Henry Cave-Browne-Cave
Henry Cave-Browne-Cave | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Henry Meyrick Cave-Browne-Cave |
| Born | 1 February 1887 |
He was prominent in the development of seaplanes and, following the armistice, flying boats. In 1927 he led crews in four flying boats, the Far East Flight, from England around Australia and then up to Hong Kong. His career was cut short by a serious flying accident in January 1939 so until 1945 he was appointed
Family
Henry Cave-Browne-Cave was the younger son of Thomas (later Sir Thomas) Cave-Browne-Cave
Son of a senior administrative official in the Army, born and raised on the north side of Streatham Common,[2] he was educated at Dulwich College in London,[1] became an engineering student in the Royal Navy in 1903 and was promoted to Engineer sub-lieutenant in 1907.[5]
First World War
During the First World War, Cave-Browne-Cave served in the Royal Naval Air Service, initially as the Engineering Officer at the
By 1918, Cave-Browne-Cave had risen to the rank of
Inter-war years
In 1919 Cave-Browne-Cave was awarded a permanent commission in the RAF and reverted to his previous rank of wing commander. He went on to serve in a senior training appointment at No. 1 School of Technical Training before working as the RAF's Deputy Director of Design.
Henry's elder brother, Thomas Reginald Cave-Browne-Cave CBE, also educated at Dulwich College and a Royal Navy engineering officer, specialised in airship research and design. The brothers transferred to the new-born RAF at identical rank and seniority.[6] Thomas left the RAF when the Air Ministry discontinued work on airships following the R101 disaster. He was Professor of Engineering at University College, Southampton, from 1931 to 1950.[4]
The summer of 1926 saw Cave-Browne-Cave promoted to group captain and appointed as Deputy Director of Technical Development several months later. He only worked in technical development for several months as in May 1927 he took up the post of Officer Commanding the Far East Flight. The Far East Flight was a newly created unit and it was established to prove that the RAF had the capability to reinforce the more remote parts of the British Empire. The Flight, led by Cave-Browne-Cave, departed Plymouth on 17 October 1927 and eventually arrived in Singapore on 28 February the next year. Cave-Browne-Cave then took the Far East Flight on a flying tour of Australia further demonstrating the increasing reach of British air power. After the Far East Flight returned to Singapore, it was redesignated No. 205 Squadron and Cave-Browne-Cave returned to England as a supernumerary within the headquarters of Coastal Area.[7] The following summer, Cave-Browne-Cave returned to Singapore, resuming his former command in its upgraded form as No. 205 Squadron. At the start of 1930 he became the Officer Commanding RAF Base Singapore.
Back at the Air Ministry in London, Cave-Browne-Cave is credited as being the person who authorised the GBP 10,000 investment in the development of the Supermarine Spitfire in time for it to be the decisive fighter in the Battle of Britain.[8]
On 17 January 1939, when flying out of
Notes
- ^ and a great-grandson of Sir William Cave-Browne-Cave, 9th baronet.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Air Vice-Marshal H. M. Cave-Browne-Cave. The Times, Tuesday, 10 Aug 1965; pg. 8; Issue 56396.
- ^ a b Censuses, Findmypast.
- ^ Sir T. Cave-Browne-Cave. The Times, Saturday, 13 Dec 1924; pg. 14; Issue 43834.
- ^ a b Wing Cdr T. R. Cavebrowne-Cave. The Times, Tuesday, 2 Dec 1969; pg. 12; Issue 57732.
- ^ "Air Vice-Marshal H M Cave-Browne-Cave". Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation. M B Barrass. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ Air Force List, December 1919.
- ^ http://www.rafweb.org/Ops_FE.htm Archived 17 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine [link rot]
- Slate.com, excerpt: Harford's book "Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure", 16 May 2011, accessed 19 May 2011.