Air Chief Marshall Sir Harry Broadhurst
One the perks of being a military historian is the opportunity to meet some of the wonderful personalities I write about. Sadly, most of the World War II figures have passed on. However, when I first began to write in the late 1970s, many were still around. The person I’ve chosen to profile this month is probably not known to many of you. He was a pioneer airman and a fighter ace during the Battle of Britain.
Briefly mentioned in Part 3 of my earlier series of articles on Dwight Eisenhower (see “Ike: World War II’s Indispensable Commander, Part 3â€), he was one of the Royal Air Force’s most colorful and gallant airmen of World War II. Described as “aggressive and inventive†by RAF historian John Terraine, he was one of the principal architects of air-ground cooperation and close air support during World War II. (1) And so, it is with great admiration that I introduce you to Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst, one of the great characters of the Royal Air Force.
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Harry Broadhurst was born in 1905 in Surrey, England and grew up with the single-minded ambition of becoming a fighter pilot. Known as “Broadyâ€, he was nineteen when he joined the RAF in 1926. Although he learned to fly, it was not fighters but the Hawker Hart, a light two-seater bomber/biplane manufactured in the 1920s by Hawker Aviation that was used by the RAF in the North-West Frontier of India against rebel tribesmen. By the 1930s, Broadhurst was an accomplished pilot flying fighters and doing acrobatics at the Hendon air shows in 1932-33. He also gained a reputation as something of an aerial daredevil during the 1930s as he continued participating in air shows doing aerial acrobatics.
He was posted to the Middle East in 1936 and 1937 as the chief instructor at an RAF training airbase in Egypt. The outbreak of World War II saw Broadhurst in command of a fighter squadron where he served with distinction during the Battle of Britain as a Wing Commander and later, as a Group Captain. On November 29, 1939, he was one of the first RAF pilots to shoot down a Heinkel-111 bomber.
His official RAF biography notes that: “He was heavily involved in the Battle of Britain often flying with the squadrons under his command, both day and night fighter units. Moving to command the Hornchurch Sector, he continued to fly on operations but on 4 July 1941, his WW2 career could have almost come an end. Leading 54 Squadron, he was involved in a number of skirmishes with Bf109’s, downing two when he himself was hit and his aircraft badly damaged. Recovering from a spin at 1,000ft he decided to attempt the flight home, but over Cap Griz Nez he was hit again, this time by flak. However, he managed to coax his Spitfire back to base executing a prefect belly landing. His final claims were made on 19 August 1941, bringing his total aerial victories to 13 destroyed, seven probables and 10 damaged.†(2) Broadhurst also provided air support during the Battle of France, an experience that imbued him with the importance of close air support during one of the most crucial operations of the war. His heroics from 1939 to 1941 earned him a Distinguished Flying Cross and two Distinguished Service Orders (DSOs).
In 1941 and 1942, his Spitfires provided escort for British bombers and in August 1942 for the raid on Dieppe.
In late 1942 he was posted to the Middle East and became Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO, i.e., chief of staff) to Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Coningham, the commander of the Desert Air Force (DAF). Broadhurst believed that Coningham was misusing the Desert Air Force. He took command of the DAF in January 1943 after Coningham was promoted to Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest African Tactical Air Forces. Broadhurst was then the youngest air vice marshal in the Royal Air force. He quickly reversed the way fighter aircraft were employed. Coningham, a prima donna, who was perpetually jealous of Montgomery, and later skirmished with Patton in Tunisia over close air support, did not embrace close cooperation with the Army on the ground, believing instead it was the role of tactical aircraft to support and protect bombers. Broadhurst thought otherwise.   Â
Today we take for granted the principle of close air support, but during the early years of the war the practice had yet to be perfected. The air forces were emerging into their own and were very independent-minded. In their account of Alamein and its aftermath, John Bierman and Colin Smith have written of Broadhurst that he: “had long realized that what the army sometimes needs was kind of a Blitzkrieg aerial artillery the Luftwaffe Stuka crews had so often supplied . . . The RAF did not have any dive-bombers as such, but Broadhurst was convinced that the DAF could make a considerable contribution at little cost. As soon as he took over, he had his fighter squadrons training to strafe and bomb on a collection of captured Axis vehicles he had set up outside Tripoli . . . Within the Desert Air Force Broadhurst’s enthusiasm was infectious . . . Spitfire purists who objected to the disfigurement of bomb racks were less inclined to argue with one of their own.†(3) The result was aerial cover unlike any seen before and the enduring gratitude of the men on the ground whose hearts were won by the support of the airmen. Nevertheless, Broadhurst’s enthusiastic backing of the Army did not always go down well with senior airmen who did not subscribe to his commitment to close air support. Nevertheless, he was not dissuaded and earned the gratitude of Montgomery and the ground commanders his airmen so ably supported.
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I was at RAF Bruggen Germany in Sept 1960 when Broady
visited. He was to meet Aircrew in the Officers’ Mess Ante Room
but was boycotted by all the navigators in protest at the Vulcan
crash in Oct 1956 at London Airport when he took the co-pilots
seat at the end of the record breaking flight from Australia. Only
the pilot and co-pilot survived! No action was taken against
them.
Jim M.
Sir I had the honour to serve under Sir Harry Broadhurst when he was AOC at Kenley in Surrey in 1946 to 1947 and can assure you that he still had the Fiesler Storch spotter plane so it must have been repairable after his misshap with a hanger roof.
Norman 2290362
Sir, do you remember the colors of the Storch?
Was it still yellow or did it wear RAF standard colors?
Air Marshall coning ham believed in close air support to the army, indeed was one of the original exponents of the creed. Relationship with monty was volatile because he believed that monty changed his plans during a battle without informing the royl air force. He was promoted to the 2nd tactical airforce command to make ready for overlord.
Expose’ of the cover up of 4 RAF aircrew deaths. The true reason for the crash of RAF Vulcan XA897 at London Airport in 1956
On the morning of the Vulcan’s return flight from Australia, the weather at Heathrow was atrocious with extremely poor visibility. The RAF Vulcan aircraft was not equipped to use the Civil Instrument Landing Systems installed at Heathrow airport. Additionally, Squadron Leader Howard, the official pilot had no experience of carrying out a GCA (ground control approach) landing in a Vulcan
The Air Ministry had already diverted other aircraft and considered that a Ground Controlled Approach (GCA) was not possible. He was not given any voice agreement to try a landing.
I, as the senior NCO i/c of the Signals Centre staff at Bomber Command H.Q High Wycombe was ordered to send a Class A diversion order to Squadron Leader Howard, this was acknowledged by the Vulcan’s electronics officer Sqdn Ldr Gamble but the aircraft made no attempt to divert.
At about 1300 a further Class A diversion order was transmitted and again it was received, acknowledged and ignored. Just minutes before the aircraft attempted to land I was ordered to send a further Class A diversion order, this was also acknowledged but again the pilots ignored the order.
When we heard that it had crashed killing the four rear cabin crew members whilst the pilots ejected and survived. We were all horrified. All of those present loudly condemned Broadhurst for his total lack of thought for his crew.
Immediately we were ordered that there was to be no mention of the incident and it was not to be discussed with anyone outside HQ. I was so incensed that I ‘phoned the newspapers.
I was then threatened with a Court Martial and a 50 year Security D notice was issued which disallowed any reporting of the true facts.
At the House of Commons court of enquiry into the crash, when asked why the aircraft wasn’t diverted, their was no actual resonce. No mention was made that it had received 3 diversion orders.
Maurice R Hamlin Ex RAF Air signaller 1943 – 1964
Hi and thanks for the website.
I found the post by Mr. Hamlin to be very informative in fact the entire article to be really curious. Let me explain, October 1956 I was a 16 year old boy at RAF Cosford and getting ready for graduation (passing out) was too occupied with things and broke (short of money) to have taken any real interest outside Cosford including the Vulcan crash. In fact I only learned of it about 10 years ago.
I left the RAF June 25-1963 (from my discharge certificate) and I seem to remember our C in C Sir Harald being replace a few weeks before my discharge? I also have memories of a Vulcan 2 crashing with Sir Harold at Heath Row a few weeks before that. It was on the return leg of a record breaking flight from Nairobi. I get most confused when I read from a number of websites that Sir Harold had left the RAF 2 years before me. This Vulcan crash in 1963 was one of my motives for leaving the RAF! Are you able to make any sense or have a comment on the above?
I wonder if I have formed a conspiracy theory or am I paranoid? Has the history between 1960 and 1965 been redacted, hidden on Google or simply covered with the sands of time? A prof at Queen’s stated he would no longer accept quotes from Google or wiki since anyone can change it.
When I browse around my former UK MP Rt Hon Richard Wood representing Bridlington and Holderness was not listed as having held the post of Secretary to the Air Ministry or whatever. I think he got that job after a pair of meat-boxes (Gloucester Meteor) from Driffield put a few cannon shells into Bridlington sea front about 1958 or so. I guess some aircrew were frustrated with the end of conscription and essentially a big reduction in RAF size and job loss. The guilty parties were not found. I remember my dad and uncles rubbing that into me and one of my fellow airmen telling me not to visit Bridlington in uniform.
More vexing still I can find no record of Lord Home ordering the RAF hand over all its bases in Australia to the Australians three days before the general election in 1964. I wonder how that mild radio active cloud over Melbourne came to be? It is not even mentioned in Lord Home’s book “The way the wind blowsâ€. I can even remember Harold Wilson’s 1964 campaign “Labor will bring the RAF under control†winning my vote.
On my memories side I was on a display technology seminar at U of Milwaukee about 1985 and met a fellow ex boy and I mentioned my disillusion with AVM George Cross AOC B3 group 1962/63 and he told me that B3 group had bad luck with its AOCs and that AVM Johnson (wing co Johnny Johnson fighter wing fame) had taken early retirement. It seems the grape vine source had him replacing the crew chief on lone ranger to SAC HQ Offutt for target training, debarking and re embarking at Goose after enjoying the Salmon fishing. It seems the Vulcan aircrew had a technical problem more than they could resolve without the crew chief resulting in the AVM’s premature retirement. There is in fact a gap in the list of AOCs B3 group. AVM George Cross (the apps at Halton called him “Cross Awkward Georgeâ€) his Commodore was ordered with immediate effect to take command of B3 temporary acting. Maybe my memories are not totally false. I can remember being inspected as part of a Guard of Honor by both of these Gent’s and it was most uncomfortable with George who behaved like an ex Halton CA who had failed to grow up but all was fine with AVM Johnson.
I really should be sorry for these senior and courageous people who were really pilots, born to fly and flied to live being stuck with a senior management sort of job with only flying expertise and no real management training and one really big manpower problem. Like the station careers officer told me the RAF was set up for conscription and could not possibly work without it. This high level stuff can not be handed off to the Flight’s Sargent or WO and there was no HR department to help out or maybe they got rid of it.
All I can think of it’s like my CV, include the good stuff and skip over the not so good as best I can. A prof at Queens stated “I’m not accepting any work from my students based on Google as it can be posted by anyone and not verifiedâ€. Just like this post! I still have the question, was there a Vulcan crash with Sir Harold in 1963 or was I dreaming?
Regards Ian.