Frederick Bowhill

Sir Frederick Bowhill
Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill
Born	(1880-09-01)1 September 1880 Morar, India
Died	Fulham, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy (1896–18) Royal Air Force (1918–45)
Years of service	1896–1945
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	Transport Command (1943–45) Ferry Command (1941–43) Coastal Command (1937–41) Air Member for Personnel (1933–37) RAF Depot Egypt (1925–26) RNAS Killingholme (1918) RNAS Felixstowe (1918) No. 8 Squadron RNAS (1916–17) HMS Empress (1914–15)
Battles/wars	First World War Somaliland campaign Second World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Distinguished Service Order & Bar Mentioned in Despatches (7)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick William Bowhill GBE, KCB, CMG, DSO, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , & Bar (1 September 1880 – 12 March 1960) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force before and during the Second World War.

RAF career

Bowhill started his career as a midshipman in the merchant navy in 1896. In 1912 he attended the Central Flying School and in 1914 he was given command of the seaplane carrier HMS Empress. He became Officer Commanding No. 8 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service in 1915 and Station Commander at RNAS Felixstowe in 1918. Later that year he commanded RNAS Killingholme.

After the war Bowhill was not to rest for long from operational service. In 1920 he was the Chief of Staff to Group Captain Robert Gordon for the highly successful Somaliland campaign. He went on to be Officer Commanding the RAF Depot in Egypt in 1925, Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Iraq Command in 1928 and Director of Organisation and Staff Duties at the Air Ministry in 1929. In 1931 he was appointed Air Officer Commanding the Fighting Area of the Air Defence of Great Britain and in 1933 he became Air Member for Personnel.

He served in World War II initially as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Coastal Command, then as Air Officer Commanding RAF Ferry Command, in which capacity using his knowledge of the sea he properly identified the likely position of the German battleship Bismarck using a Catalina flying boat allowing it to be sunk. His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding RAF Transport Command in 1943 before retiring in 1945.

Honours and awards

• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire – 1 July 1941
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath – 1 Jan 1936 (CB – 3 June 1935)
• Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George – 22 December 1919
• Distinguished Service Order – 22 Feb 1918, Bar – 3 Jun 1919
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society – 19 Feb 1915
• Mentioned in Despatches – 19 Feb 1915, 5 Apr 1918, 17 May 1918, 6 Aug 1918, 3 Jun 1919, 22 Dec 1919, 31 Mar 1920
• Order of St. Vladimir, 4th Class with Sword and Bow (Russia) – 191?
• Commander of the Order of the Redeemer (Greece) – 1 Apr 1920
• Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) – 24 Sep 1943
• Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) – 27 Mar 1945
• Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav (Norway) – 12 Jun 1945
• Grand Cross of the Polonia Restituta (Poland) – 12 Jun 1945

References

Bibliography

• Wynn, Humphrey. Forged in War: A History of Royal Air Force Transport Command, 1943–1967. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1996. ISBN 0-11-772756-3.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by Sir Edward Ellington	Air Member for Personnel 1933–1937	Succeeded by William Mitchell
Preceded by Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté	Commander-in-Chief Coastal Command 1937–1941	Succeeded by Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté
New title Command established from the Atlantic Ferry Service	Air Officer Commanding Ferry Command 1941–1943	Command renamed Transport Command
New title Command established by renaming Ferry Command	Commander-in-Chief Transport Command 1943–1945	Succeeded by Sir Ralph Cochrane