John Miles Steel

Air Chief Marshal Sir John Miles Steel GCB , KBE , CMG , RAF (* 11. September 1877 , † 2. December 1965 ) was an officer in the Air Force of the United Kingdom .

Life

Steel attended Britannia Naval College from 1892 and soon served in the Royal Navy . He was appointed sergeant in 1897 and served as a member of the Naval Brigade in the Second Boer War . In 1900 he became an officer , in 1912 a commander and in 1916 a captain . With the merger of the Royal Naval Air Service and Royal Flying Corps into the Royal Air Force in 1918, Steel was temporarily elevated to the rank of Brigadier General. With the establishment of Bomber Command in July 1936, Steel became its first Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief with the rank of Air Chief Marshal .

Service in World War II

In August 1939, Steel returned from retirement to serve as Air Officer Commanding Reserve Command . In April 1940 he was replaced by his successor William Welsh and returned to retirement. The following year he returned to active service, this time as Controller-General of Economy in the Ministry of Aviation. He finally retired on September 26, 1945.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Liddell Hart Center for Military Archives
2. ^ ^{A b c} Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization - Air Chief Marshal Sir John Steel