Michael Beetham

Michael Beetham (May 1944)

Sir Michael James Beetham , GCB , CBE , DFC , AFC , FRSA , FRAeS , DL (born May 17, 1923 in London ; † October 24, 2015 ) was a British Marshal of the Royal Air Force who served between 1970 and 1972 commander of the RAF Staff College Bracknell , 1975-1976 Deputy Supreme commander of the air attack commands ( RAF Strike Command ) , 1976-1977 Supreme commander of the Royal air Force Germany and, most recently from 1977 to 1982 chief of the air Staff ( chief of the air Staff ) was. He was the last Chief of the Air Staff to take an active part in World War II .

Life

Military training and World War II

After attending St Marylebone Grammar School on October 6, 1941, Beetham began his aviation training in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve ( RAFVR ) and continued his aviation training from January 9, 1942 to April 6, 1943 in the USA where he was promoted to lieutenant (pilot officer) on December 13, 1942 . After continuing his flying training in No. 18 Advanced Flying Unit , he completed his aviation training from June 1, 1943 in No. 14 Operational Training Unit , before moving to No. 8 for training on heavy bombers on September 8, 1943 . 1654 Heavy Conversion Unit was relocated. During his seventh air feed he could his Avro Lancaster - bomber to land in spite of severe damage to the wing tanks.

On January 15, 1944, he became a pilot for No. 50 Squadron RAF , where on February 12, 1944, his plane crashed near RAF East Kirkby military airfield after an engine fire in which four men of the ten-man crew were killed. For his work he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on June 6, 1944 . He then worked as an instructor at the Avro Lancaster bomber flight training school until the end of the Second World War.

Post-war period and staff officer

After the end of the war, Beetham became pilot in command of No. 57 Squadron RAF and on September 1, 1945 also as a professional soldier (Permanent Commission) with the rank of First Lieutenant (Flying Officer) in the RAF. He was then from November 24, 1945 to February 24, 1947 aviation commander of No. 35 Squadron RAF , where he was promoted to captain (Flight Lieutenant) on July 1, 1946 . Afterwards he was an officer in the personnel staff of the RAF Bomber Command from February 24, 1947 to May 26, 1949 , before joining the No. 1 stationed at RAF Benson Air Force Base . 82 Squadron RAF was again a pilot of Avro Lancaster bombers. During this time he took part in survey flights over East Africa and then completed additional training for jet aircraft from November 6, 1951 to April 28, 1952 at No. 205 Advanced Flying School RAF , during which he was promoted to Major (Squadron Leader) on January 1, 1952 . On January 1, 1952, he was awarded the King's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air (KCVSA). After graduating from RAF Staff College, Andover between April 28, 1952 and April 15, 1953 , he was employed as an officer in the operational requirements subdivision of the Air Force Staff and then served from May 7, 1956 to February 10, 1956 Task Force in operation Buffalo , a series of nuclear weapons tests in Maralinga in South Australia .

After his return, Beetham completed a refresher course from February 10 to February 24, 1957 at No. 3 All-Weather Jet Squadron RAF at the RAF Manby military airfield as well as a further refresher course at No. 231 Operational Conversion Unit RAF , before joining the 26th medium-range bomber course at No. 232 Operational Conversion Unit RAF at the RAF Gaydon Air Force Base. After being there on 1 January 1958 was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (Wing Commander) had received, he served on 10 February 1958 to June 7, 1960 as commander ( Commanding Officer ) of No. 214 Squadron RAF . During this time he was responsible for the introduction of the use of Vickers Valiant bombers for air refueling and played a key role in this development. During the development phase he set a number of records, for example on September 9, 1959 when he completed the first non-stop flight from Great Britain to Cape Town as the captain of a Valiant XD861 bomber . He covered the distance of around 9,750 kilometers in 11 hours 28 minutes and thus reached an average speed of 848 kilometers per hour. For this achievement he was awarded the Air Force Cross (AFC) on January 1, 1960 .

Beetham was subsequently an operations officer on the staff of No. 1 between June 7, 1960 and October 4, 1961 . 3 Group RAF and then head of the training group in the RAF Bomber Command , where he was promoted to Colonel (Group Captain) on January 1, 1962 . He then acted from July 9, 1962 to October 23, 1964 as head of the operations group of the bomber command and was then commander of the RAF Khormaksar air base in what is now Yemen . He served from 1965 to 1966 as a master (Master) of the Guild of pilots and navigators ( Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators ) .

Chief of the Air Staff and Marshal of the Royal Air Force

During his use in Aden , Beetham was promoted to Brigadier General (Air Commodore) on July 1, 1966 and graduated from Imperial Defense College on his return from January 10, 1967 to January 4, 1968 . On January 1, 1967, he became Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This was followed by a position as head of the operational requirements department and then from November 11 to September 27, 1970 as head of the attack operations department in the Air Force Staff. As the successor to Air Vice Marshal Nigel Maynard , he took over the post of Commandant of RAF Staff College Bracknell on September 27, 1970 and held this position until August 21, 1972, when Air Vice Marshal Alasdair Steedman was his successor. In this use took place on January 1, 1971, his own promotion to major general (Air Vice Marshal) . After this assignment he moved to the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied NATO forces SHAPE ( Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ) on August 21, 1972 , where he was Assistant Chief of Staff for Planning and Policy until July 7, 1975.

After Beetham was promoted to Lieutenant General (Air Marshal) on July 1, 1975 , he succeeded Air Marshal Peter Horsley as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Air Strike Command ( RAF Strike Command ) on June 7, 1975 and held this post until his replacement by Air Marshal John Stacey on 19 January 1976. He was then succeeded air Marshal Nigel Maynard as commander in chief of the from the 2nd air Force ( RAF Second Tactical air Force ) emerged British air forces in Germany ( RAF Germany ) . On January 1, 1976 he was beaten Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB), so that from then on he carried the suffix "Sir". In the function of commander-in-chief of RAF Germany, he was promoted to General (Air Chief Marshal) on May 21, 1977 and replaced again by Air Marshal John Stacey on July 31, 1977.

Last Beetham was on August 1, 1977 as a successor of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Neil Cameron Chief of the Air Staff ( Chief of the Air Staff ) and was the last Chief of the Air Staff, the activity on the Second World War had participated. On December 31, 1977 he was also raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). He also became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) in 1979 and a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) in 1982 . He held the post of Chief of the Air Force Staff until his replacement by Air Chief Marshal Keith Williamson on October 14, 1982, and at the same time acted as aide-de-camp for Queen Elizabeth II's air force from July 31, 1977 to October 15, 1982 . with his resignation from the office of air Force chief of staff, he was on 15 October 1982. Marshal of the Royal air Force transported the highest ranks of the Royal air Force.

On December 27, 1982, Beetham finally resigned from the military service and then took on various functions in the private sector, such as from 1983 to 1993 as director of the asset management company Brixton Estate plc . Furthermore, he was director from 1984 to 1991 and interim 1986 to 1990 CEO of GEC Avionics Ltd . In 1983 he became an honorary member of the Guild of Air Pilots and Navigators and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Air Force Museum . He also took over on April 17, 1989, the function of Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of the County of Norfolk . In 1998 he was awarded the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland . On 11 November 2001, the title of it was Honorary Air Commodore of the No. Awarded 2620 (County of Norfolk) Squadron RauxAF .

Web links

• Biography on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization

predecessor	Office	successor
Sir Neil Cameron	Chief of the Air Staff 1977-1982	Sir Keith Williamson