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 Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman, (17 January 1899 – 28 April 1978) 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 ...

in the middle of the 20th century and the penultimate RAF commander-in-chief of the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

Early life and the First World War

Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman was born on 17 January 1899 in

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies, which resides on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first European to encounter Guiana was S ...

. He came to England with his parents in 1903 and attended

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

. He joined the

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

in 1917 and served as a Bristol Fighter pilot on the western front with 10 Squadron in the last eleven months of the war.

Between the wars

In January 1929, then a

flight lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

in the RAF, Ivelaw-Chapman participated in the Kabul Airlift, a successful evacuation of the British

Legation A legation was a diplomatic representative office of lower rank than an embassy. Where an embassy was headed by an ambassador, a legation was headed by a Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, minister. Ambassadors diplomatic rank, out ...

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

amidst a civil war and a bitter winter. On 27 January a Kabul-bound

Vickers Victoria The Vickers Type 56 Victoria was a British biplane Cargo aircraft, freighter and troop transport aircraft used by the Royal Air Force. The Victoria flew for the first time in 1922 and was selected for production over the Armstrong Whitworth Awan ...

, piloted by Ivelaw-Chapman, was forced to make an emergency landing in the mountainous Surobi District. Rescued by an Afghan royalist officer, Ivelaw-Chapman was awarded the Air Force Cross for his handling of the incident.

Second World War

At the outbreak of the Second World War Ivelaw-Chapman, now a

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical ...

, was part of the operations staff of

RAF Bomber Command RAF Bomber Command controlled the Royal Air Force's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. Along with the United States Army Air Forces, it played the central role in the strategic bombing of Germany in World War II. From 1942 onward, the British bo ...

headquarters. In June 1940 he was promoted to

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 ...

and was appointed station commander at

RAF Linton-on-Ouse RAF Linton-on-Ouse was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station at Linton-on-Ouse in North Yorkshire, England, north-west of York. It had satellite stations at RAF Topcliffe and Dishforth Airfield (British Army). The station opened in 1937. With the ...

, a No. 4 Group bomber station near

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

. In 1941 he returned to a staff job 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 ...

involved in

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

planning. In 1943 he was again appointed a station commander at

RAF Elsham Wolds Royal Air Force Elsham Wolds or more simply RAF Elsham Wolds is a former Royal Air Force station in England, which operated in the First World War and the Second World War. It is located just to the north east of the village of Elsham in nort ...

, a No. 1 Group bomber station. On the night of the 6/7 May 1944, Ivelaw-Chapman was flying as second pilot of a No. 576 Squadron

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

on a mission to bomb an ammunition dump at Aubigne in France. His aircraft was shot down by a night fighter and Ivelaw-Chapman went on the run. Because of his experience and knowledge Churchill ordered the French resistance to do all they could to help him return to England, he was to be killed if he was in danger of being captured by the Germans. He was captured by the Gestapo on 8 June 1944, the most senior Bomber Command officer to have been captured by the Germans. Churchill's fear was unfounded as the Germans did not realise his importance and he was treated as an ordinary prisoner of war.

Post war

After the war Ivelaw-Chapman was promoted to

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 ...

and assumed command of No. 38 Group at Marks Hall,

Earls Colne Earls Colne is a village in Essex, England named after the River Colne, on which it stands, and the Earls of Oxford who held the manor of Earls Colne from before 1086 to 1703. History Manor of Earls Colne In the time of Edward the Confesso ...

, Essex. In 1950 he became an

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 ...

and accepted the post of Commander-in-Chief of the newly formed Indian Air Force. On his return to the UK he became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Home Command in March 1952,

Deputy Chief of the Air Staff Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) may refer to: * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Australia) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (India) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (Pakistan) * Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (United Kingdom) The Deputy Chief ...

in November 1952 and Vice-Chief of the Air Staff in 1953 before he retired in 1957.

Family

In 1930 Ivelaw-Chapman married his fiancée Margaret.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* * *
Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir Ronald Ivelaw-Chapman
*

External links

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivelaw-Chapman, Ronald 1899 births 1978 deaths British aviators Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Royal Air Force pilots of World War II Royal Flying Corps officers Shot-down aviators World War II prisoners of war held by Germany British World War II prisoners of war Chiefs of Air Staff (India)