Roy Dowling
Sir Roy Russell Dowling | |
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Born | Condong, New South Wales | 28 May 1901
Died | 15 April 1969 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory | (aged 67)
Allegiance | Australia |
Service/ | Royal Australian Navy |
Years of service | 1915–61 |
Rank | Vice Admiral |
Unit |
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Commands held |
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Battles/wars | World War II
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Awards |
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Other work | Australian Secretary to Queen Elizabeth II (1963–69) |
Born in northern New South Wales, Dowling entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1915. After graduating in 1919 he went to sea aboard several Royal Navy and RAN vessels, and later specialised in gunnery. In 1937, he was given command of the sloop HMAS Swan. Following the outbreak of World War II, he saw action in the Mediterranean theatre as executive officer of the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Naiad, and survived her sinking by a German U-boat in March 1942. Returning to Australia, he served as Director of Plans and later Deputy Chief of Naval Staff before taking command of the light cruiser HMAS Hobart in November 1944. His achievements in the South West Pacific earned him the Distinguished Service Order.
Dowling took command of the RAN's first aircraft carrier,
Pre-war career
Roy Russell Dowling was born on 28 May 1901 in
After returning to Australia in December 1926, Dowling spent eighteen months on
World War II
Dowling became
Having survived Naiad's sinking, Dowling returned to Australia and was appointed Director of Plans at the Navy Office in July 1942.[1] In September the following year he was made Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS) and raised to acting captain;[2][6] his rank became substantive on 30 June 1944.[4] As DCNS, he was involved in planning the post-war Navy's composition, which for the first time was to include aircraft carriers.[1] He defined the functions of maritime power in October 1943 as:[12]
(i) Maintenance of our lines of sea communications,
(ii) Destruction of the enemy's lines of sea communications,
(iii) Attack on the enemy's strategic positions in combined operations with Army and Air Force,
(iv) Defence of our bases.
In November 1944, Dowling was given command of the light cruiser
Post-war career
Dowling joined the Australian contingent at the surrender of Japan in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945. Following the cessation of hostilities, Hobart became flagship of HM Australian Squadron, and Dowling flag captain and chief of staff to Commodore John Collins, the squadron commander.[1][21] The war had taken a toll on Dowling's health, and he required leave before commencing his next appointment in May 1946 as Director of Ordnance, Torpedoes and Mines at the Navy Office.[1][2] Rear Admiral James Goldrick, in the Australian Dictionary of Biography, observed that Dowling "was thrust into the highest positions of the RAN largely as a result of the heavy casualties of World War II". When John Armstrong—the only similarly qualified and more senior Navy captain—was pronounced unfit for seagoing duty, Dowling was given the chance to command Australia's first aircraft carrier, HMAS Sydney, commissioned in England on 16 December 1948. In April the following year, two months after the ship's belated acceptance into service due to teething troubles, Dowling embarked Sydney for Australia with two squadrons of fighters aboard.[1][22]
In June 1950, Dowling was promoted to
On 24 February 1955, Dowling succeeded Vice Admiral Sir John Collins as
Dowling was an early advocate for the establishment of an Australian submarine fleet; in 1963, after several false starts, the first of six
We now find ourselves at the crossroads because we very much doubt whether the United Kingdom can provide us with what we want in the future. We have no wish to become Americans but there is a strong belief in this country that the sensible course of action for Australians is to acquire war equipment from the United States now. Our very telling reason is of course that, certainly in a global war, our salvation in the Pacific will depend chiefly on the aid of that country. For that we are not less loyal members of the Empire.[31]
Other issues facing the RAN during Dowling's term as CNS were its relegation—since the beginning of the 1950s—to third place behind the other armed forces in terms of Federal budget allocations, its replacement by the RAAF as the country's first line of defence, and a shortage of manpower. Dowling himself considered "separation from families, lack of houses, over employment, high wages and overtime payment in civvie street" as the causes for the Navy's inability to attract and retain personnel; the Allison Report in 1958 led to improvements to service conditions, which helped reduce wastage.[32] The RANC had moved to Flinders Naval Depot in 1930, and Dowling was pleased to be able to oversee its return to Jervis Bay in 1958, the year before he relocated the office of the CNS to Canberra.[1][33]
Dowling was appointed a
Later life
Dowling retired from the military on 27 May 1961 and was succeeded as Chairman of COSC by Air Marshal
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Dowling, Sir Roy Russell (1901–1969)". Dowling, Sir Roy Russell. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
{{cite book}}
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ignored (help) - ^ a b c d Eldridge, A History of the Royal Australian Naval College, pp. 79–80
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Dennis et al., Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, p. 188
- ^ a b c d e "Personal Record – Dowling, Roy R." National Archives of Australia. p. 2. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "HMAS Adelaide (I)". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ a b c d Legge, Who's Who in Australia 1968, p. 261
- ^ "HMAS Canberra (I)". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "HMAS Swan (II)". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 344–346
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942, pp. 379–382
- ^ a b "Admiral will take orders from wife". The Age. Melbourne. 4 July 1962. p. 4. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, p. 127
- ^ "HMAS Hobart (I)". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, p. 292
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, pp. 600–603
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, pp. 619–623
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, pp. 629–631
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, pp. 639–642
- ^ Gill, Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945, pp. 649–652
- ^ "No. 37338". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 November 1945. p. 5399.
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia (Navy Office). "The Navy List (October 1945)" (PDF). Melbourne. pp. 8, 12. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "HMAS Sydney (III)". Royal Australian Navy. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "No. 39734". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1953. p. 39.
- ^ a b c Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, pp. 310–312
- ^ Commonwealth of Australia (Navy Office). "The Navy List (July 1955)" (PDF). Melbourne. p. 20. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "No. 40498". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 1955. p. 3297.
- ^ Edwards, Crises and Commitments, pp. 174–175
- ^ Pfennigwerth, Tiger Territory, pp. 56–58, 75
- ^ Dennis et al., Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, p. 399
- ^ Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, pp. 186–187
- ^ Frame, No Pleasure Cruise, pp. 219–220
- ^ Stevens, The Royal Australian Navy, pp. 189, 194
- ^ "HMAS Creswell". Royal Australian Navy. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "No. 40961". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1957. p. 42.
- ^ a b "Chief of the Defence Force". Department of Defence. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "Australian Naval History on 23 March 1959". Naval Historical Society of Australia. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ Horner, Making the Australian Defence Force, p. 43
- ^ Edwards, Crises and Commitments, pp. 214–215
- ^ "Dowling, Roy Russell". World War 2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "Admiral to plan 1963 tour by Queen". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. 6 July 1962. p. 1. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ^ "No. 42969". The London Gazette. 16 April 1963. pp. 3327–3328.
- ^ "No. 43148". The London Gazette. 1 November 1963. p. 8949.
- ^ "Admiral torpedoed in Battle of Crete". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney. 16 April 1969. p. 1. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
References
- Dennis, Peter; ISBN 978-0-19-551784-2.
- ISBN 1-86373-184-9.
- Eldridge, Frank Burgess (1949). A History of the Royal Australian Naval College. Melbourne: Georgian House. OCLC 14472805.
- ISBN 1-74114-233-4.
- Gill, George Hermon (1957). Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942. OCLC 848228.
- Gill, George Hermon (1968). Royal Australian Navy, 1942–1945. Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Vol. II. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. OCLC 65475.
- ISBN 0-19-554117-0.
- Legge, J. S., ed. (1968). OCLC 4171414.
- Pfennigwerth, Ian (2008). Tiger Territory: The Untold Story of the Royal Australian Navy in Southeast Asia from 1948 to 1971. Kenthurst, New South Wales: Rosenberg. ISBN 978-1-877058-65-3.
- Stevens, David, ed. (2001). The Royal Australian Navy: A History. Australian Centenary History of Defence. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-554116-2.