. Albert Jones, who served as a Lieutenant Colonel in the British Indian Army and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) and the Military Cross (MC). He grew up after his birth in Widnes in the Crown Colony of British India , where he was nicknamed “Tap”, a short form of “Doolally Tap” (“slightly crazy”). After attending the Widnes Grammar School in his hometown, he first began studying medicine at the University of Liverpool , but then switched to studying veterinary medicine and earning a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.).

On October 7, 1935, Jones began his aviation training as a temporary soldier ( Short Service Commission ) and was promoted to lieutenant ( pilot officer ) on October 7, 1936 , and pilot of the No. 17 Squadron RAF on the military airfield RAF Kenley. There he flew biplanes - fighters type Gloster Gauntlet . Subsequently, in March 1937, he switched to the No. 80 Squadron RAF and became adjutant to the commander in May 1937. After his promotion to first lieutenant ( Flying Officer ) on April 7, 1938, he was relocated to the Middle East in May 1938 with his Gloster Gladiator biplane fighter planes . Shortly after arrival, the squadron found itself engaged in combat operations in Palestine . There he was promoted to captain ( flight lieutenant ) on April 7, 1940 .

Second World War

Assignments in Egypt, Greece and Syria

In December 1940, Jones became the commanding officer of the Hawker Hurricane- equipped No. 80 Squadron RAF

After Italy declared war in World War II in June 1940, the No. 80 Squadron RAF after Egypt moved and Jones on August 19, 1940 first provisional squadron commander, and in September 1940 and flight training commander of the first swarm ( A-Flight Commander ). In November 1940 he was on a mission flight to Greece and shortly after taking off was exposed to an attack by Italian fighter planes. On November 27, 1940, he succeeded in shooting down a Fiat CR.42 biplane fighter for the first time, and on November 28, 1940, shooting down another. During this mission, however, he sustained a neck injury and spent a month in a military hospital to recover.

After returning to his squadron, on December 21, 1940, Jones was initially again the aviation commander of the first swarm and a week later on December 27, 1940, the commanding officer of No. 80 Squadron RAF , according to which the commander was shot down by an Italian fighter plane after being hit and parachuted. On February 28, 1941, he succeeded in shooting down two more Fiat CR.42 fighters during a mission flight, whereupon he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on March 14, 1941 . For this purpose, the squadron was equipped with Hawker Hurricane fighter planes and he himself acted temporarily in April 1941 as acting commander of a flying group ( wing ) in Eleusis . At this time, on April 6, 1941, during the Balkan campaign, the occupation of Greece by the German Wehrmacht began , whereupon the British troops withdrew. First he was relocated with his squadron to Crete and then back to Egypt on April 29, 1941. This was followed by a relocation of No. 80 Squadron RAF to Aqir near Ramla in the League of Nations mandate area of ​​Palestine to re-equip the squadron there. His unit then took part in combat missions in Syria . On July 25, 1941, he was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).

Uses in Southern Rhodesia and England

After four years of use in the No. 80 Squadron RAF , Jones was instructed in the flight training unit in Southern Rhodesia ( Rhodesian Air Training Group ) in September 1941 and initially transferred to the reserve on October 7, 1941, but immediately afterwards called back into active military service. For his services there, he was mentioned in the war report on January 1, 1942 ( Mentioned in dispatches ) and on December 29, 1942 he was awarded the Flier Merit Cross of Greece.

On September 25, 1942, he returned to Great Britain and became commander of the RAF Hawkinge Air Force Base and then, on May 24, 1943, head of the operational group at the headquarters of No. 2 Tactical Air Force 2TAF ( RAF Second Tactical Air Force ) . 83 (Composite) Group RAF , which took part in Operation Overlord in June 1944 and in Operation Market Garden in November 1944 . In December 1944 he took over the function of commander of the Hawker Typhoon equipped with fighter aircraft of the type No. 121 Expeditionary Air Wing at the Volkel military airfield (RAF Volkel) and was most recently an officer in the RAF's disarmament staff towards the end of World War II. On January 1, 1945 he received the Officer's Cross of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Staff officer in the post-war period

After the war ended, Jones was accepted as a professional soldier ( Permanent Commission ) in the RAF on March 26, 1946 and promoted to Major ( Squadron Leader ), the promotion being dated back to September 1, 1945. In the following years he was on the staff of the School of Land and Air Warfare ( School of Land / Air Warfare ) in Old Sarum and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel ( Wing Commander ) there on July 1, 1947 .

On April 1, 1951, Jones became commander of the RAF Valley Air Force Base on the Welsh island of Anglesey . After being promoted to Colonel ( Group Captain ) on January 1, 1954, he switched to the operations staff of the RAF Second Tactical Air Force and was also a staff officer at the headquarters of the Air Task Force Suez during the Suez Crisis in autumn 1956 ). On May 31, 1956, he also became Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

Thereupon Jones took over in March 1957 the function as commander of the air force base RAF Wyton and afterwards in January 1959 as commander of the central reconnaissance establishment ( Central Reconnaissance Establishment ). There he was promoted to the Air Commodore on July 1, 1959 . He then became Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence in 1960 at the headquarters of the Allied Air Forces in Central Europe AAFCE ( Allied Air Forces Central Europe ). On January 1, 1960 he was also Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB).

Ascent to the Air Marshal

On March 30, 1961 Jones was Commander ( Air Officer Commanding ) of the British Air Force in Germany ( RAF Germany ) and thus representative of Air Marshal John Grandy and was promoted to Major General ( Air Vice Marshal ) on July 1, 1961 .

Subsequently, on July 31, 1963, he moved to the command staff of the Imperial Defense College , before becoming Commander of the Air Force in Malta ( RAF Malta ) on November 1, 1965 and as such was also Deputy Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Mediterranean region ( Allied Forces Mediterranean ) for the Air Force and thus one of the representatives of Admiral John Graham Hamilton , the commander in chief of the Allied Forces Mediterranean .

Subsequently, Gordon Jones succeeded Air Marshal Thomas Prickett on November 21, 1966, Commanding General ( Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief ) of the Air Forces in the Middle East NEAF ( RAF Near East Air Force ) and Commander of the Armed Forces in Cyprus ( British Forces Cyprus ) . In personal union he was also Commander-in-Chief Near East Air Force and administrator of the Royal Air Bases Akrotiri and Dekelia in Cyprus. On June 10, 1967 he was beaten Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB), so that from now on he had the suffix "Sir", and on July 1, 1967 promoted to Lieutenant General ( Air Marshal ). As the commanding general of NEAF, he led the joint relocation and dissolution of No. 6 Squadron RAF , No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron , No. 73 Squadron RAF and No. 249 (Gold Coast) Squadron RAF . These four with twin- engine English Electric Canberra fighter jets formed the NEAF Strike Wing on the Akrotiri air base and were relocated to England or disbanded to accommodate two squadrons equipped with four- engine Avro Vulcan strategic bombers as the NEAF's new attack group close. This was the only time that four RAF squadrons left a base at the same time. On May 6, 1969, he was replaced by Air Marshal Denis Smallwood and finally retired on August 22, 1969 from active military service.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 34347, HMSO, London, December 8, 1936, p. 7921 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 34507, HMSO, London, May 3, 1938, p. 2862 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  3. ↑ London Gazette . No. 34831, HMSO, London, April 16, 1940, p. 2247 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  4. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 35837, HMSO, London, December 29, 1942, p. 5639 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  5. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 36866, HMSO, London, December 29, 1944, p. 19 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  6. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 40787, HMSO, London, May 31, 1956, p. 3108 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  7. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 41909, HMSO, London, December 29, 1959, p. 3 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  8. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 44326, HMSO, London, June 10, 1967, p. 6271 ( PDF , accessed on February 12, 2016, English).
  9. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 44841, HMSO, London, May 6, 1969, p. 4723 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
  10. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 44923, HMSO, London, August 26, 1969, p. 8770 ( PDF , accessed February 12, 2016, English).
personal data
SURNAME Gordon Jones, Edward
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Jones, Sir Edward Gordon; Tap (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Air Force officer in the United Kingdom
DATE OF BIRTH August 31, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Widnes , Cheshire
DATE OF DEATH February 20, 2007