Thomas Pike

Thomas Pike

Sir Thomas Geoffrey Pike , GCB , CBE , DFC , DL (born June 29, 1906 , † June 1, 1983 at the RAF Halton Air Force Base ) was a British Marshal of the Royal Air Force , who, among other things, was Deputy Chief of the air Staff ( Deputy chief of the air Staff ) , 1956-1959 commander of the air Jagdkommandos ( RAF Fighter Command ) , 1960-1963 chief of air Staff ( chief of the air Staff ) , and most recently from 1964 to 1967 Deputy Supreme commander of the Allied NATO -Streitkräfte in Europe ( Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe ) .

Life

Military training and time before World War II

After attending the Bedford School, founded in 1552, Pike began his officer training on January 17, 1924 as a flight cadet in the B-Squadron of RAF College Cranwell . After completing his training, he was accepted into the RAF on December 16, 1925 as a professional soldier (Permanent Commission) with the rank of Lieutenant (Pilot Officer) and was initially employed as a pilot in No. 56 Squadron RAF on the military airfield RAF Biggin Hill . In this unit he initially flew Gloster Grebe - and later Armstrong Whitworth Siskin - biplane - fighter aircraft and was promoted to first lieutenant (Flying Officer) on June 16, 1927 . After attending the flight instructor course at the Central Flying School from October 2 to December 18, 1928 , he himself worked as a flight instructor at No. 5 Flying Training School RAF . He was then from May 6, 1928 to August 5, 1930 himself a trainer for flight instructors at the Central Flying School , where he was promoted to captain (Flight Lieutenant) on July 9, 1930 . There he also belonged to the five-member aerobatic group The Gipsy Moths .

Pike then completed a course for aircraft engineers from August 5, 1930 to October 1, 1932 at the RAF Henlow Air Force Depot and was then employed in the engineering staff of the Air Force Depot of the Air Force in the Middle East (RAF Middle East) . On his return to Great Britain, he was at No. 1 between November 13, 1934 and January 19, 1937 . 4 RAF Flying Training School again active as a flight instructor at the RAF Abu Sueir military airfield in Egypt . He then graduated from January 19, 1937 to January 1, 1938, the RAF Staff College, Andover and was promoted to Major (Squadron Leader) there on February 1, 1937 . After a subsequent assignment as Chief Flying Instructor at the No 10 Flying Training School at the RAF Ternhill Air Force Base , he was a staff officer in the Peace Organization of the Air Force Staff between February 14 and September 1939.

Second World War

For its night fighting kills with Bristol Beaufighter - fighters Pike was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross awarded (DFC)

At the beginning of World War II Pike in September 1939 was a staff officer in the Organization Department of the Air Staff and remained there until the end of the Battle of Britain early 1941. After that, he took his first commander post on February 4, 1941, as a commander ( Commanding Officer ) the with Bristol Beaufighter - fighter aircraft equipped No. 219 Squadron RAF at RAF Tangmere Air Force Base. He was due to four night kills of enemy aircraft of the German Air Force on May 13, 1941, the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) and on 30 May 1941, a clasp (bar) awarded the DFC. Because of the experience he had gained during these night flight operations , he was transferred to the headquarters of No. 11 Group RAF , where he was responsible as a staff officer for the unit's night fighter aircraft until February 2, 1942.

Pik was then commander of the RAF North Weald Air Force Base between February 2 and August 5, 1942 and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (Wing Commander) there on April 14, 1942 , this promotion being dated back to January 1, 1940. After serving as a staff officer at the headquarters of No. 11 Group RAF between May 16, 1943 and February 21, 1944 he was in command of No. 1 RAF Mobile Operations Room Unit , which was involved in the Allied invasion of Italy in September 1943 . For his services as commander of this unit he was mentioned in the war report on June 2, 1943 ( Mentioned in dispatches ) . On February 21, 1944 he finally became senior staff officer SASO (Senior Air Staff Officer) at the headquarters of the Desert Air Force and remained at this post until June 23, 1945.

Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and RAF Fighter Command

Air Marshal Thomas Pike (right) in conversation with the head of the Air Force Department in the Federal Ministry of Defense , Lieutenant General Josef Kammhuber in October 1956

After the end of the war, Pike, who became Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on June 8, 1944, assumed the post of Commander of No. 1 Officer Advanced Training School , which had been at RAF Digby Air Force Base since September 13, 1945. During this time he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the US Legion of Merit on October 16, 1945 and the dignity of Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on January 1, 1946 . In addition, he was promoted to Colonel (Group Captain) on January 1, 1946 . He has held between 12 October 1946 and 11 January 1949 post as head of the department for operational requirements in the Air Ministry ( Air Ministry ) and was responsible for retrofitting the RAF with jet aircraft , the previous conventional combat aircraft in the postwar period and Released bombers . In this application he was promoted to Brigadier General (Air Commodore) on July 1, 1947 .

Pike was a graduate of Imperial Defense College between January 11, 1949 and January 8, 1950, and then took over the post of AOC (Air Officer Commanding) in command of No. 11 Group RAF , where he was promoted to Major General (Air Vice Marshal) on July 1, 1950 . This was followed by its first use in the NATO , and that of 21 July 1951 to 12 June 1953 as deputy chief of staff for operations at the headquarters of Allied Air Forces Central Europe ( Allied Air Forces Central Europe ) in Fontainebleau . After his return, he served between January 12 and November 9, 1953 as Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Policy) .

After that Pike was on 9 November 1953 as the successor to Air Marshal Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman Deputy Chief of Air Staff ( Deputy Chief of the Air Staff ) and held this position until his replacement by Air Marshal Geoffrey Tuttle on August 8, 1956. In this use he was promoted to Lieutenant General (Air Marshal) on January 1, 1955 . He was also beaten on June 9, 1955 to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) and from then on carried the suffix "Sir".

Thereafter Pike on November 8, 1956 successor to Air Vice Marshal Hubert Patch Supreme Commander (Air Officer Commanding in Chief) of the air attack commands ( RAF Fighter Command ) and remained there until his replacement by Air Vice Marshal Hector McGregor on 30 July 1959 in this use in which he was promoted to General (Air Chief Marshal) on November 1, 1957 .

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

After a subsequent waiting Pike took over on 1 January 1960 by Marshal of the Royal Air Dermot Boyle function as Chief of Air Staff ( Chief of the Air Staff ) , the highest military post of the RAF. During his tenure there were a number of important changes in defense policy such as the deletion of the programs of the Blue Streak - medium-range missile , and the AGM-48 Skybolt - air-to-surface missiles , as well as the decision that responsibility for nuclear weapons to the Royal Navy to transfer. He was elevated to the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (GCB) on January 1, 1961 . On April 6, 1962, he was promoted to Marshal of the Royal Air Force , the highest rank in the Royal Air Force. In 1962 he made a world tour, during which he also visited air bases of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and the United States Air Force (USAF) and gave guest speeches at the Canadian Forces College and the Air War College. He held the function of Chief of the Air Staff until January 1, 1964 and was then replaced by Air Chief Marshal Charles Elworthy .

Last Pike was on 1 January 1964 as a successor to General Hugh Stockwell Deputy Supreme Commander of the Allied NATO -Streitkräfte in Europe ( Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe ) . He held this post until his retirement from active military service on March 1, 1967, after which he was replaced by General Robert Bray . He finally retired on May 8, 1967.

Most recently, Pike was Deputy Lieutenant (DL) for the County of Essex on February 7, 1983, and held this position until December 8, 1981.

Web links

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

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Aviation commander of No. 56 Squadron RAF was the later Marshal of the Royal Air Force William Dickson .
2. ↑ The Air Vice Marshal and Commander of No. 3 Group RAF William Arthur Darville Brook was killed in a plane crash on August 17, 1953. ( William Brook on Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organization )
3. ↑ Hugh Stockwell on the homepage generals.dk
4. ↑ Robert Bray on the homepage generals.dk

predecessor	Office	successor
Sir Dermot Boyle	Chief of the Air Staff 1960-1963	Sir Charles Elworthy