Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal (Air Chf Mshl or ACM) is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admir ...

Sir Denis Hensley Fulton Barnett, (11 February 1906 – 31 December 1992) was a squadron commander and senior officer in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In the post war years he held high command, serving as the British air commander during the

Suez War The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

and subsequently the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief

Transport Command RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967. ...

and the Commander of

British Forces Cyprus British Forces Cyprus (BFC) is the name given to the British Armed Forces stationed in the UK Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia on the island of Cyprus and at a number of related 'retained sites' in the Republic of Cyprus. The United K ...

. Barnett was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, his parents being Sir Louis Barnett and Mabel Violet Barnett née Fulton (daughter of

Catherine Fulton Catherine Henrietta Elliot Fulton (née Valpy, 19 December 1829 – 6 May 1919) was a New Zealand diarist, community leader, philanthropist, social reformer and suffragist. She was a founding member of the Dunedin chapter of Women's Christi ...

and James Fulton). He had three elder brothers, including

Miles Barnett Miles Aylmer Fulton Barnett (30 April 1901 – 27 March 1979) was a New Zealand physicist and meteorologist. Born in Dunedin, New Zealand, he studied in that country but obtained his PhD in the United Kingdom at the University of Cambridge. He ...

, and an older sister. He married Pamela Grant (21 December 1918 - 30 August 2010) on 22 April 1939, and they went on to have three daughters and one son.

RAF career

The New Zealander Barnett was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1929.Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> He was appointed

Officer Commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

No. 84 Squadron in 1938 and then served in the

taking charge of No. 40 Squadron in June 1940.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Denis Barnett
/ref> He joined the Air Staff at Headquarters

Bomber Command Bomber Command is an organisational military unit, generally subordinate to the air force of a country. The best known were in Britain and the United States. A Bomber Command is generally used for strategic bombing (although at times, e.g. during t ...

in 1941 and then became Station Commander at

RAF Swanton Morley The former Royal Air Force Swanton Morley, more commonly known as RAF Swanton Morley, was a Royal Air Force station in Norfolk, England, located near to the village of Swanton Morley. The site, now known as Robertson Barracks, is occupied by t ...

in 1942. He returned to Bomber Command in June 1943 taking on the roles of Deputy Director of Operations, then Senior Air Staff Officer and finally Director of Operations. After the war he joined the Air Staff in India and then became Commandant of the Central Bomber Establishment in 1949 before becoming Director of Operations at the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...

in 1950. He became UK Representative at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

Command Headquarters in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

in 1952, Air Officer Commanding No. 205 Group in 1954 and Commandant of the

RAF Staff College, Bracknell The RAF Staff College at Bracknell was a Royal Air Force staff college active for most of the second half of the 20th century. Its role was the training of staff officers in the administrative, staff and policy aspects of air force matters. I ...

, in 1956. With the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

unfolding in Autumn 1956, he became Commander of the Allied Air Task Force for Operation ''Musketeer'' and ordered to carry out the bombing

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian airfields in order to achieve

air superiority Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...

. He returned to the UK as

Air Secretary The Air Secretary and Chief of Staff, Personnel is the Royal Air Force officer with responsibility for appointments, promotions, postings, and discipline of high ranking members of the British air force. From 1978 to 1983 the Air Secretary was ...

in 1957. His final appointments were as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief

in 1959 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Near East Air Force (including responsibility for

and Administration of the

Sovereign Base Areas Akrotiri and Dhekelia, officially the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (SBA),, ''Periochés Kyríarchon Váseon Akrotiríou ke Dekélias''; tr, Ağrotur ve Dikelya İngiliz Egemen Üs Bölgeleri is a British Overseas Territory o ...

) in 1962
/ref> before retiring in 1964. In retirement he became Board Member for Weapons Research & Development at the

Atomic Energy Authority The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority is a UK government research organisation responsible for the development of fusion energy. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy ( ...

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnett, Denis Hensley Fulton 1906 births 1992 deaths Royal Air Force air marshals British military personnel of the Suez Crisis Commanders of the Legion of Merit Commanders of the Legion of Honour New Zealand recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)