George Jones (RAAF officer)
George Jones | |
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Nickname(s) | "Jonah"; "Yellow Jones" |
Born | 18 October 1896 Rushworth, Victoria |
Died | 24 August 1992 Melbourne, Victoria | (aged 95)
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/ | Royal Australian Air Force |
Years of service | 1912–52 |
Rank | Air marshal |
Unit | No. 4 Squadron AFC (1918–19) |
Commands held |
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Battles/wars |
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Awards |
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Other work | Director of Coordination, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (1952–57) |
During World War I, Jones saw action as an
Jones did not actively seek the position of Chief of the Air Staff before being appointed in 1942, and his conflict with Bostock—with whom he had been friends for 20 years—was partly the result of a divided command structure, which neither man had any direct role in shaping. After World War II, Jones had overall responsibility for transforming what was then the world's fourth largest air force into a peacetime service that was also able to meet overseas commitments in
Early life
I didn't give myself any airs and it was very hard for me to think I was different from a lot of other people. I couldn't be seen to be different because I remembered my humble beginnings ...
George Jones, quoted in 1992 [1]
George Jones was born on 18 October 1896 near
Following his schooling, Jones took an apprenticeship as a carpenter before moving to
World War I
In May 1915 Jones joined the
Jones became an air mechanic in
Inter-war years
Jones remained with the Australian Flying Corps until June 1919, as part of the
Encouraged by a fellow No. 4 Squadron veteran, Harry Cobby, Jones applied to join the new Australian Air Force on 22 March 1921 (the prefix "Royal" was added that August). His rank was flying officer, one below the equivalent of his AFC rank of captain. Another Australian pilot joining the fledgling Air Force was William (Bill) Bostock, who had been a lieutenant in World War I. The pair became firm friends, Bostock acting as something of a mentor to the younger officer.[11][12] Jones was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 July 1923.[13] Nicknamed "Jonah",[14] he was also known as "Yellow Jones" in his early days with the RAAF, not through any perceived lack of moral fibre but as a result of the lingering effects on his skin of jaundice, contracted while a soldier at Gallipoli.[3]
Posted to
Returning to Australia in October 1930, Jones was made Chief Flying Instructor at Point Cook and Officer Commanding No. 1 FTS. He became Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne, in November 1931.
World War II
Rise to Chief of the Air Staff
Shortly after the outbreak of World War II, on 1 December 1939, Jones was raised to temporary group captain.[21] In March 1940, he returned to the position of Director of Training and assumed responsibility for Australia's part in the Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS), establishing many schools, acquiring hundreds of aircraft, and overseeing the training of thousands of airmen. The RAAF's Central Flying School was reformed in April 1940 to meet the vital requirement for more flying instructors, whose numbers would grow from 16 in the first year of the war to 3,600 by 1945.[22] His performance in this role led to Jones being promoted to acting air commodore on 21 February 1941, and appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1942 New Year Honours for "diligence, devotion to duty and perseverance of outstanding merit".[23][24]
On 5 May 1942, Jones was appointed
Other potential appointees had included Air Marshal
Divided command
Passed over as CAS, Bostock subsequently became
Friction between the two senior officers over the command structure rapidly deteriorated into what the official history of the RAAF in World War II described as a state of "complete obduracy", and remained so until the end of the war.[6][32] As a direct report to the USAAF's Lieutenant-General George Kenney, commander of Allied Air Forces in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA), Bostock was able to ignore many directives from Jones, his nominal superior in the RAAF.[33] Jones nevertheless continued to assert his authority over Bostock's supplies of manpower and equipment.[32]
In March 1943 Jones proposed that he take over responsibility for air operations in defence of the Australian mainland but General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander SWPA, refused to countenance it.[34] The next month, with the support of the Australian Air Board, Jones tried to remove Bostock from RAAF Command and replace him with Air Commodore Joe Hewitt, AOC No. 9 Operational Group (No. 9 OG). Bostock appealed to Kenney, who advised Jones that he was opposed to any such change of command and threatened to escalate the matter to the Australian government. MacArthur subsequently told Curtin that Hewitt "was not an adequate replacement" for Bostock, and the matter was dropped.[35] Six months later Jones would sack Hewitt over morale issues in No. 9 OG raised during the offensive on Rabaul; Kenney called Hewitt's removal "bad news".[31]
Jones himself came under threat of transfer or subordination in April 1943 when the Federal government began moves to unite the Air Force's command by creating an overarching Air Officer Commanding RAAF position that would have effectively replaced Jones as CAS and also been senior to Bostock. Drummond was again approached but once more the British
By June 1944 the Jones–Bostock conflict and the anomalous division of administrative and operational responsibilities again led the Australian government to consider the appointment of a new commander senior to both officers. Air Marshal Sir Keith Park, the New Zealand-born AOC of No. 11 Group RAF during the Battle of Britain, was sought for the position but negotiations were broken off when MacArthur advised that it was too late to make such a change and that the problem had now gone "quiet". That it was far from over was apparent in a series of cables exchanged between the two air vice-marshals in January 1945. Jones sent a signal to Bostock complaining of the latter's "insubordinate tone" and "repeated attempts to usurp authority of this Headquarters". Bostock replied that as AOC RAAF Command he was "responsible to Commander, Allied Air Forces, and not, repeat not, subordinate to you", and that he would "continue to take the strongest exception to your unwarranted and uninformed interference".[39] Despite such acrimony, the command structure remained unchanged for the rest of the war.[31]
Responsible as CAS for building up Australia's air combat assets, in 1943 Jones had given an assurance to the Australian government that he could maintain a force of 73 squadrons, despite Kenney's prediction that even the RAAF's then-currently approved strength of 45 squadrons was beyond its capacity.[40] In any event, by the end of the war Jones had expanded the RAAF to 70 squadrons in the Pacific and Europe, including several heavy bomber units.[14] One of his most controversial decisions of the war was during the invasion of Tarakan in May 1945 when he grounded Australian B-24 Liberator squadrons scheduled to take part in the attack, due to their crews having exceeded their monthly quota of flying hours. Bostock was not consulted, and said that he would have thankfully "fallen through a crack in the boards on the deck" as he watched the attacking formations from a U.S. warship, minus the expected RAAF aircraft.[31] Kenney sympathised with him; he once commented in his diary that "Jones and Bostock ... fight each other harder than the Japs".[31]
"Morotai Mutiny"
Towards the end of the war Jones intervened in the so-called "Morotai Mutiny", when senior pilots in the Australian First Tactical Air Force (No. 1 TAF) proffered their resignations rather than carry on attacking what they saw as unimportant targets. Jones personally interviewed all but one of the officers involved, later declaring, "I believed them all to be sincere in what they were stating and what they had attempted to do ... Yes, sincerely held beliefs, no matter how ill-founded, coupled possibly with a rather exaggerated sense of national duty."[41]
Kenney also insisted on speaking to the pilots himself, overriding Jones' protestations that it was an internal RAAF matter, and threatened to appear on behalf of the pilots should they be court-martialled. Jones sacked Cobby, the Air Officer Commanding No. 1 TAF, along with two of Cobby's staff. In what may have been a reaction to Kenney's threat, Jones insisted that the subsequent inquiry before Justice John Vincent Barry focus not only on the attempted resignations but on reports of alcohol trafficking on Morotai. Though no action was taken against the pilots over the mutiny directly, two of the RAAF's best-known aces, Group Captain Clive Caldwell and Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes, were court-martialled for their involvement in the alcohol racket and reduced in rank.[42][43] Although Barry did not find it a significant factor, the Jones–Bostock conflict was also blamed for contributing to the poor morale that precipitated the "mutiny".[44] One of the other participants, Wing Commander Kenneth Ranger, told the inquiry: "I deplore the fighting and wrangling between them which is common knowledge throughout the Air Force. Every week there are instances of it."[41]
Post-war career
"Interim Air Force"
Along with Bostock, Jones represented the RAAF at the Japanese surrender aboard USS Missouri in September 1945.[45] With Jones' concurrence, Bostock and other senior commanders were summarily retired in 1946, in Bostock's case for "inability to work in harmony with certain other high ranking RAAF officers".[46][47] The CAS oversaw planning for the demobilisation of thousands of RAAF personnel and the creation of a peacetime service, known as the "Interim Air Force". When he was eventually promoted to air marshal in 1948 the RAAF was made up of approximately 8,000 staff, compared to 175,000—the world's fourth largest air force—he had commanded in 1945 as an air vice-marshal.[48][49] Believing that wastage was reaching a critical point, Jones proposed recruiting women into a new service to replace the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force that had been disbanded in September 1946. Blocked initially by the Labor government of the day, it came into being in 1950 as the Women's Royal Australian Air Force, following the election of Robert Menzies' Liberal Party in December 1949.[50]
Concurrently with demobilisation, Jones shaped the RAAF's "Plan D", adopted in 1947. It outlined the service's post-war organisation and requirements, which included 16 squadrons flying technologically advanced aircraft. This basic structure remained in place for the next 20 years.[51][52] In 1949, Jones visited the UK with a team of advisors and recommended the English Electric Canberra jet to replace the RAAF's Avro Lincoln piston-engined bombers.[53] Entering service in 1953, the Canberras ultimately equipped three Squadrons, operating with distinction in the Vietnam War and continuing to fly until 1982. Other enduring types purchased under Jones' tenure as CAS included the CAC Sabre, P-2 Neptune and CAC Winjeel.[52] Jones still enjoyed flying and made an effort to pilot each new type as it entered service, including the de Havilland Vampire jet, but his irregular turns in the cockpit meant that his skills were generally found wanting.[54][55]
Overseas commitments and retirement from RAAF
When Australia committed forces to the
Almost immediately that Menzies' Liberal Party replaced the Chifley Labor government at the end of 1949, it had begun to investigate possible replacements (largely from the RAF) for the incumbent CAS, eventually deciding on Air Marshal (later Air Chief Marshal) Sir Donald Hardman. Jones was informed of his retirement, which he claimed to have been expecting, in December 1951. In a farewell speech at the Australian Club in Melbourne, attended by Menzies, Jones said that organising EATS and expanding the Air Force in the South West Pacific had been his greatest achievements. His official departure from RAAF was on 22 February 1952. Menzies sent him a letter thanking him for his "valuable contribution", which would "long be remembered".[57]
Later life
Following his departure from the Air Force in 1952, Jones became Director of Coordination with the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) and member of the board of Ansett Transport Industries. In the 1953 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire for his military service.[58][59] He retired from the CAC directorship in 1957 but remained on the Ansett board until the early 1970s.[13]
Jones pursued a political career in parallel to his aviation industry work, unsuccessfully standing for Liberal Party
Jones also evinced an interest in
Legacy
He was my friend for 20 years ... he expected to get the job, and the moment I got the job instead of him, his attitude changed.
George Jones on Bill Bostock's reaction to Jones' appointment as CAS [29]
Jones' ten years as CAS constitutes the longest continuous term of any RAAF chief.[67] Despite his longevity in the position, he is still primarily known for two events early in his tenure, the surprise circumstance of his appointment, and his feud with Bill Bostock that lasted until the end of World War II.[5][68] The conflict between its two senior officers has been described by David Horner as "disastrous" for the RAAF, and by Alan Stephens as having "diminished its standing" in the eyes of its Allies.[42][69] Jones stated in his autobiography that he had never intrigued for the role of CAS and would have worked loyally for Bostock if the latter had been appointed.[57]
Beyond these controversies, Jones significantly influenced the Air Force's development during and after the war. He was honoured for his work running EATS in 1940–1942 and has received credit as CAS for building up the RAAF's strength to 70 squadrons by 1945.[14] After the war he played a personal part in improving education within the service, including the establishment of RAAF College, along similar lines to the Royal Military College, Duntroon, and the Royal Australian Naval College, as well as RAAF Staff College.[52] He encouraged local industry to design and build trainer aircraft for the RAAF and produce more sophisticated combat aircraft under licence from overseas manufacturers. This led to the Winjeel basic trainer and Australian industry co-partnership in the production of the CAC Sabre and Canberra jets; such local participation has continued to figure in major RAAF aircraft acquisitions.[70][71] One of his last directions as CAS was the formation of RAAF Museum at Point Cook, where it is still based.[72]
Jones refused to update the command structure of the Air Force from one based on region to one of function, something his successor, Hardman, would accomplish, and has been criticised for a systemic resistance to change.[73] Jones was described in Horner's The Commanders as "a steady, sincere but colourless leader".[74] Stephens found him "a good and decent man, who had overcome considerable personal hardship in his youth to achieve exceptional professional success" but "neither an inspiring leader, nor a notable thinker".[61] Nevertheless, his Plan D for the RAAF's post-war organisation remained the service's blueprint until the early 1970s.[51]
Notes
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, p. 21
- ^ a b Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 1–3
- ^ a b Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 4–8
- ^ Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, p. 239
- ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 21
- ^ a b Odgers, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 42–43
- ^ a b Cutlack, The Australian Flying Corps, pp. 377–378 Archived 21 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Recommended: Distinguished Flying Cross" (PDF). Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ "No. 31273". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 April 1919. p. 4512.
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 14–15, 23
- ^ a b c d e Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 116–119
- ^ a b c Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 16–21
- ^ a b c d e f "Air Marshal George Jones". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 18 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
- ^ a b c Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 151–152
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 90
- ^ a b Air Power Development Centre, "The Difference One Man Makes"
- ^ Report of the R101 Inquiry, p. 7
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 323
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 22–23
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 445
- ^ a b Helson, Ten Years at the Top, p. 26
- ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 67–68
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 42–44
- ^ "No. 35399". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1942. pp. 12–13.
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 76–77
- ^ Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 475–477 Archived 22 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 446
- ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 113–116
- ^ a b Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 64–68
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 68, 74
- ^ a b c d e f Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 120–123
- ^ a b Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 595–596 Archived 5 June 2009 at WebCite
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 128, 132, 159
- ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p. 140n
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 123–126
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 165–172
- ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 15–17 Archived 27 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "No. 36033". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 May 1943. pp. 2419–2420.
- ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, pp. 436–437 Archived 18 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Odgers, Air War Against Japan, p. 12 Archived 27 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Alexander, "Cleaning the augean stables"
- ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 123–125
- ^ Carman, Gerry (14 April 2007). "Air ace was born to fly: Bobby Gibbes 1916–2007". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 34.
- ^ Stanley, Tarakan: An Australian Tragedy, p. 41
- ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 208
- ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 179
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 237–240
- ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 170–171, 179
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, p. 190
- ^ Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 203–205
- ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 221–222
- ^ a b c Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. xvi–xvii, 303–304
- ^ Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 346, 363
- ^ Stephens; Isaacs, High Fliers, p. 96
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, p. 243
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 274–275
- ^ a b Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 290–297
- ^ "No. 39734". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1952. p. 40.
- ^ "Air Marshal George Jones: Timeline". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 9 June 2007. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, p. 70
- ^ a b Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 182
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, Soldiers in Politics, p. 135
- ^ "Five may stand in Corio contest". The Canberra Times. 3 July 1967 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "By-Elections 1966–1969". Psephos. Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
- ^ a b Chalker, Bill (2000). "Air Marshall Sir George Jones and the UFO". Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
- ^ Franks, Sopwith Camel Aces of World War 1, p. 75
- ^ "Royal Australian Air Force leaders: Former Chiefs of the Air Force". Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved 1 December 2008. Air Marshal Sir Richard Williams' thirteen years as head of the RAAF comprised three separate terms, the longest of which was eight years.
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. ii–xv, 299
- ^ Horner, "The Evolution of Australian Higher Command Arrangements", p. 13
- ^ Stephens, Going Solo, p. 188
- ^ Boeing, RAAF (2005). "A Hornet History". Boeing Australia Limited. Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ "RAAF Museum". Royal Australian Air Force. Retrieved 23 June 2007.
- ^ Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 253–254
- ^ Horner, The Commanders, p. 305
References
- Air Power Development Centre (November 2004). "The Difference One Man Makes" (PDF). Pathfinder. No. 11. Canberra: Royal Australian Air Force.
- Alexander, Kristen (1 September 2004). "'Cleaning the augean stables'. The Morotai Mutiny?". Sabretache. Military Historical Society of Australia.
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1991). The Third Brother: The Royal Australian Air Force 1921–39 (PDF). North Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-442307-1.
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1996). Soldiers in Politics: The Impact of the Military on Australian Political Life and Institutions. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86448-185-4.
- Cutlack, F.M. (1941) [1923]. The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918 (11th edition): Volume VIII – The Australian Flying Corps in the Western and Eastern Theatres of War, 1914–1918. Sydney: Angus & Robertson. OCLC 220899617.
- ISBN 1-84176-534-1.
- Gillison, Douglas (1962). Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 2000369.
- Helson, Peter (2006). Ten Years at the Top (Ph. D thesis). Sydney: University of New South Wales. OCLC 225531223.
- ISBN 1-86373-190-3.
- Horner, David (2002). "The Evolution of Australian Higher Command Arrangements". Command Papers. Canberra: Centre for Defence Leadership Studies, Australian Defence College.
- OCLC 11218821.
- Odgers, George (1984). The Royal Australian Air Force: An Illustrated History. Brookvale, New South Wales: Child & Henry. ISBN 0-86777-368-5.
- Simon, John (1931). Report of the R101 Inquiry (PDF) (Report). London: HMSO. Retrieved 12 December 2020.
- ISBN 1-86448-278-8.
- Stephens, Alan (1995). Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946–1971 (PDF). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-42803-1.
- Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555541-4.
- Stephens, Alan; Isaacs, Jeff (1996). High Fliers: Leaders of the Royal Australian Air Force. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-45682-5.
Further reading
- Ashworth, Norman (2000). How Not to Run an Air Force! Volume One – Narrative (PDF). Canberra: RAAF Air Power Studies Centre. ISBN 0-642-26550-X.
- Helson, Peter (2010). The Private Air Marshal (PDF). Canberra: Air Power Development Centre. ISBN 978-1-920800-50-5.
- Jones, George (1988). From Private to Air Marshal. Richmond, Victoria: Greenhouse Publications. ISBN 0-86436-118-1.