Ivor McIntyre
Ivor Ewing McIntyre | |
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Ivor Ewing McIntyre,
Early career
Ivor Ewing McIntyre was born on 6 October 1899 in Kent, England, the son of Captain Duncan McIntyre.[1][2] He joined the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) in 1917, and saw action in World War I as a flight sub-lieutenant.[1] McIntyre transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF) on its creation as an independent service in 1918, and was a lieutenant when awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1919 New Year Honours.[3] He was granted a short-service commission in the RAF as a flying officer on 12 December 1919.[4]
McIntyre joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1923.[5] In November that year, he piloted a survey flight between Melbourne and Sydney, and carried out a similar mission between Melbourne and Hobart in February 1924.[6] In July 1925, McIntyre was tasked by the Chief of the Air Staff with intercepting a squadron of the United States Pacific Fleet as it approached Melbourne on a flag-waving visit; he succeeded in doing so despite poor weather and not without, according to the official history of the inter-war RAAF, "an enormous element of luck, not to mention risk".[7]
Pioneering flights
In 1924, McIntyre and
McIntyre and Goble returned to Victoria after covering 8,450 miles (13,600 km) in 44 days. As they flew over Point Cook, 12 RAAF aircraft took off to escort them to their landing place at
Pacific Islands flight
In 1926, McIntyre was selected as lead pilot on another pioneering Australian flight under the command of the then-Chief of the Air Staff,
Though subsequently described as partly a "matter of prestige" owing to rumours of other countries planning such a journey, as well as a "reaction" by Williams to the 1924 expedition led by Goble, Williams' rival at the time for leadership of the young Air Force,[15] this was the first international flight undertaken by an RAAF plane and crew.[8] McIntyre was awarded a second Oswald Watt Gold Medal,[10] and a Bar to his AFC, for his part in the flight;[16] it marked the first occasion that the AFC was awarded to a member of the RAAF.[17] Trist received the Air Force Medal,[16] and Williams was appointed a CBE.[18]
Death and legacy
McIntyre left the RAAF in November 1927 to become a flying instructor for the newly formed South Australian section of the Australian Aero Club.[19] He died in an Adelaide hospital on 12 March 1928 of injuries received the previous day, when he crashed the club's Moth trainer while giving an aerobatics display at Parafield.[2][20] Goble said of him:
"That he did sterling work with our air force is well known, but it is doubtful whether the majority of the people in Australia have a true appreciation of the greatness of this man and the magnitude and difficulties of many of the tasks he performed."[21]
In 1994, McIntye and Goble were honoured by the issue of a postage stamp by Australia Post, one of a series depicting Australian aviators that also included Freda Thompson, Lawrence Hargrave, Sir Keith and Sir Ross Macpherson Smith.[22]
Notes
- ^ a b c d Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 25
- ^ a b "Family Notices". The Argus. Melbourne. 14 March 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 20 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "No. 31098". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1918. p. 97.
- ^ "No. 31685". The London Gazette. 12 December 1919. p. 15483.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 385
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 55
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 394–395
- ^ a b c d e Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 39–41
- ^ "No. 32941". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 May 1924. p. 4414.
- ^ a b "Oswald Watt Gold Medal winners list" (PDF). Royal Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 388
- ^ Campbell-Wright, An Interesting Point, p. 95
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 390–391
- ^ Wilson, The Brotherhood of Airmen, pp. 34–35
- ^ Wilson, The Eagle and the Albatross, pp. 24–25
- ^ a b "No. 33280". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1927. p. 3620.
- ^ "First RAAF member awarded the Air Force Cross". Air Power Development Centre. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
- ^ "No. 33280". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 May 1927. p. 3611.
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 290
- ^ Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 291
- ^ "Wing Commander Goble's tribute". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 14 March 1928. p. 9. Retrieved 20 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Aviation Feats". Australia Post. Retrieved 20 March 2016 – via Powerhouse Museum.
References
- Campbell-Wright, Steve (2014). An Interesting Point: A History of Military Aviation at Point Cook 1914–2014 (PDF). Canberra: Air Power Development Centre. ISBN 978-1-925062-00-7.
- Coulthard-Clark, Chris (1991). The Third Brother: The Royal Australian Air Force 1921–39. North Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-442307-1.
- 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.
- Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555541-4.
- Wilson, David (2005). The Brotherhood of Airmen. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-74114-333-0.
- Wilson, David (2003). The Eagle and the Albatross: Australian Aerial Maritime Operations 1921–1971 (PhD thesis). Sydney: University of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 21 October 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
External links
- A Seaplane Circles a Continent. Australasian Gazette. Australian Screen. Footage of Goble's and McIntyre's arrival at St Kilda after their 1924 flight.