Frank Bladin

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Frank Bladin
Air Vice-Marshal
Unit
Commands held
Battles/wars
Awards
  • Companion of the Order of the Bath
  • Commander of the Order of the British Empire
  • Mentioned in Despatches
  • Silver Star (US)
Other work
  • Grazier
  • RSL National Treasurer

CBE (26 August 1898 – 2 February 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in rural Victoria, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1920. Bladin transferred from the Army to the Air Force in 1923, and learned to fly at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. He held training appointments before taking command of No. 1 Squadron in 1934. Quiet but authoritative, he was nicknamed "Dad" in tribute to the concern he displayed for the welfare of his personnel.[1]

Ranked

Commander of the Order of the British Empire
the same year.

Promoted to acting

Companion of the Order of the Bath
in 1950, he retired to his country property in 1953, but remained active in veterans' affairs.

Early life and career

Francis Masson Bladin was born on 26 August 1898 in

Korumburra, Victoria, the youngest son of engineer Frederick Bladin and his wife Ellen.[2][3] Educated to junior public level at Melbourne High School, Frank sought to join the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. His parents refused their permission, and he instead entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1917.[4][5] Graduating in 1920, Bladin served for the next two years in the Australian Army, including sixteen months seconded to the Royal Field Artillery in Britain.[2][6]

Military biplanes flying low over a field
Wapitis of No. 1 Squadron at Laverton, Victoria, November 1934

In January 1923 Bladin transferred to the recently established Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as a flying officer.[4][5] He undertook pilot training at Point Cook, Victoria, where he was among five former Army lieutenants on the inaugural RAAF flying course—all of whom had left their original service in part because of poor career prospects in the post-war army. One of Bladin's other classmates on the course was a 1919 graduate of the Royal Australian Naval College, Sub-Lieutenant Joe Hewitt.[7] During 1925–26, Bladin was in charge of running Citizens Air Force (reserve) pilots' courses at No. 1 Flying Training School, Point Cook.[8] Having been promoted to flight lieutenant, he married Patricia Magennis at Yass, New South Wales, on 20 December 1927; the couple had a son and two daughters.[3][9]

Bladin was posted to Britain in 1929 to attend

Cootamundra in rural New South Wales, where he "borrowed a portion of a sheep station from a friend so that the pilots could carry out their bombing practice" over a two-week period commencing in late November 1935.[12]

After completing his tenure with No. 1 Squadron in December 1935,

wing commander.[2]

World War II

Five men in light-coloured military uniforms
Air Commodore Bladin (second from left) with Lieutenant General Savige (left) and Major Generals Clowes, Cannan and Rowell in Melbourne, December 1941

Bladin's first posting following the outbreak of World War II was as Director of Operations and Intelligence at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne, in March 1940. Promoted to

North-Western Area (NWA) on 25 March that year.[17]

Based in Darwin, Bladin's role as AOC NWA was to conduct the air defence of Torres Strait, the Northern Territory, and north Western Australia.[1] He also had to restore morale following the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 and deal with the threat of imminent invasion, tasks complicated by the poor state of local communications, transport and early warning systems.[1][17] Initiating combat training for all RAAF ground crew, Bladin constructed secondary airfields so he could disperse his forces. He became, in the words of historian Alan Stephens, "the RAAF's outstanding area commander of the war", and earned distinction as the first Australian decorated by the United States in the Pacific theatre of operations when he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry.[1] The cited action took place in June when Bladin personally led a raid by US B-17 Flying Fortresses on Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. As well as destroying machines on the ground and damaging infrastructure, the Allied bombers managed to evade an attack by nine Japanese fighters during their return to base.[2] Bladin's award was recommended in September, and promulgated in the Australian Gazette on 23 November 1944.[18][19]

By December 1942, Bladin's strength in NWA consisted of seven RAAF squadrons operating mainly

Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1943,[22] he stepped up offensive strikes against island bases and shipping in the Timor and Arafura Seas as the Allies took the fight to the Japanese.[1] He often employed his own judgement in the selection of targets, as detailed directives from superior headquarters were not always forthcoming.[16] On 27 February, acting on intercepted radio transmissions, he launched a pre-emptive raid on Penfui airfield, near Koepang on Timor, which destroyed or damaged twenty-two Japanese bombers that had been destined to make a major raid on Darwin.[20]

Two men in light-coloured military uniforms, one wearing a pith helmet
Bladin (right) as Air Officer Commanding North-Western Area, with a Dutch naval officer, c. 1943

To help protect northern Australia from ongoing air attack, three squadrons of Spitfire fighters were transferred from the United Kingdom in late 1942, becoming operational in March 1943 as No. 1 Fighter Wing.[20] A major engagement over Darwin on 2 May resulted in eight Spitfires crashing and several others making forced landings, for the destruction of one Japanese bomber and five fighters. An adverse communiqué concerning the action was issued from General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters and was picked up by Australian newspapers, which reported the Spitfires' "heavy losses" and caused resentment in NWA. Bladin complained to his superior, Air Vice-Marshal Bill Bostock, that the "alarmist tendency of the press and radio references was having a bad effect on the combat pilots". He also ordered an immediate Beaufighter strike led by Wing Commander Charles Read against Penfui airfield, on the assumption that this was where the Japanese raiders were based; four aircraft were destroyed on the ground.[23]

On 17 June 1943, under the command of Group Captain Clive Caldwell, No. 1 Fighter Wing recorded NWA's most successful interception to date, claiming fourteen Japanese raiders destroyed and ten damaged, for the loss of two Spitfires.[24] The 380th Bombardment Group USAAF, consisting of four squadrons of Liberators, came under Bladin's control the same month, enhancing NWA's strategic strike capability.[25] When Bladin handed over North-Western Area to Air Vice-Marshal Adrian Cole in July 1943, the latter reported that his new command was "well organised, keen and in good shape".[26]

Posted to England as senior air staff officer (SASO) of

mentioned in despatches two days later.[4][28] Completing his RAF service on the staff of the Second Tactical Air Force in France, Bladin returned to Australia to become Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in October 1944.[2][4] On two occasions in June 1945, he was considered for the position of AOC RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation in the South West Pacific. Bladin would have replaced Bostock, who was facing disciplinary action for refusing to comply with directives from the Air Board, the RAAF's controlling body, but in the end the Australian government made no change to command arrangements.[29]

Post-war career

Man in dark military uniform with peaked cap inspecting troops at a parade
Air Vice-Marshal Bladin reviewing BCOF troops, Tokyo, May 1947

The RAF had planned to deploy an airborne formation, No. 238 (Airborne Assault) Group, to the Pacific theatre and requested Bladin be released from his duties as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff to assume its command, but this was cancelled with the end of hostilities in August 1945. His next posting was to

John McCauley, in June 1947.[2][30] After returning to Australia, Bladin was to figure prominently, along with such figures as McCauley, Air Commodore Hewitt and Air Commodore Frederick Scherger, in shaping the post-war Air Force.[31]

Bladin's next command was

Blue Mountains. Subsequently known as Headquarters Operational Command, later Headquarters Air Command, the site was purchased in mid-1949, and became operational at the end of the year. As well as commanding a view of the surrounding countryside, the property was within five kilometres (three miles) of the City of Penrith and thirty kilometres (twenty miles) of RAAF Station Richmond, and incorporated a disused railway tunnel that offered, according to government correspondence, "complete protection from Atom Bomb attack".[32]

Man in flying helmet putting on a harness in the cockpit of a military aircraft
Bladin strapping into the rear seat of a Gloster Meteor during a visit to Korea, 1951

Bladin became Air Member for Personnel (AMP) on 24 November 1948; this position gave him a seat on the Air Board, which consisted of the RAAF's most senior officers and was chaired by the

King's Birthday Honours announced in June 1950.[38]

In 1951, inspired by a similar initiative in state education, Bladin sponsored a move to have RAAF education officers augment their degree qualifications with formal teaching credentials.[39] Over the following year, in response to increased demands for aircrew to meet Australia's commitments to the Malayan Emergency and the Korean War, pilot training was broken out from a single all-encompassing course at No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) in Point Cook, Victoria, into separate courses at the newly formed No. 1 Initial Flying Training School at Archerfield, Queensland, No. 1 Basic Flying Training School at Uranquinty, New South Wales, and No. 1 Applied Flying Training School (re-formed from No. 1 FTS) at Point Cook.[40]

Later life

Bladin retired from the Air Force on 15 October 1953, and was succeeded as AMP by Air Vice-Marshal

Deepdene, Bladin was buried at Springvale, Victoria.[2]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 145–146
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ritchie, Australian Dictionary of Biography, pp. 192–193
  3. ^ a b "Bladin–Magennis". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney: National Library of Australia. 21 December 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  4. ^ a b c d e Stephens; Isaacs, High Fliers, pp. 54–57
  5. ^ a b Dennis et al, Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, p. 259
  6. ^ "Air Vice-Marshals (A–K)". Air Marshals of the RAAF. Royal Australian Air Force. Archived from the original on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  7. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 192
  8. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 234
  9. ^ Alexander, Who's Who in Australia 1955, p. 97
  10. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 445
  11. ^ a b RAAF Historical Section, Units of the Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 2–5
  12. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 190–191
  13. ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 95, 200–201
  14. ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 186–188
  15. ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 298
  16. ^ a b Stephens, The RAAF in the Southwest Pacific Area, pp. 29–31
  17. ^ a b Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 554–559
  18. ^ "Recommendation: US Silver Star" (PDF). Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  19. ^ "Awarded: US Silver Star". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  20. ^ a b c Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 649–651
  21. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p. 43
  22. ^ "No. 35841". The London Gazette. 1 January 1943. p. 13.
  23. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 46–50
  24. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 59–60
  25. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p. 61
  26. ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p. 104
  27. ^ Herington, Air Power Over Europe, pp. 14–15
  28. ^ "No. 36544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 1944. p. 2642.
  29. ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 154–159
  30. ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 212–213
  31. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 5
  32. ^ a b Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 69–70
  33. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 24–25
  34. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 76, 118, 500
  35. ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 185
  36. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 142–144
  37. ^ Coulthard-Clark, From the Ground Up, pp. 91–95
  38. ^ "No. 34396". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 June 1950. p. 3088.
  39. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 120
  40. ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 199
  41. ^ "Bladin, Francis Masson". World War Two Nominal Roll. Department of Veterans' Affairs. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  42. ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 500
  43. ^ "Air Weapons Contest at Canberra". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 4 December 1953. p. 2. Retrieved 30 August 2011.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Bladin.


Military offices
Preceded by
Air Commodore Douglas Wilson
 Air Officer Commanding
North-Western Area

1942–1943 		Succeeded by
Air Vice-Marshal Adrian Cole
Preceded by
Air Commodore
John McCauley
 Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
1944–1946 		Succeeded by
Air Commodore John McCauley
Preceded by
Air Commodore Leon Lachal
 Air Officer Commanding Eastern Area
1947–1948 		Succeeded by
Air Vice-Marshal John McCauley
Preceded by
Air Vice-Marshal Joe Hewitt
 Air Member for Personnel
1948–1953 		Succeeded by
Air Vice-Marshal Valston Hancock
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