John Curtiss (Royal Air Force officer)

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Sir John Curtiss
Born(1924-12-06)6 December 1924
England
Died14 September 2013(2013-09-14) (aged 88)
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire

three-star rank of air marshal.[1][2]

Early life

Curtiss was born on 6 December 1924 in England. His mother was a New Zealander and his father was Australian. His parents moved to England in 1914 after his father joined the

Wanganui, New Zealand.[2] In 1942, he attended a university short course at Worcester College, Oxford in preparation for joining the Royal Air Force.[1]

Military career

Curtiss was a member of the

commissioned into the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on 27 October 1944 as a pilot officer on probation (emergency). He was given the service number 187025.[4] Having been passed over during pilot selection, he became a navigator.[1] From 1944 to 1945, he flew with Bomber Command.[3] He joined No. 578 Squadron shortly after the Normandy landings and undertook attacks on retreating German forces.[1] He also flew with No. 158 Squadron during this time.[2]

After the war Curtis served with No. 5 Squadron and then No. 29 Squadron in Fighter Command before being appointed a Director at the RAF Staff College, Bracknell in 1967.[2] After that he became Station Commander at RAF Bruggen, Group Captain, Operations at Headquarters Strike Command and then Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 11 Group in 1974.[2] His final postings were as Director-General, Organisation in 1975, Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Bracknell in 1977 and then Air Officer Commanding No. 18 Group in 1980 before becoming Air Component Commander during the Falklands War and then retiring in 1983.[2]

Later life

After retiring form the RAF, Curtiss maintained links with aviation and the military: he was director and chief executive of

Farnborough Air Show.[1]

Curtiss died on 14 September 2013, aged 88, in Milford on Sea, Hampshire.[5][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss". The Times. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss". The Telegraph. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  3. ^ a b "CURTISS, Air Marshal Sir John (Bagot)". Who's Who 2013. A & C Black. November 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  4. ^ "No. 36844". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 December 1944. pp. 5796–5798.
  5. ^
    doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U12640
    .
  6. ^ Keleny, Anne (20 September 2013). "Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss: Airman who served in the Berlin Airlift". The Independent. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
Military offices
Preceded by Air Officer Commanding No. 18 Group
1980–1983 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commandant of the RAF Staff College, Bracknell
1977–1980 		Succeeded by
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