Neil Wheeler

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Sir Henry Neil George Wheeler GCB CBE DSO DFC AFC FRAeS (born July 8, 1917 in Pretoria , South Africa - † January 9, 2009 ) a British Air Force officer in the Royal Air Force , who last served in the rank of General ( Air Chief Marshal ) from 1973 to 1976 was Aircraft Controller in the Ministry of Defense .

Life

Pilot training and World War II

As a squadron commander of North Coates Strike Wing , he led his unit in 1943 the joint attack squadron of all three seasons with Bristol Beaufighter - fighter-bombers a

Wheeler, son of an officer in the South African Police , completed his education at the Waterkloof House School in Pretoria and St Helen's College in Southsea . In 1935 he began his aviation training with the support of a Dominion scholarship as a flight cadet of the B-Squadron at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell , the officers' school of the RAF. After completing his training, he was promoted to Lieutenant ( Pilot Officer ) on July 31, 1937 and a pilot in No. 1 stationed at the RAF Cottesmore military airfield . 207 Squadron RAF . He flew alongside Fairey Gordon - Double Decker - bombers , Vickers Wellesley -Bombern, Fairey Battle - combat aircraft and training aircraft type Avro Anson and was on January 31, 1939. Lieutenant ( Flying Officer transported).

After the start of World War II, Wheeler was in April 1940, first flight training commander of the Air Command ( RAF Bomber Command belonging) No. 12 RAF Operational Training Unit at RAF Benson Air Force Base . Shortly afterwards, however, he personally asked the Air Ministry to be accepted as a pilot in the newly formed and secret Photographic Development Unit (PDU ). On June 18, 1940, he became a pilot in the resulting Photographic Reconnaissance Unit (PRU ) and took part in numerous reconnaissance flights during the Battle of Britain . His oxygen system failed during a reconnaissance mission, so that he had to parachute at an altitude of 8,500 meters. Fortunately for him, he was rescued at a height of around 450 meters above Kiel . He then spent a few weeks in a hospital for treatment.

After his recovery, Wheeler returned to his unit and took part in further reconnaissance missions from Scotland and Cornwall . On September 3, 1940 he was promoted to captain ( flight lieutenant ). After completing 56 aerial reconnaissance missions, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) on August 26, 1941 . In the course of 1942 he suffered several serious injuries in a car accident, so that he was again in a military hospital for several months.

On November 20, 1942 Wheeler was promoted to Major ( Squadron Leader ), this promotion was retrospectively dated December 1, 1941. Thereupon he took over his first command post as a commanding officer of the No. 236 Squadron RAF . This unit was part of the North Coates Strike Wing of the coastal command ( RAF Coastal Command ) and Bristol Beaufighter - fighter-bombers equipped.

Wheeler was responsible for reviewing the tactics of this squadron and introduced the concept of joint attack by all three squadrons of the squadron. He insisted that all operations be escorted by a fighter plane. For his services there he was awarded a clasp ( bar ) to his DFC on July 6, 1943 . Most recently he was honored with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on November 12, 1943 . After visiting the RAF Staff College Bulstrode Park and the US Army Staff College , he himself became commander of the North Coates Strike Wing in 1944 and, some time later, an officer in the staff of the Cabinet Office.

Staff officer in the post-war period

After the end of the war, Wheeler became an officer in the command staff of RAF Staff College Bracknell in June 1945 and then in 1947 a staff officer at the headquarters of the Air Forces in the Far East, FEAF ( Far East Air Force ), before he became commander of the RAF Kuala Lumpur Air Force Base in 1948.

After his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel ( Wing Commander ) on January 1, 1949 Wheeler was on April 4, 1949 staff officer in the headquarters of the Air Forces in the Malaya Federation ( Air Headquarters Malaya ). Almost three weeks later, on April 26, 1949, he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Some time later he returned to Great Britain in 1949, where he became an officer in the command staff of the United Staff College of the Armed Forces JSSC ( Joint Services Staff College ) and in 1951 the aviation commander of the RAF Marham air base .

In 1953, Wheeler changed to the Air Force Staff of the Aviation Ministry and was there from April 1954 a staff officer in the department for operational requirements there. For his services in military aviation, he was honored with the Air Force Cross (AFC) on June 10, 1954 . On July 1, 1956 he was promoted to Colonel ( Group Captain ) and took over on April 10, 1957 the post of Deputy Commandant of the RAF Staff College Bracknell. On June 13, 1957, he became Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In addition, he acted between June 18, 1957 and January 1, 1961 as aide-de-camp of Queen Elisabeth II. In the meantime, in 1959, he became the commander of the RAF Laarbruch air base, which is part of the air force in the Federal Republic of Germany ( RAF Germany ) .

After his promotion to Air Commodore on January 1, 1961, Wheeler was a graduate of Imperial Defense College (IDC) in London . He was then on January 1, 1962 Air Force representative in the Defense Research Policy Staff .

Promotion to Air Chief Marshal

On January 1, 1964, Wheeler was promoted to Major General ( Air Vice Marshal ) and then took over as Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) as Chief of Staff of RAF Germany. He then returned to Great Britain and was first Assistant Chief of the Defense Staff (Operational Requirements) ) on April 26, 1966 . In the meantime, he became Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on January 1, 1967 .

Then, on December 8, 1967, Wheeler took over the newly created post as deputy chief of the defense staff for operational requirements ( Deputy Chief of the Defense Staff (Operational Requirements) ). He was promoted to Lieutenant General ( Air Marshal ) on July 1, 1968 and on January 1, 1969, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB), so that from then on he was allowed to use the suffix "Sir". His successor as Deputy Chief of Defense Staff was Lieutenant General Noel Thomas , who was previously head of the Department for Army Operations Development in the Ministry of Defense.

Wheeler himself replaced Air Marshal Rochford Hughes on February 10, 1969 as Air Officer Commanding in Chief of the Air Forces in the Far East, FEAF ( Far East Air Force ) and remained in this post until his replacement by Air Vice Marshal Nigel Maynard on November 7, 1970. He himself succeeded Air Chief Marshal Thomas Prickett on December 1, 1970 as Air Member for Supply and Organization on the Air Force Board of the Department of Defense. As such, he became General ( Air Chief Marshal ) on March 11, 1972 . His successor as Air Member for Supply and Organization was Air Marshal Anthony Heward on March 27, 1973 .

Most recently, Wheeler was the successor to Air Chief Marshal Peter Fletcher Aircraft Controller ( Controller Aircraft ) in the Department of Defense on June 1, 1973 . In this position he was responsible for supplying the RAF with airworthy aircraft, whereupon they in turn issued an RTS ( Release to Service ) certificate that the respective aircraft is operational. On January 1, 1975 he was raised to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB). On November 8, 1975, he was replaced by Air Marshal Douglas Lowe as Aircraft Controller and retired from active military service just under two months later on January 3, 1976.

Commitment in retirement

After his retirement, Wheeler served as a board member of Rolls-Royce Ltd and Flight Refueling Holdings Ltd. between 1977 and 1982 . In addition, he was since 1980 a member ( Liveryman ) of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators ( Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators ) and from 1986 to 1987 their guild master ( Master ). He was also Vice President of the Air League , a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS) and Companion of the Chartered Management Institute (CCMI).

In 1942 he married Elizabeth Weightman, who was an officer in the WAAF ( Women's Auxiliary Air Force ) volunteer air force image evaluator. This marriage resulted in two sons and a daughter. Wheeler was also uncle of General Roger Neil Wheeler , who from 1997 to 2000 Chief of Army Staff ( Chief of the General Staff ) was from 2001 to 2009 as the Constable of the Tower .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ London Gazette . No. 34964, HMSO, London, October 8, 1940, p. 5902 ( PDF , accessed February 26, 2016, English).
  2. ↑ London Gazette . No. 35257, HMSO, London, August 26, 1941, p. 4966 ( PDF , accessed February 26, 2016, English).
  3. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 36079, HMSO, London, July 6, 1943, p. 3035 ( PDF , accessed February 26, 2016, English).
  4. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 38593, HMSO, London, April 26, 1949, p. 2033 ( PDF , accessed February 26, 2016, English).
  5. ^ London Gazette  (Supplement). No. 44740, HMSO, London, January 1, 1969, p. 3 ( PDF , accessed February 26, 2016, English).
personal data
SURNAME Wheeler, Neil
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wheeler, Sir Henry Neil George (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British Air Force officer in the United Kingdom
DATE OF BIRTH July 8, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Pretoria , South Africa
DATE OF DEATH January 9, 2009