Rear Admiral Dennis Royle Farquharson Cambell, (13 November 1907 – 6 April 2000) was a

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, who invented the angled flight deck.

Naval career

Educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

, Cambell was a Special Entry Cadet from 1925 in the training ship . From 15 September 1926, Cambell served as a midshipman on (in the Battle Cruiser Squadron of the Atlantic Fleet). Having been made acting sub-lieutenant at the start of 1929, he started lieutenants courses at the

Royal Naval College, Greenwich The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, was a Royal Navy training establishment between 1873 and 1998, providing courses for naval officers. It was the home of the Royal Navy's staff college, which provided advanced training for officers. The equi ...

, and continued from 12 August 1929 at Portsmouth. As sub-lieutenant he joined the destroyer, , Atlantic Fleet, on 23 March 1930. From September 1930 to the following August he was based at RAF Leuchars, having been made lieutenant in December 1930. Cambell left the course early to join 405 Flight (equipped with

Fairey Flycatcher The Fairey Flycatcher was a British single-seat biplane carrier-borne fighter aircraft made by Fairey Aviation Company which served from 1923 to 1934. It was produced with a conventional undercarriage for carrier use, although this could be exc ...

s) in July 1931 at Hal Far (Malta) then to . In November 1932 they disembarked to

RAF Netheravon 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) ...

. The following January he joined 401 Flight (Flycatchers) in which subsequently disbanded into in

801 Naval Air Squadron 801 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) was a Fleet Air Arm squadron of the Royal Navy formed in 1933 which fought in World War II, the Korean War and the Falklands War. Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Air Force The squadron was formed on 3 April 1933 as part ...

(Flycatchers) at Netheravon. In December that year he joined 800 Squadron (Nimrods) at Netheravon and they embarked in on 20 February 1934. In April 1936 he joined the twin-screw minesweeper, as First Lieutenant (second-in-command). In 1938 he joined the newly formed 803 Squadron (Osprey IIIs) at

RAF Worthy Down RAF Worthy Down was a Royal Air Force station built in 1918, north of Winchester, Hampshire, England. After it was transferred to Royal Navy control in 1939 as RNAS Worthy Down (HMS Kestrel), the airfield remained in use throughout the Second W ...

. Cambell served in 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 opposi ...

, initially as Commanding Officer of

803 Naval Air Squadron 803 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron. History Interwar 803 NAS was formed on 3 April 1933 by promoting No 409 (Fleet Fighter) Flight to the status of a squadron, with nine Ospreys. In the same month it embarked on fo ...

, now with

Blackburn Skua The Blackburn B-24 Skua was a carrier-based low-wing, two-seater, single- radial engine aircraft by the British aviation company Blackburn Aircraft. It was the first Royal Navy carrier-borne all-metal cantilever monoplane aircraft, as well as t ...

IIs instead of Ospreys. On 14 September 1939 they lost two Skuas from the sub-flight he was leading whilst attacking and on 26 September they shot down a

Dornier Do 18 The Dornier Do 18 was a development of the Do 16 flying boat. It was developed for the ''Luftwaffe'', but ''Luft Hansa'' received five aircraft and used these for tests between the Azores and the North American continent in 1936 and on their ma ...

, this being the first German aircraft to be shot down during the Second World War by any British aircraft. In June 1940 Cambell became a test pilot at the

Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992. Established at Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, the unit moved in 1939 to Boscombe Down, Wiltshire, where its wo ...

(A&AEE) at

RAF Boscombe Down MoD Boscombe Down ' is the home of a military aircraft testing site, on the southeastern outskirts of the town of Amesbury, Wiltshire, England. The site is managed by QinetiQ, the private defence company created as part of the breakup of the Def ...

. February 1942 saw him transferred to as lieutenant commander (flying) until July when he was appointed to for duty with Ministry of Aircraft Production. While there he was called upon to test fly and deck-land the Firebrand with which Blackburn test pilots were having difficulties. After promotion to commander in December 1942, he was appointed the following March to as Senior Naval Representative to the British Air Commission, Washington D.C. After the war Cambell was appointed to the Naval Staff in the

Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

in the Naval Air Warfare and Flying Training Division. In 1947 he was back at sea firstly as Commander (Air) on in the

Far East Fleet The Far East Fleet (also called the Far East Station) was a fleet of the Royal Navy which existed between 1952 and 1971. During the Second World War, the Eastern Fleet included many ships and personnel from other navies, including those of the ...

, and then in December that year to , working out of Portland for the Anti-Submarine School. In December 1948 he was promoted to captain, and in 1950 he was once again assigned to HMS ''President'' "for miscellaneous services", which meant that he was working at the Ministry of Supply. It was during this period that he devised the angled flight deck working in collaboration with Lewis Boddington of

RAF Farnborough Farnborough Airport (previously called: TAG Farnborough Airport, RAE Farnborough, ICAO Code EGLF) is an operational business/executive general aviation airport in Farnborough, Hampshire, Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England. The airport ...

. In September 1954 Cambell was appointed as the first captain of the new carrier , which was commissioned in February 1955. In September 1956 he was again at the Admiralty this time as Director of Naval Air Warfare. Cambell's final appointment was as

Flag Officer, Flying Training The Flag Officer, Flying Training, later called Flag Officer Naval Flying Training, was a senior Royal Navy appointment responsible for all naval aviation flying training from 1945 to 1970. History Vice-Admiral Lumley Lyster held the post of Fla ...

Yeovilton Yeovilton is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Yeovilton and District, in Somerset, England, east of Ilchester and north of Yeovil, in South Somerset district. The parish had a population of 1,226 in the 2011 census, es ...

() from 15 October 1957. In 1958 he was made an Officer of the American Legion of Merit and in 1960, on retirement, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (London Gazette 1.1.60; Investiture 9.2.60.) From 19 October 1960 he was in the Retired List. On retirement he became European Sales Director for Hiller and then Hughes Helicopters, and then Director of Executive Travel.

References

External links

Dennis CambellHow the Royal Navy changed US Naval Aviation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cambell, Dennis 1907 births 2000 deaths People from Southsea Military personnel from Portsmouth Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Royal Navy rear admirals People educated at Westminster School, London Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) Royal Naval Air Service aviators British World War II pilots British World War II bomber pilots Officers of the Legion of Merit Royal Navy officers of World War II