Air Vice Marshal
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes u ...
Colin Peter Brown &
Bar
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* Bar (u ...
(20 December 1898 – 19 October 1965) was a Scottish officer who began his career in the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
Brown was born in Langside, Glasgow, and was educated at Dulwich College, London.Shores ''et.al.'' (1997), p. 89.
He entered the
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) was the air arm of the Royal Navy, under the direction of the Admiralty's Air Department, and existed formally from 1 July 1914 to 1 April 1918, when it was merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps t ...
as a probationary flight officer on 28 January 1917, and was commissioned as a flight sub-lieutenant on 13 June. He was posted to the
Seaplane Defence Flight
No. 213 Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Air Force. The squadron was formed on 1 April 1918 from No. 13 (Naval) Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service.Halley 1988, p. 278. This RNAS squadron was itself formed on 15 January 1918 from the Seap ...
, a unit created to defend the seaplanes which operated out of
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Sopwith Camel. His first aerial victory came on 13 November 1917 when he destroyed an
Albatros D.V
The Albatros D.V is a fighter aircraft built by the Albatros Flugzeugwerke and used by the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' (Imperial German Air Service) during World War I. The D.V was the final development of the Albatros D.I family and the last Albatro ...
east of Nieuport, but it was another five months before he gained a second victory, forcing down another Albatros D.V over
Uitkerke
Uitkerke is in West Flanders and is part of the coastal city of Blankenberge, Belgium. The two neighboring communities were officially united in the early 1970s.
History
Uitkerke, as an independent village, is more than a thousand years old. His ...
on 27 April 1918. In between these two victories, on 15 January 1918 the Seaplane Defence Flight had been renamed No. 13 (Naval) Squadron, and on 1 April 1918 it became No. 213 Squadron RAF.
Brown was granted a commission as a second lieutenant in the RAF on 3 July 1918. He was soon promoted to lieutenant, and on 9 August was appointed acting-captain while serving as a flight commander.
Brown was noted for his willingness to fight, attacking land and sea targets as well as enemy aircraft. He even went so far as to strafe Zeebrugge harbor in a night attack. He accrued victories steadily until his climactic solo destruction of three Fokker D.VIIs on 4 October 1918. In total, Brown was credited with eight enemy aircraft destroyed and six driven down out of control in 374 flying hours. Eleven of his wins were over first-rate German fighters; Albatros D.Vs and Fokker D.VIIs. Two of his three victories over observation planes, he shared with other pilots, including the American ace, and future United States Navy rear admiral,
David Ingalls
David Sinton Ingalls (January 28, 1899 – April 26, 1985) was the US Navy's only flying ace of World War I, with six credited victories; thus he was the first ace in U. S. Navy history.
Early life
Ingalls was born on January 28, 1899, in Cl ...
.
On account of his combat record Brown was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; firstly on 21 September 1918 and then again on 29 November. He also received the ''
Croix de Guerre
The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...
'' from France, for his "services in Flanders" on 1 November.
His citations read:
Distinguished Flying Cross
Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross
Inter-war career
On 1 August 1919 the RAF introduced its own rank structure and Brown changed from lieutenant to flying officer. From 25 November he served aboard the aircraft carrier , and on 31 May 1920 was appointed an instructor at the School of Naval Co-operation and Aerial Navigation. On 5 January 1921 he was posted to
No. 205 Squadron
No. 205 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit formed on 1 April 1918. Prior to this it had existed as No. 5 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). In 1929, it became the first RAF squadron to be permanently based in Singapore, taking as i ...
RAF Leuchars
Royal Air Force Leuchars or RAF Leuchars was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspac ...
. On 6 September 1922, he was injured after making a forced landing in the
Moray Firth
The Moray Firth (; Scottish Gaelic: ''An Cuan Moireach'', ''Linne Mhoireibh'' or ''Caolas Mhoireibh'') is a roughly triangular inlet (or firth) of the North Sea, north and east of Inverness, which is in the Highland council area of north of Scotl ...
, following an engine failure. On 1 April 1923 he was assigned to No. 420 Flight.
Beginning in September 1923 he took the Signals Course at the Electrical and Wireless School at RAF Flowerdown, and in September 1924 was appointed a staff officer in the Signals Branch, at the Air Ministry. He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 January 1925. From 19 September 1927 he attended the RAF Staff College in Andover, Hampshire. On 29 January 1929 Brown was posted to No. 30 Squadron in Iraq, transferring to No. 84 Squadron at RAF Shaibah, Iraq, on 16 March to serve as a flight commander. On 28 August he was posted to the Headquarters of
Iraq Command
Iraq Command was the Royal Air Force (RAF) commanded British Armed Forces, inter-service Command (military formation), command in charge of United Kingdom, British forces in Iraq in the 1920s and early 1930s, during the period of the British Man ...
.
On 1 February 1931 Brown was posted to No. 13 Squadron at RAF Netheravon to serve as a signals officer. On 12 December 1932 he became a staff officer in the Signals Branch. He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 October 1934, and from 1 December served as a signals officer, serving at No. 21 Group Headquarters, South Farnborough, on signals duties until 10 November 1935.
On 5 October 1935 he was appointed commander of No. 26 (Army Co-operation) Squadron at RAF Catterick. On 30 August 1937 he was appointed station commander at RAF Catterick. On 1 January 1938 he was promoted to wing commander, and on 4 July was assigned to the Directorate of Staff Duties at the Air Ministry.
Second World War
Brown was promoted to acting group captain on 1 March 1940, and appointed Senior Air Staff Officer in No. 60 (Signals) Group, Fighter Command, which was responsible for the RAF's radar network. On 24 April he was transferred to the RAF's Technical Branch. On 1 September he was promoted to temporary group captain. In September 1941 he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) "in recognition of distinguished services rendered in operational commands of the Royal Air Force during the period 1st October 1940 to 31st March 1941".
He was appointed acting-air commodore on 19 August 1942, to serve as Director of Radar at the Air Ministry, appointed group captain (war substantive) on 19 February 1943, and promoted to group captain on 1 December. He served in the Directorate of Operational Requirements at the Air Ministry from 1945 until December 1947. On 14 June 1945, in the King's birthday honours, he was made a
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Companion may refer to:
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* Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance
* A domestic partner, akin to a spouse
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(CB).
Post-war career
Brown was promoted to air commodore on 1 July 1947, and from 1949 served as Chief Signals Officer,
Middle East Air Force
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. He was appointed acting air vice-marshal on 7 April 1950 to serve as Assistant Controller of Supplies (Air) at the
Ministry of Supply
The Ministry of Supply (MoS) was a department of the UK government formed in 1939 to co-ordinate the supply of equipment to all three British armed forces, headed by the Minister of Supply. A separate ministry, however, was responsible for aircr ...
, and was promoted to air vice-marshal on 1 January 1952. Brown was forced by ill-health to resign from his post in early 1953. He eventually left the RAF on 15 March 1954.
Air Vice Marshal Brown died on 19 October 1965.