Alec Coryton

Sir William Alec Coryton
180px Air Commodore Coryton c.1940
Born	(1895-02-16)16 February 1895 Pentillie, Pillaton
Died	Langton Matravers
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army (1914–18) Royal Air Force (1918–51)
Years of service	1914–1951
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	AHQ Burma (1945) Third Tactical Air Force (1944) No. 5 Group (1942–43) No. 16 Squadron (1925–28)
Battles/wars	First World War Second World War
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Member of the Royal Victorian Order Distinguished Flying Cross Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)

Air Chief Marshal Sir William Alec Coryton KCB, KBE, MVO, DFC, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , (16 February 1895 – 20 October 1981), known as Alec Coryton, was a senior Royal Air Force commander in the Second World War.

Life

Originally commissioned as an officer into the British Army's Rifle Brigade (Special Reserve), Coryton transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as a lieutenant in 1918. When the RFC became the Royal Air Force, he resigned his Army commission and became a Royal Air Force officer.

From 1925 to 1928, he was Officer Commanding 16 Squadron, based at Old Sarum, Wiltshire, operating the Bristol F.2 Fighter in the tactical reconnaissance role.

On 25 April 1942 he became Air Officer Commanding No. 5 Group RAF. It has been claimed that the then Air Commodore Coryton was sacked by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris for refusing to send a small force of Lancasters from his group on a sneak raid to Berlin in poor weather conditions.

In February 1943 Coryton moved to the Air Staff at the Air Ministry and was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in 1944.

On 25 August 1944 he became Commander, RAF Third Tactical Air Force.

• 1944 4 December Commander, RAF in Bengal & Burma.
• 1944 14 December – May 1945 Assistant Air Commander, Eastern Air Command.
• 1945 27 February Air Marshal Commanding HQ RAF Burma

References

• Air Chief Marshal Coryton at Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation

External links

• http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/group.html

Military offices
Preceded by John Slessor	Air Officer Commanding No. 5 Group 1942–1943	Succeeded by Ralph Cochrane
Preceded by Jack Baldwin	Air Officer Commanding Third Tactical Air Force Post downgraded to AOC HQ RAF Bengal and Burma on 4 December 1944 Post renamed AOC HQ RAF Burma on 1 June 1945 1944–1947	Post disestablished