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 ...

Frank Linden Hopps, (3 December 1894 – 10 October 1976) was a senior officer of the Royal Air Force (RAF). During the First World War, Hopps was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The 5th Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (5th Bn KOYLI), was a unit of Britain's Territorial Force formed in 1908 from Volunteer units originally raised in the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1860. It served in some of the bitterest fig ...

, but later transferred to the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

(RFC). After training as a pilot, Hopps was posted in August 1917 to a

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

(fighter) squadron on the Western Front,

No. 20 Squadron RFC ("Deeds not Words") , colors = , colors_label = , march = , mascot = , battles = , anniversaries = , decora ...

. (The RAF was formed from a merger of the RFC and

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 ...

on 1 April 1918.) Hopps remained in the RAF following the end of the war. In 1929, he graduated from the

RAF College, Cranwell The Royal Air Force College (RAFC) is the Royal Air Force military academy which provides initial training to all RAF personnel who are preparing to become commissioned officers. The College also provides initial training to aircrew cadets and ...

. After the beginning of the Second World War, Hopps (with the rank of temporary

group captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank i ...

) served as station commander at RAF Eastchurch during the Battle of Britain. During late 1942, he was posted to

North-West Russia Northwest Russia, or the Russian North is the northern part of western Russia. It is bounded by Norway, Finland, the Arctic Ocean, the Ural Mountains and the east-flowing part of the Volga. The area is roughly coterminous with the Northwestern Fe ...

as commanding officer of the Search & Strike Force, an expeditionary wing stationed in the Soviet Union, under the code name

Operation Orator Operation Orator was the code name for the defence of the Allied Arctic convoy Convoy PQ 18, PQ 18 by United Kingdom, British and Australian air force units, based temporarily in North-West Russia, against attack by the German battleship and oth ...

, to protect the Arctic convoy

PQ 18 Convoy PQ 18 was an Arctic convoy of forty Allied freighters from Scotland and Iceland to Arkhangelsk in the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany. The convoy departed Loch Ewe, Scotland on 2 September 1942, rendezvoused with more ships ...

. As a result of the operation's success, Hopps received the ''Orden Kutuzova'' (Order of Kutuzov) 3rd Class (OK3) – a Soviet military decoration awarded to senior officers for the skilful avoidance of attacks and/or leading successful counterattacks. In 1943–45, Hopps commanded No. 16 Group, which performed reconnaissance duties for RAF Coastal Command. Following the end of the war, Hopps was appointed

Air Officer in Charge of Administration Air Officer In Charge Administration or AOA, is a staff role in some air forces, at various organisational levels. The role of AOA emerged in the Royal Air Force and is most often found in the air forces of the Commonwealth of Nations. India In ...

(AOA) at the

British Air Forces of Occupation The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces, ...

in Germany. In 1947 he was appointed commander of No. 19 Group, a Coastal Command unit which included reconnaissance and strike squadrons. Hopps retired from the RAF, with the substantive rank of

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 ...

on 24 March 1950. Between 1953 and 1968, he was chief executive of the Agricultural Engineers Association (UK).

Bibliography

* ''Lieutenant Frank Linden HOPPS. The King's Own (Yorkshire Light Infantry)'' (Officer's personal file; War Office), Public Records Office (ref. WO 374/34673) * ''Who Was Who: 1897–2000'', New York, St. Martin's Press, 2002, p. 403
Battle of Britain Historical Society, 2007, "Tuesday August 13th 1940 Adler Tag (Eagle Day) Begins"

FamilySearch, 2014, "Frank Linden Hopps, 1976", ''England and Wales Death Registration Index 1837–2007''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopps, Frank 1894 births 1976 deaths Royal Air Force air marshals Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War I Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Military personnel from London Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd class Graduates of the Royal Air Force College Cranwell People from Hackney, London