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 Frederick William Bowhill, (1 September 1880 – 12 March 1960) was a senior commander 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 ...

before and during

World War II 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 ...

RAF career

Bowhill started his career as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

in the merchant navy in 1896.Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Bowhill
/ref> In 1912 he attended the

Central Flying School The Central Flying School (CFS) is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 at the Upavon Aerodrome, it is the longest existing flying training school. The school was based at R ...

and in 1914 he was given command of the

seaplane carrier A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...

HMS ''Empress''. He became Officer Commanding No. 8 Squadron of 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 ...

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 Robert Gordon may refer to: Entertainment * Robert Gordon (actor) (1895–1971), silent-film actor * Robert Gordon (director) (1913–1990), American director * Robert Gordon (singer) (1947–2022), American rockabilly singer * Robert Gordon (scr ...

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 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 1929. In 1931 he was appointed Air Officer Commanding the Fighting Area of the

Air Defence of Great Britain The Air Defence of Great Britain (ADGB) was a RAF command comprising substantial army and RAF elements responsible for the air defence of the British Isles. It lasted from 1925, following recommendations that the RAF take control of homeland air ...

and in 1933 he became

Air Member for Personnel The Air Member for Personnel (AMP) is the senior Royal Air Force officer who is responsible for personnel matters and is a member of the Air Force Board. The AMP is in charge of all aspects of recruiting, non-operational flying and ground tr ...

. He served in

initially as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at

RAF Coastal Command RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...

, then as Air Officer Commanding

RAF Ferry Command RAF Ferry Command was the secretive Royal Air Force command formed on 20 July 1941 to ferry urgently needed aircraft from their place of manufacture in the United States and Canada, to the front line operational units in Britain, Europe, North Af ...

, in which capacity using his knowledge of the sea he properly identified the likely position of the

German battleship Bismarck ''Bismarck'' was the first of two s built for Nazi Germany's . Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched in February 1939. Work was completed in August 19 ...

using a Catalina flying boat allowing it to be sunk.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
/ref> His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding

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. ...

in 1943 before retiring in 1945.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Wynn, Humphrey. ''Forged in War: A History of Royal Air Force Transport Command, 1943–1967''. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1996. . , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowhill, Frederick Royal Air Force air marshals of World War II Royal Navy officers Royal Naval Air Service aviators 1880 births 1960 deaths Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Fellows of the Royal Geographical Society Recipients of the Order of St. Vladimir, 4th class Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau Commanders of the Legion of Merit Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta Military personnel of British India