Frederick Scherger
Encyclopedia
Air Chief Marshal
Sir Frederick Rudolph William Scherger KBE, CB, DSO
, AFC
(18 May 190416 January 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force
. He served as Chief of the Air Staff, the RAAF's highest-ranking position, from 1957 until 1961, and as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, forerunner of the role of Australia's Chief of the Defence Force
, from 1961 until 1966. He was the first of three RAAF officers to have held the rank of Air Chief Marshal.
Born in Victoria
of German origins, Scherger graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon
before transferring to the Air Force in 1925. He was considered one of the top aviators between the wars, serving as a fighter pilot
, test pilot
, and flying instructor
. He held senior training posts in the late 1930s and the early years of World War II
, earning the Air Force Cross
in June 1940. Promoted to Group Captain
, Scherger was acting commander of North Western Area when Darwin
, Northern Territory suffered its first air raid in February 1942. Praised for his actions in the aftermath of the attack, he went on to lead the RAAF's major mobile strike force in the South West Pacific
, No. 10 Operational Group (later the Australian First Tactical Air Force
), and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
in September 1944 for his actions during the assaults on Aitape
and Noemfoor
in Western New Guinea
.
After the war, Scherger served in senior posts, including Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
, Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, D.C.
, and commander of Commonwealth
air forces in Malaya during the emergency
. In 1957, he was promoted to Air Marshal
and became Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), presiding over a significant modernisation of RAAF equipment. Completing his term as CAS in 1961, he was the Air Force's first appointee to the position of Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). As Chairman of COSC, Scherger became Australia's first Air Chief Marshal in 1965, and played a leading role in the commitment of troops to the Vietnam War
. Leaving the military the following year, he was appointed Chairman of the Australian National Airlines Commission
and, from 1968, of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
. Popularly known as "Scherg", he retired in 1975 and lived in Melbourne
until his death in 1984 at the age of seventy-nine.
, Victoria, the grandson of German migrants, Fred Scherger was educated to junior certificate level at his local high school. His ancestry and surname made him the object of xenophobia
in his childhood during World War I
, which carried on into the early part of his military career and beyond; as late as 1941, an anonymous letter writer from RAAF Station Wagga
would tell Prime Minister Robert Menzies
that his "blood ran cold" at the notion of someone called "Scherger" commanding trainee Australian pilots. Scherger nevertheless entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon
in 1921 and graduated as a Lieutenant
in 1924, winning the King's Medal. Two days prior to graduation, he volunteered for an Air Force secondment, which was later made permanent. He commenced his flight training as a Pilot Officer
(temporary Flying Officer
) in 1925 at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria.
Scherger quickly took to the art of flying open-cockpit biplane
s and gained a reputation as a skilful if occasionally reckless pilot, being berated early in his career by his flight commander for "inverted and very low flying". He was one of the Air Force's first volunteers for parachute
instruction, under the tutelage of Flying Officer Ellis Wackett
at RAAF Richmond
, New South Wales, and made the first public freefall descent in Australia, at Essendon
, Victoria on 21 August 1926. In February 1927, he was asked by the Commanding Officer
of No. 1 Flying Training School
(1FTS), Wing Commander
Adrian "King" Cole
, to drop a message to a woman at Port Melbourne before she departed on a steamer. After doing so, Scherger illegally flew his SE5
fighter between ship and wharf before heading back to Point Cook, only to be hauled into Cole's office the next morning to find the CO brandishing a photograph taken by a member of the public, catching the young pilot in the act. Sent for a dressing down to the Air Member for Personnel, Group Captain
Jimmy Goble
, Scherger was forced to admit it was not the first time he had engaged in such stunts. Goble responded, "Good, I'm glad to see we've still got a few in the Air Force with spirit. Go back and tell King Cole that I beat the hell out of you."
and test pilot
, Scherger was considered "perhaps the RAAF's outstanding aviator". He married Thelma Harrick on 1 June 1929, and they had a daughter named Jill. Promoted to Flight Lieutenant
, Scherger became Chief Flying Instructor at Point Cook that August. He also flew with Fighter Squadron, a unit of 1FTS operating Bristol Bulldog
s. As one of the leading pilots of the Bulldog, then regarded as the peak of military technology, and in what was generally thought of as the RAAF's elite formation, he gained popular exposure that helped his later rise to senior leadership. In October 1931, he won an Aero Club derby at Adelaide
in a Bulldog, clocking a top speed of 160.98 mph (259.1 km/h).
Raised to Squadron Leader
, Scherger was posted to England in August 1934 to study at RAF Staff College, Andover
. Just prior to departing, he was involved in a notorious incident at RAAF Station Laverton. A fellow Squadron Leader arrived home early from a mess
function to find his wife sleeping with another officer, who promptly escaped by crashing through the bedroom window. The Squadron Leader then pursued his wife with a loaded revolver
, the pair eventually arriving at Scherger's quarters. Faced with the frightened woman and the enraged husband crying that he would "shoot the bitch", Scherger knocked the man down with a poker. While his wife was given shelter off the base, the officer was placed under arrest; he subsequently resigned his commission. Scherger graduated from Andover in December 1935; over the next year he also completed courses at the RAF's School of Air Navigation and Central Flying School
. Returning to Australia, he resumed his position as Chief Flying Instructor at Point Cook in May 1937. At the direction of the Federal government, he was responsible for training the Federal Treasurer
, Richard Casey
, to fly. In September 1937, he test flew the North American NA-16 at Laverton; this evaluation program led to the design being adapted as the CAC Wirraway
the following year. Scherger was appointed Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne
in January 1938, and promoted to Wing Commander in March 1939.
As Director of Training at the outbreak of World War II
, Scherger's main challenge was to expand the RAAF's pool of flying instructors. Awarded the Air Force Cross
in June 1940 for his "outstanding ability" as a pilot and instructor, he took charge of No. 2 Service Flying Training School
near Wagga
the following month, and was promoted to Group Captain in September. In October 1941, he was made Commanding Officer of RAAF Station Darwin
, Northern Territory. Described by Major General Lewis H. Brereton
, commander of the US Far East Air Force, as "energetic, efficient and very impatient", Scherger started improving the operational readiness of the base and its surrounds without waiting for specific orders from RAAF Headquarters. The following January, he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer, North Western Area (NWA), which administered the RAAF Station and its satellite airfields. In Air Commodore
Douglas Wilson's absence at ABDA Command Headquarters
in Java, Scherger was acting Air Officer Commanding
NWA on 19 February 1942 when Darwin suffered its first aerial attacks by the Japanese
. Driving into town to meet Air Marshal
Richard Williams, who was in transit on his way to England, Scherger first became aware of the assault after he heard anti-aircraft fire
and counted twenty-seven enemy aircraft in the distance. He arrived at the civil airfield to witness a Curtiss P-40
crash land on the runway, before his car was strafed by fighters. In a lull after the initial attack that day, he made contact with Williams before the two men were forced to take shelter in a makeshift trench that was straddled by falling bombs as a second raid got under way. Afterwards, Scherger began to restore order and launched a Hudson
light bomber on a reconnaissance
mission, though there was no further contact with Japanese forces.
In addition to the loss of civil and military infrastructure, twenty-three aircraft and ten ships, and the death of some 250 people, 278 RAAF personnel had deserted Darwin in an exodus that became known as the "Adelaide River
Stakes". "There was", in Scherger's words, "an awful panic and a lot of men simply went bush
". Praised for his "great courage and energy", he was one of the few senior Air Force officers in the region to emerge from Commissioner Charles Lowe's inquiry into the debacle with his long-term career prospects undamaged. In the immediate aftermath, however, his outspoken criticism of the RAAF's state of preparedness alienated members of the Air Board, the service's controlling body that consisted of its most senior officers and which was chaired by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He was relieved of his position at NWA by CAS Air Chief Marshal
Sir Charles Burnett
, and shunted through a series of postings for the remainder of the year, including Commanding Officer at RAAF Station Richmond, Supernumerary
at RAAF Headquarters, Director of Defence at Allied Air Forces Headquarters, South West Pacific Area, and Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters. Seeking restitution, he boldly went over the heads of the Air Board and successfully appealed to the Minister for Air
, Arthur Drakeford
, supported by Commissioner Lowe.
No. 2 Training Group at RAAF Station Wagga from July 1943 until he was appointed Air Officer Commanding of the newly formed No. 10 Operational Group (10OG) in November. The Air Force's main mobile strike force, 10OG at its formation consisted of No. 77 Wing
, operating A-31 Vengeance dive bombers, and No. 78 Wing
, operating P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, as well as various ancillary units. Promoted to acting Air Commodore in January 1944, Scherger established his headquarters at Nadzab
, Papua New Guinea, in support of the US Fifth Air Force
. While he was able to launch No. 78 Wing's first mission that same month, he had to deal with a number of organisational problems in order to bring all his squadrons to combat readiness, including lack of training in tropical conditions, and shortcomings in aircraft maintenance and staff rotation that resulted in the RAAF's operational rate of effort being inferior to similar USAAF
formations. These issues were overcome later in the year and 10OG units began exceeding the rate of effort of their American counterparts.
By March 1944, No. 77 Wing's Vengeances had been withdrawn from operations due to their inferiority to newer equipment. Three squadrons from No. 9 Operational Group
—one each flying Bostons, Beaufighters
, and Beauforts
—were assigned to the Wing as replacements, but 10OG itself was moved from Nadzab to Cape Gloucester
to permit USAAF units with longer-ranged aircraft to occupy vital airfields on the Allied front line. 10OG's disappointment with its withdrawal from Nadzab was compensated for by news that it was to take part in the forthcoming attack on Aitape
, New Guinea, codenamed Operation Reckless
. Scherger was appointed air commander for the assault, leading US and Australian units. No. 78 Wing's Kittyhawks shadowed the main task force while heavier aircraft from North West Area conducted bombing and mining sorties to indirectly support the operation. The landings on 22 April 1944 met little opposition, credited in part to the Allied bombardment in the days leading up to it. With elements of 10OG going ashore on the first day, Aitape airfield was repaired and No. 78 Wing was operating from it within three days. In June, Scherger was named commander of Australian and US air forces for the attack on Noemfoor Island
. Over the course of the battle that commenced on 2 July, he controlled Nos. 71
, 77, 78 and 81 Wing
s RAAF, as well as the USAAF's 58th
and 348th Fighter Group
s and 307th and 417th Bombardment Group
s. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
for his actions at Aitape and Noemfoor, the citation noting that he "operated his air forces with great skill and success" and praising the way he placed himself "in the forefront of the landing of the ground troops", where "his personal courage and leadership proved an inspiration to all personnel".
A jeep accident in August left Scherger with a fractured pelvis, necessitating his evacuation to Australia for rehabilitation. In his absence, Air Commodore Harry Cobby
took command of 10OG; two months later the formation was redesignated the Australian First Tactical Air Force
(1TAF). Still recuperating, Scherger acted in the role of Air Member for Personnel at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne from January to May 1945. On 10 May, he was posted back to the Pacific to resume control of 1TAF following Cobby's dismissal in the wake of the "Morotai Mutiny
". He returned as Operation Oboe One, the Battle of Tarakan
, was under way; 1TAF's airfield construction teams had been tasked with opening the runway on Tarakan Island
within a week of Allied landings but extensive pre-invasion damage and adverse environmental conditions delayed this until the end of June. He then led 1TAF in Operation Oboe Six, the invasion of Labuan
, going ashore on the afternoon of the landings on 10 June to establish his command post. By July, when the final Allied offensive of the Borneo Campaign
took place as Operation Oboe Two
in Balikpapan
, 1TAF had reached a strength of some 25,000 personnel; by the end of hostilities on 14 August this figure had been reduced with the transfer of units to the recently formed No. 11 Group
.
, determining that substantial work was needed to bring them up to the required capacity. The following year, he attended the Imperial Defence College, London
. From July 1947 to July 1951, he served as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
(DCAS), gaining promotion to temporary Air Vice Marshal in May 1950. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King's Birthday Honours the same year. As DCAS, Scherger reported to Air Marshal
George Jones
, whose ten-year term as CAS would the longest of any incumbent in the position. The pair enjoyed a cordial working relationship, and Jones earmarked the younger officer as a leader of the future. However Scherger could not persuade his conservative chief to revamp the Air Force from its wartime area command structure into a more modern service organised along functional lines; this radical change would await Jones' successor, Air Marshal Sir Donald Hardman
.
After completing his tour as DCAS, Scherger was posted to Washington, D.C.
to head up the Australian Joint Services Staff. Promoted to substantive Air Vice Marshal, he became AOC of RAF Air Headquarters Malaya in January 1953. In this role, he commanded all Commonwealth
air forces in the region and was responsible for operations against communist guerrillas during the emergency
. Scherger deliberately sited his headquarters, which had been based in Singapore
when he took over, next to the offices of the Director of Operations in Kuala Lumpur
, to more closely align air tasking with overall military planning. He expanded the use of helicopter
s for troop delivery and casualty evacuation, and presided over a change in tactics that saw an earlier policy of indiscriminate saturation bombing of jungle areas replaced by one of precision strike against enemy camps. He also pioneered psychological warfare
in the form of "voice" aircraft broadcasting propaganda, close cooperation between light aircraft spotters and ground forces to aid bombing missions, and defoliation
to clear jungle cover.
Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 30 April 1954 for his service in Malaya, Scherger joined the Air Board as Air Member for Personnel in March 1955. During his term he commissioned a review into the effectiveness of the syllabus at RAAF College
for meeting the future needs of the Air Force in an age of missiles and nuclear weaponry. This led to a policy of cadets undertaking academic degrees, in line with similar institutions in the other armed services; the College was subsequently renamed RAAF Academy. Promoted Air Marshal, he became Chief of the Air Staff in March 1957, succeeding Air Marshal Sir John McCauley
. Long identified as a strong contender for the RAAF's senior role, Scherger was described by Air Marshal Hardman as "easily the best material on offer". He declared that as an administrator he was "not going to allow myself to be bogged down with minor matters of detail ... Broad policy comes from the top. These decisions have to be implemented in the commands—and that's the way it's going to be."
As CAS, one of Scherger's first tasks was investigating the feasibility of a nuclear arsenal
for the Air Force. During visits to Britain and the US he explored the possibility of weapons being delivered by the RAAF's Sabre
fighters or its Canberra
bombers. In 1958, he held discussions with the Chief of Staff of the USAF
, General Thomas D. White
, about storing nuclear weapons in Australia under USAF control. In 1959 and 1960, Scherger had information sent out, including manuals and maintenance instructions, regarding equipping the Canberras with Mark 7 nuclear bomb
s, the same type that the British Canberras used. For a time, Scherger championed the purchase of a force of British-built Vulcan
heavy bombers but excessive cost and a governmental determination to remain "under the shelter of the American nuclear umbrella" put paid to the proposal. Instead, in 1963, the decision was taken to purchase the General Dynamics F-111
swing-wing bomber "on the understanding that it could carry nuclear weapons".
Turning to fighters, Scherger succeeded in reversing a publicly announced decision to purchase the F-104 Starfighter
as a replacement for the Sabre, in favour of the Dassault Mirage III
, a type better suited for Australia's requirements. During trials he had taken the controls of a Starfighter, reportedly becoming the first Australian to fly at twice the speed of sound
. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1958 Queen's Birthday Honours.
An advocate of helicopters since his experience in Malaya, Scherger influenced purchase of the UH-1 Iroquois
for Australia. He also played a key role in the acquisition of the C-130 Hercules
transport in 1959, over the Federal treasury's "bureaucratic hand-wringing"; the type soon proved itself vital to defence force activity in the region, being described as second only to the F-111 as "the most significant aircraft the RAAF has ever operated". The same year, harking back to his experience in 1942, Scherger proposed a second airfield in the Darwin area, which led to the establishment of RAAF Tindal
near Katherine
. He transferred funding already in place for extension of the runway at Laverton to effect this, signalling a fundamental shift in the Air Force's "centre of gravity" to the north of Australia. The first edition of RAAF News (now Air Force News), which had been sponsored by Scherger, appeared in January 1960 and carried a message from the CAS concerning current defence policy, as well as announcing that Sidewinder
air-to-air missiles would begin equipping the Air Force's Sabres. Scherger also oversaw introduction of Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles to the RAAF's arsenal. Towards the end of his term as CAS, he expressed interest in Britain's supersonic BAC TSR-2
as a replacement for the Canberra, but noted that it was "many years" from production.
(COSC), the senior Australian military position at the time, in May 1961, taking over from Vice Admiral Sir Roy Dowling
. Keen as ever to see a supersonic bomber replace the Canberra, he visited Britain in April 1963 to investigate progress of the TSR-2. Using back-channel sources of information, he satisfied himself that the RAF's pronouncements on the bomber's development were overly optimistic, and later that year began supporting selection of the F-111 as the aircraft best suited to supplant the Canberra.
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During the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation, Scherger acted as military liaison between the British and Australian governments. Openly sceptical about the cease-fire announced by President Sukarno
on 25 January 1964, he supported British requests for Australian combat forces in Borneo
but was in the short term "overruled by 'political cross-currents'". Towards the end of the year, he advocated bombing Indonesian air bases using RAAF Canberras in Malaya, but in this instance the British held back. Although Australia eventually deployed battalion
s of the Royal Australian Regiment
from March 1965, Scherger's earlier optimistic estimation of the speed and level of his government's readiness to commit troops was said to have confused the British.
The latter part of Scherger's tour as Chairman COSC coincided with the beginning of large-scale Australian involvement in the Vietnam War
. By mid-1964, the Commonwealth had already sent a small team of military advisors, plus a detachment of newly acquired DHC-4 Caribou transports, to the region at the request of the South Vietnam
ese government. At a joint US, Australian and New Zealand conference from 30 March to 1 April 1965, however, and with instructions only to ascertain America's objectives in the conflict, Scherger indicated that Australia would be prepared to commit a sizeable ground force, of around battalion size. Within a week, Prime Minister Robert Menzies
' Federal cabinet had ratified the proposal, which was formally announced on 19 April. The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
deployed to Vietnam in May 1965, and two squadrons of the RAAF were committed by mid-1966. With the formation of Australian Forces Vietnam (AFV) at this time, Scherger recommended that Air Force units effectively serve under Army control "to convey an image of all Australian forces fighting together, as one unit". However the Minister for Air, Peter Howson
, felt that this made Scherger and the Army guilty of "exaggerated national pride".
Promoted to Air Chief Marshal
in March 1965, Scherger became not only the first RAAF officer to attain four-star rank, but also the first Duntroon graduate to do so. Already considered "a particularly assertive Chairman" of COSC, his role was further strengthened by the promotion as he now out-ranked the three service heads. His predecessors in the position had not advanced beyond three-star rank. Scherger remained as Chairman until retiring from military life on 18 May 1966, having twice had his term extended by unanimous vote of Federal cabinet.
(TAA), on 1 July 1966. Considered as bringing to TAA "the dash and leadership the new air age demanded", he presided over delivery of its first Douglas DC-9
twin-jet transport in 1967. The government's Two Airlines Policy
, designed to ensure even competition between TAA and Australia's private domestic carrier, Ansett
, meant that the decision of which airline would land the first DC-9 in the country came down to the toss of a coin, which Scherger won. He augmented his role at ACAC with Chairmanship of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
(CAC) from 1968, and joined an Australian defence industries mission to the US the following year.
Scherger continued to lead ACAC and CAC until retiring to live in Melbourne in 1975. He also served as director on the boards of a number of other firms including electronics companies Plessey Pacific
and International Computers (Australia) Limited. His wife Thelma died in a car accident in 1974. On 3 March 1975, at the age of seventy, he married Joy Robertson, a widow he had known three months. At the time, he was quoted as saying, "In the Air Force you have to move quickly or someone else will shoot you down". In retirement he attracted some controversy by continuing to advocate for the Australian military to acquire a nuclear capability. Sir Frederick Scherger died in Melbourne on 16 January 1984, having been ill following a stroke
the previous year.
in the continent's top end, beginning with plans for RAAF Tindal in 1959. From the time of his command of No. 10 Operational Group, he had an easy rapport—and worked to foster relations—with the US military, presaging closer defence ties with the Americans that he pursued as CAS. Among other things this manifested itself in the purchase of more and more US equipment for the Air Force, and far less from the United Kingdom. Once elevated to the position of Chairman of COSC, he further severed ties with Britain by removing senior Royal Australian Navy
officers from the Royal Navy List
, and dropping the words "... and Chief of the Australian Section of the Imperial General Staff" from the title of Chief of the General Staff in the Australian Army List.
As Chairman of COSC, Scherger played a leading role in the large-scale commitment of Australian forces to Vietnam. In an address at the Australian War Memorial
in 2005, journalist Paul Kelly
referred to him as "Australia's most prominent military hawk" at the time, who "exceeded his brief" by promising a battalion to the Americans before a formal request had been made. Historians Peter Edwards and Gregory Pemberton have written that "no official could have done more to press Australia into a military commitment in Vietnam than its most highly ranked serviceman, Air Chief Marshal Scherger". Reflecting later on Australia's involvement in the war, Scherger said "If you want allies, you've got to support allies ... It was never conceivable to us that America could lose—no way."
Along with Athol Townley
, Minister for Defence
from 1958 to 1963, Scherger urged the establishment of an Australian Joint Services Staff College (JSSC), to further inter-service knowledge and cooperation against an indigenous background instead of sending officers to overseas colleges; the JSSC opened in 1970 as the Joint Services Wing of a proposed Australian Services Staff College, later being subsumed by the Australian Defence College
.
Scherger was also an early advocate for "one Australian Defence Force
" comprising three branches, under one Minister for Defence, rather than three competing services, each with its own minister. According to his biographer, Harry Rayner, he bequeathed to his successor as Chairman of COSC, Lieutenant General Sir John Wilton, a position much invigorated and respected by the service chiefs and the government, and contributing to a more cohesive Australian defence organisation. In 1973, the single-service ministries were abolished in favour of an all-encompassing Department of Defence
; by 1984, the Chairman COSC position had evolved to become the Chief of the Defence Force
, directly commanding all three armed services through their respective chiefs.
Rayner described Scherger as "the most quoted and best known of contemporary military leaders" in Australia from 1957 to 1966, recognised and admired by civilian and soldier alike. Detractors accused him of cunning and excessive politicking, Air Marshal Williams declaring that Scherger favoured his friends in the service and later in TAA and CAC, while John Gorton
famously called him "a politician in uniform". Scherger was also labelled a self-publicist, but argued "... you can't sell your ideas unless you can sell yourself, and if you can sell yourself you're half way to selling the ideas that you've got". The newest of the northern air bases he proposed while CAS, near Weipa
in Cape York
, was opened in 1998 and named RAAF Scherger
in his honour. His name is also borne by Sir Frederick Scherger Drive in North Turramurra
, New South Wales.
Air Chief Marshal (Australia)
Air chief marshal is the highest active rank of the Royal Australian Air Force and was created as a direct equivalent of the British Royal Air Force rank of air chief marshal. It is also considered a four-star rank...
Sir Frederick Rudolph William Scherger KBE, CB, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
, AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
(18 May 190416 January 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
. He served as Chief of the Air Staff, the RAAF's highest-ranking position, from 1957 until 1961, and as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, forerunner of the role of Australia's Chief of the Defence Force
Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)
Chief of the Defence Force is the most senior appointment in the Australian Defence Force . The CDF commands the ADF under the direction of the Minister of Defence, in a coequal arrangement with the Secretary of Defence, the most senior public servant in the Department of Defence.The position is a...
, from 1961 until 1966. He was the first of three RAAF officers to have held the rank of Air Chief Marshal.
Born in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
of German origins, Scherger graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
before transferring to the Air Force in 1925. He was considered one of the top aviators between the wars, serving as a fighter pilot
Fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained in air-to-air combat while piloting a fighter aircraft . Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and dogfighting...
, test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
, and flying instructor
Flight instructor
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...
. He held senior training posts in the late 1930s and the early years of World War II
Military history of Australia during World War II
Australia entered World War II shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and...
, earning the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
in June 1940. Promoted to Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
, Scherger was acting commander of North Western Area when Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Northern Territory suffered its first air raid in February 1942. Praised for his actions in the aftermath of the attack, he went on to lead the RAAF's major mobile strike force in the South West Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
, No. 10 Operational Group (later the Australian First Tactical Air Force
Australian First Tactical Air Force
The Australian First Tactical Air Force was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force . Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area...
), and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
in September 1944 for his actions during the assaults on Aitape
Operations Reckless and Persecution
Operation Reckless, known as the Landing at Hollandia and Operation Persecution known as the Aitape landing, were Allied amphibious landings which commenced the Western New Guinea campaign. Both operations commenced on 22 April 1944....
and Noemfoor
Battle of Noemfoor
The Battle of Noemfoor was a battle of World War II that took place on the island of Noemfoor, in Dutch New Guinea, between 2 July and 31 August 1944. United States and Australian forces attacked to capture Japanese bases on the island.-Background:...
in Western New Guinea
Western New Guinea campaign
The Western New Guinea campaign was a series of actions in the New Guinea campaign of World War II. United States and Australian forces assaulted Japanese bases and positions in the northwest coastal areas of Netherlands New Guinea and adjoining parts of the Australian Territory of New Guinea...
.
After the war, Scherger served in senior posts, including Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
Deputy Chief of Air Force (Australia)
Deputy Chief of Air Force is the second most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Air Force, responsible to the Chief of Air Force . The rank associated with the position is Air Vice Marshal . DCAF acts as the manager of the Air Force Headquarters , which provides oversight of activities in...
, Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and commander of Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
air forces in Malaya during the emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
. In 1957, he was promoted to Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
and became Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), presiding over a significant modernisation of RAAF equipment. Completing his term as CAS in 1961, he was the Air Force's first appointee to the position of Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC). As Chairman of COSC, Scherger became Australia's first Air Chief Marshal in 1965, and played a leading role in the commitment of troops to the Vietnam War
Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war Australia...
. Leaving the military the following year, he was appointed Chairman of the Australian National Airlines Commission
Trans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines or TAA, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in May 1996. During that period TAA played a major part in the development of the Australian air transport industry...
and, from 1968, of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The CAC was established in 1936, to provide Australia with the capability to produce military aircraft and engines.-History:...
. Popularly known as "Scherg", he retired in 1975 and lived in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
until his death in 1984 at the age of seventy-nine.
1920s: Duntroon to Point Cook
Born in AraratArarat, Victoria
Ararat is a city in south-west Victoria, Australia, about west of Melbourne, on the Western Highway on the eastern slopes of the Ararat Hills and Cemetery Creek valley between Victoria's Western District and the Wimmera...
, Victoria, the grandson of German migrants, Fred Scherger was educated to junior certificate level at his local high school. His ancestry and surname made him the object of xenophobia
Xenophobia
Xenophobia is defined as "an unreasonable fear of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange". It comes from the Greek words ξένος , meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος , meaning "fear."...
in his childhood during World War I
Military history of Australia during World War I
In Australia, the outbreak of World War I was greeted with considerable enthusiasm. Even before Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, the nation pledged its support for the Empire alongside other Commonwealth nations and almost immediately began preparations to send forces overseas to...
, which carried on into the early part of his military career and beyond; as late as 1941, an anonymous letter writer from RAAF Station Wagga
RAAF Base Wagga
RAAF Base Wagga is located in the New South Wales town of Wagga Wagga, in the suburb of Forest Hill.The RAAF no longer controls the airfield which, although still owned by the Commonwealth of Australia, is currently leased to the Wagga Wagga City Council...
would tell Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
that his "blood ran cold" at the notion of someone called "Scherger" commanding trainee Australian pilots. Scherger nevertheless entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
in 1921 and graduated as a Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in 1924, winning the King's Medal. Two days prior to graduation, he volunteered for an Air Force secondment, which was later made permanent. He commenced his flight training as a Pilot Officer
Pilot Officer
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer...
(temporary Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
) in 1925 at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria.
Scherger quickly took to the art of flying open-cockpit biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
s and gained a reputation as a skilful if occasionally reckless pilot, being berated early in his career by his flight commander for "inverted and very low flying". He was one of the Air Force's first volunteers for parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
instruction, under the tutelage of Flying Officer Ellis Wackett
Ellis Wackett
Air Vice Marshal Ellis Charles Wackett CB, CBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Its chief engineer from 1935 to 1959, he served on the RAAF's controlling body, the Air Board, for a record 17 years, and has been credited with infusing operations with new standards of...
at RAAF Richmond
RAAF Base Richmond
RAAF Base Richmond is one of Australia's oldest and largest air force bases. It is located within the City of Hawkesbury in the north-western fringe of Sydney, New South Wales, between the towns of Windsor and Richmond. The base is home to the Royal Australian Air Force's transport headquarters,...
, New South Wales, and made the first public freefall descent in Australia, at Essendon
Essendon, Victoria
Essendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley...
, Victoria on 21 August 1926. In February 1927, he was asked by the Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of No. 1 Flying Training School
No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF
No. 1 Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force . It was one of the Air Force's original units, dating back to the service's formation in 1921, when it was based at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. The school underwent a number of reorganisations during its...
(1FTS), Wing Commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
Adrian "King" Cole
Adrian Cole (RAAF officer)
Air Vice Marshal Adrian Lindley Trevor Cole, CBE, DSO, MC, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Joining the army at the outbreak of World War I, he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps in 1916 and flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle East and No. 2...
, to drop a message to a woman at Port Melbourne before she departed on a steamer. After doing so, Scherger illegally flew his SE5
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Although the first examples reached the Western Front before the Sopwith Camel and it had a much better overall performance, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S...
fighter between ship and wharf before heading back to Point Cook, only to be hauled into Cole's office the next morning to find the CO brandishing a photograph taken by a member of the public, catching the young pilot in the act. Sent for a dressing down to the Air Member for Personnel, Group Captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
Jimmy Goble
Stanley Goble
Air Vice Marshal Stanley James Goble CBE, DSO, DSC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He served three terms as Chief of the Air Staff, alternating with Wing Commander Richard Williams...
, Scherger was forced to admit it was not the first time he had engaged in such stunts. Goble responded, "Good, I'm glad to see we've still got a few in the Air Force with spirit. Go back and tell King Cole that I beat the hell out of you."
1930s: Flying instructor to Director of Training
By the 1930s, as a flight instructorFlight instructor
A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an aviator in pursuit...
and test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
, Scherger was considered "perhaps the RAAF's outstanding aviator". He married Thelma Harrick on 1 June 1929, and they had a daughter named Jill. Promoted to Flight Lieutenant
Flight Lieutenant
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"...
, Scherger became Chief Flying Instructor at Point Cook that August. He also flew with Fighter Squadron, a unit of 1FTS operating Bristol Bulldog
Bristol Bulldog
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. The Bristol Bulldog . Leatherhead, Surrey, UK: Profile Publications Ltd., 1965.* Barnes, C.H. Bristol Aircraft Since 1910. London: Putnam, 1964....
s. As one of the leading pilots of the Bulldog, then regarded as the peak of military technology, and in what was generally thought of as the RAAF's elite formation, he gained popular exposure that helped his later rise to senior leadership. In October 1931, he won an Aero Club derby at Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
in a Bulldog, clocking a top speed of 160.98 mph (259.1 km/h).
Raised to Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
, Scherger was posted to England in August 1934 to study at RAF Staff College, Andover
RAF Staff College, Andover
The RAF Staff College at RAF Andover was the first Royal Air Force staff college to be established. Its role was the training of officers in the administrative, staff and policy apects of air force matters.-Foundation:...
. Just prior to departing, he was involved in a notorious incident at RAAF Station Laverton. A fellow Squadron Leader arrived home early from a mess
Mess
A mess is the place where military personnel socialise, eat, and live. In some societies this military usage has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilian fire fighting and police forces. The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" A mess (also called a...
function to find his wife sleeping with another officer, who promptly escaped by crashing through the bedroom window. The Squadron Leader then pursued his wife with a loaded revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
, the pair eventually arriving at Scherger's quarters. Faced with the frightened woman and the enraged husband crying that he would "shoot the bitch", Scherger knocked the man down with a poker. While his wife was given shelter off the base, the officer was placed under arrest; he subsequently resigned his commission. Scherger graduated from Andover in December 1935; over the next year he also completed courses at the RAF's School of Air Navigation and Central Flying School
Central Flying School
The Central Flying School is the Royal Air Force's primary institution for the training of military flying instructors. Established in 1912 it is the longest existing flying training school.-History:...
. Returning to Australia, he resumed his position as Chief Flying Instructor at Point Cook in May 1937. At the direction of the Federal government, he was responsible for training the Federal Treasurer
Treasurer of Australia
The Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
, Richard Casey
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, to fly. In September 1937, he test flew the North American NA-16 at Laverton; this evaluation program led to the design being adapted as the CAC Wirraway
CAC Wirraway
The Wirraway was a training and general purpose military aircraft manufactured in Australia by the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation between 1939 and 1946...
the following year. Scherger was appointed Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
in January 1938, and promoted to Wing Commander in March 1939.
1939–42: Outbreak of war to raid on Darwin
Military history of Australia during World War II
Australia entered World War II shortly after the invasion of Poland, declaring war on Germany on 3 September 1939. By the end of the war, almost a million Australians had served in the armed forces, whose military units fought primarily in the European theatre, North African campaign, and...
, Scherger's main challenge was to expand the RAAF's pool of flying instructors. Awarded the Air Force Cross
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
in June 1940 for his "outstanding ability" as a pilot and instructor, he took charge of No. 2 Service Flying Training School
No. 2 Service Flying Training School RAAF
No. 2 Service Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. It was formed in July 1940, under the command of Group Captain Frederick Scherger...
near Wagga
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales
Wagga Wagga is a city in New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, and with an urban population of 46,735 people, Wagga Wagga is the state's largest inland city, as well as an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia...
the following month, and was promoted to Group Captain in September. In October 1941, he was made Commanding Officer of RAAF Station Darwin
RAAF Base Darwin
RAAF Base Darwin is a Royal Australian Air Force base located in the city of Darwin, Northern Territory. The base shares its runway with Darwin International Airport.-History:...
, Northern Territory. Described by Major General Lewis H. Brereton
Lewis H. Brereton
Lewis Hyde Brereton was a military aviation pioneer and lieutenant general in the United States Air Force...
, commander of the US Far East Air Force, as "energetic, efficient and very impatient", Scherger started improving the operational readiness of the base and its surrounds without waiting for specific orders from RAAF Headquarters. The following January, he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer, North Western Area (NWA), which administered the RAAF Station and its satellite airfields. In Air Commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Douglas Wilson's absence at ABDA Command Headquarters
American-British-Dutch-Australian Command
The American-British-Dutch-Australian Command, or ABDACOM, was a short-lived, supreme command for all Allied forces in South East Asia, in early 1942, during the Pacific War in World War II...
in Java, Scherger was acting Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
NWA on 19 February 1942 when Darwin suffered its first aerial attacks by the Japanese
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
. Driving into town to meet Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Richard Williams, who was in transit on his way to England, Scherger first became aware of the assault after he heard anti-aircraft fire
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
and counted twenty-seven enemy aircraft in the distance. He arrived at the civil airfield to witness a Curtiss P-40
Curtiss P-40
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engine, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational...
crash land on the runway, before his car was strafed by fighters. In a lull after the initial attack that day, he made contact with Williams before the two men were forced to take shelter in a makeshift trench that was straddled by falling bombs as a second raid got under way. Afterwards, Scherger began to restore order and launched a Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
light bomber on a reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
mission, though there was no further contact with Japanese forces.
In addition to the loss of civil and military infrastructure, twenty-three aircraft and ten ships, and the death of some 250 people, 278 RAAF personnel had deserted Darwin in an exodus that became known as the "Adelaide River
Adelaide River
Adelaide River is a river in the Northern Territory of Australia. It starts in Litchfield National Park and flows generally northwards to Clarence Strait, being crossed by both the Stuart Highway and the Arnhem Highway...
Stakes". "There was", in Scherger's words, "an awful panic and a lot of men simply went bush
The Bush
"The bush" is a term used for rural, undeveloped land or country areas in certain countries.-Australia:The term is iconic in Australia. In reference to the landscape, "bush" describes a wooded area, intermediate between a shrubland and a forest, generally of dry and nitrogen-poor soil, mostly...
". Praised for his "great courage and energy", he was one of the few senior Air Force officers in the region to emerge from Commissioner Charles Lowe's inquiry into the debacle with his long-term career prospects undamaged. In the immediate aftermath, however, his outspoken criticism of the RAAF's state of preparedness alienated members of the Air Board, the service's controlling body that consisted of its most senior officers and which was chaired by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). He was relieved of his position at NWA by CAS Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett (RAF officer)
Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Stuart Burnett KCB, CBE, DSO was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century. During the Second World War, he served as Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force.-Early life:Charles Burnett was born in Browns...
, and shunted through a series of postings for the remainder of the year, including Commanding Officer at RAAF Station Richmond, Supernumerary
Supernumerary
A Supernumerary is an additional member of an organization. A supernumerary is also a non-regular member of a staff, a member of the staff or an employee who works in a public office who is not part of the manpower complement...
at RAAF Headquarters, Director of Defence at Allied Air Forces Headquarters, South West Pacific Area, and Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters. Seeking restitution, he boldly went over the heads of the Air Board and successfully appealed to the Minister for Air
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
, Arthur Drakeford
Arthur Drakeford
Arthur Samuel Drakeford was an Australian politician and was the minister responsible for the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II...
, supported by Commissioner Lowe.
1943–45: No. 10 Operational Group and First Tactical Air Force
Scherger served as Officer CommandingOfficer Commanding
The Officer Commanding is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit , principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, the term Commanding Officer is applied to commanders of minor as well as major units.Normally an Officer Commanding is a company, squadron or battery...
No. 2 Training Group at RAAF Station Wagga from July 1943 until he was appointed Air Officer Commanding of the newly formed No. 10 Operational Group (10OG) in November. The Air Force's main mobile strike force, 10OG at its formation consisted of No. 77 Wing
No. 77 Wing RAAF
No. 77 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing of World War II. The unit formed part of No. 10 Operational Group at its establishment in November 1943, when it comprised three squadrons equipped with A-31 Vengeance dive bombers. No. 77 Wing commenced operations in early 1944, flying...
, operating A-31 Vengeance dive bombers, and No. 78 Wing
No. 78 Wing RAAF
No. 78 Wing is the Royal Australian Air Force's operational training wing. It is headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, and operates the BAE Hawk 127 lead-in fighter. The wing was formed in 1943 and operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II...
, operating P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, as well as various ancillary units. Promoted to acting Air Commodore in January 1944, Scherger established his headquarters at Nadzab
Nadzab
-History:A Lutheran mission station was established at Nadzab around 1910. Nadzab was the site of the only Allied paratrooper assault in New Guinea on 5 September 1943.The Lae Nadzab Airport is a regional airport served by regional aircraft with domestic flights....
, Papua New Guinea, in support of the US Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
. While he was able to launch No. 78 Wing's first mission that same month, he had to deal with a number of organisational problems in order to bring all his squadrons to combat readiness, including lack of training in tropical conditions, and shortcomings in aircraft maintenance and staff rotation that resulted in the RAAF's operational rate of effort being inferior to similar USAAF
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
formations. These issues were overcome later in the year and 10OG units began exceeding the rate of effort of their American counterparts.
By March 1944, No. 77 Wing's Vengeances had been withdrawn from operations due to their inferiority to newer equipment. Three squadrons from No. 9 Operational Group
No. 9 Operational Group RAAF
No. 9 Operational Group was a major Royal Australian Air Force unit providing fighter, ground attack and anti-shipping support to the Allies in the South West Pacific theatre during World War II. It was designed to act as a mobile striking force independent of the RAAF's static area commands. As...
—one each flying Bostons, Beaufighters
Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter, often referred to as simply the Beau, was a British long-range heavy fighter modification of the Bristol Aeroplane Company's earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber design...
, and Beauforts
Bristol Beaufort
The Bristol Beaufort was a British twin-engined torpedo bomber designed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company, and developed from experience gained designing and building the earlier Blenheim light bomber....
—were assigned to the Wing as replacements, but 10OG itself was moved from Nadzab to Cape Gloucester
Cape Gloucester
Cape Gloucester is a headland, in the northwest of the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea, at . During World War II, the Japanese captured New Britain, and had driven most of Cape Gloucester's native population out to construct two airfields...
to permit USAAF units with longer-ranged aircraft to occupy vital airfields on the Allied front line. 10OG's disappointment with its withdrawal from Nadzab was compensated for by news that it was to take part in the forthcoming attack on Aitape
Aitape
Aitape is a small town of about 8,000 people on the north coast of Papua New Guinea in the Sandaun Province. It is a coastal settlement that is almost equidistant from the provincial capitals of Wewak and Vanimo, and marks the midpoint of the highway between these two capitals...
, New Guinea, codenamed Operation Reckless
Operations Reckless and Persecution
Operation Reckless, known as the Landing at Hollandia and Operation Persecution known as the Aitape landing, were Allied amphibious landings which commenced the Western New Guinea campaign. Both operations commenced on 22 April 1944....
. Scherger was appointed air commander for the assault, leading US and Australian units. No. 78 Wing's Kittyhawks shadowed the main task force while heavier aircraft from North West Area conducted bombing and mining sorties to indirectly support the operation. The landings on 22 April 1944 met little opposition, credited in part to the Allied bombardment in the days leading up to it. With elements of 10OG going ashore on the first day, Aitape airfield was repaired and No. 78 Wing was operating from it within three days. In June, Scherger was named commander of Australian and US air forces for the attack on Noemfoor Island
Battle of Noemfoor
The Battle of Noemfoor was a battle of World War II that took place on the island of Noemfoor, in Dutch New Guinea, between 2 July and 31 August 1944. United States and Australian forces attacked to capture Japanese bases on the island.-Background:...
. Over the course of the battle that commenced on 2 July, he controlled Nos. 71
No. 71 Wing RAAF
No. 71 Wing was a Royal Australian Air Force wing of World War II. It was formed in February 1943 at Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea, as part of No. 9 Operational Group. The wing initially comprised two squadrons of P-40 Kittyhawks, one of Lockheed Hudsons, and one of Bristol Beauforts...
, 77, 78 and 81 Wing
No. 81 Wing RAAF
No. 81 Wing is the Royal Australian Air Force's air superiority wing. Formed during World War II, it operated in the South West Pacific theatre, flying P-40 Kittyhawks. Following the end of hostilities, it converted to P-51 Mustangs and was based in Japan as part of the Allied occupational forces...
s RAAF, as well as the USAAF's 58th
58th Special Operations Wing
The 58th Special Operations Wing is a combat unit of the United States Air Force stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. The 58 SOW is part of the Air Education and Training Command Nineteenth Air Force....
and 348th Fighter Group
348th Fighter Group
The 348th Fighter Group is an inactive unit of the United States Air Force. Its last assignment was with V Fighter Command, stationed at Itami Air Base, Japan. It was inactivated on 10 May 1946....
s and 307th and 417th Bombardment Group
417th Bombardment Group
The 417th Bombardment Group is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with V Bomber Command, being stationed at Itami Airfield, Japan, where it was inactivated on 5 November 1945....
s. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
for his actions at Aitape and Noemfoor, the citation noting that he "operated his air forces with great skill and success" and praising the way he placed himself "in the forefront of the landing of the ground troops", where "his personal courage and leadership proved an inspiration to all personnel".
Arthur Henry Cobby
Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM was an Australian military aviator...
took command of 10OG; two months later the formation was redesignated the Australian First Tactical Air Force
Australian First Tactical Air Force
The Australian First Tactical Air Force was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force . Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area...
(1TAF). Still recuperating, Scherger acted in the role of Air Member for Personnel at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne from January to May 1945. On 10 May, he was posted back to the Pacific to resume control of 1TAF following Cobby's dismissal in the wake of the "Morotai Mutiny
Morotai Mutiny
The "Morotai Mutiny" was an incident in April 1945 involving members of the Australian First Tactical Air Force based on the island of Morotai, in the Dutch East Indies...
". He returned as Operation Oboe One, the Battle of Tarakan
Battle of Tarakan (1945)
The Battle of Tarakan was the first stage in the Borneo campaign of 1945. It began with an amphibious landing by Australian forces on 1 May, code-named Operation Oboe One...
, was under way; 1TAF's airfield construction teams had been tasked with opening the runway on Tarakan Island
Tarakan Island
Tarakan is an island off the coast of East Kalimantan, Indonesia. It is a marshy island situated in the eastern Celebes Sea, off the northeastern coast of Borneo. The island occupies an area of .-Petroleum:...
within a week of Allied landings but extensive pre-invasion damage and adverse environmental conditions delayed this until the end of June. He then led 1TAF in Operation Oboe Six, the invasion of Labuan
Labuan
Labuan is a federal territory in East Malaysia. It is an island off the coast of the state of Sabah. Labuan's capital is Victoria and is best known as an offshore financial centre offering international financial and business services via Labuan IBFC since 1990 as well as being an offshore support...
, going ashore on the afternoon of the landings on 10 June to establish his command post. By July, when the final Allied offensive of the Borneo Campaign
Borneo campaign (1945)
The Borneo Campaign of 1945 was the last major Allied campaign in the South West Pacific Area, during World War II. In a series of amphibious assaults between 1 May and 21 July, the Australian I Corps, under General Leslie Morshead, attacked Japanese forces occupying the island. Allied naval and...
took place as Operation Oboe Two
Battle of Balikpapan (1945)
The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of the Borneo campaign . The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The Australian 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with support troops, made an amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two a few miles north of...
in Balikpapan
Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province, a resource-rich region well known for its timber, mining, and petroleum export products. Two harbors, Semayang and Kariangau , and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main...
, 1TAF had reached a strength of some 25,000 personnel; by the end of hostilities on 14 August this figure had been reduced with the transfer of units to the recently formed No. 11 Group
No. 11 Group RAAF
No. 11 Group was a Royal Australian Air Force group formed at Morotai in the last weeks of World War II to command the RAAF's garrison units in the region. The group was established at the end of July 1945, but was not yet fully active when the war ended on 14 August. It remained active at Morotai...
.
1946–57: Rise to Chief of the Air Staff
In October 1945, Scherger led a survey team to Japan to review airfields and other facilities being considered for the British Commonwealth Occupation ForceBritish Commonwealth Occupation Force
The British Commonwealth Occupation Force , was the name of the joint Australian, Canadian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 21 February 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952...
, determining that substantial work was needed to bring them up to the required capacity. The following year, he attended the Imperial Defence College, London
Royal College of Defence Studies
The Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom...
. From July 1947 to July 1951, he served as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
Deputy Chief of Air Force (Australia)
Deputy Chief of Air Force is the second most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Air Force, responsible to the Chief of Air Force . The rank associated with the position is Air Vice Marshal . DCAF acts as the manager of the Air Force Headquarters , which provides oversight of activities in...
(DCAS), gaining promotion to temporary Air Vice Marshal in May 1950. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the King's Birthday Honours the same year. As DCAS, Scherger reported to Air Marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
George Jones
George Jones (RAAF officer)
Air Marshal Sir George Jones KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He rose from private soldier in World War I to Air Marshal in 1948, and served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1942 to 1952, the longest continuous tenure of any RAAF chief...
, whose ten-year term as CAS would the longest of any incumbent in the position. The pair enjoyed a cordial working relationship, and Jones earmarked the younger officer as a leader of the future. However Scherger could not persuade his conservative chief to revamp the Air Force from its wartime area command structure into a more modern service organised along functional lines; this radical change would await Jones' successor, Air Marshal Sir Donald Hardman
Donald Hardman
Air Chief Marshal Sir James Donald Innes Hardman GBE, KCB, DFC was a senior Royal Air Force commander. He began his flying career as a fighter pilot in World War I, achieving nine victories to become an ace. During World War II, Hardman held staff and operational posts...
.
After completing his tour as DCAS, Scherger was posted to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to head up the Australian Joint Services Staff. Promoted to substantive Air Vice Marshal, he became AOC of RAF Air Headquarters Malaya in January 1953. In this role, he commanded all Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
air forces in the region and was responsible for operations against communist guerrillas during the emergency
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
. Scherger deliberately sited his headquarters, which had been based in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
when he took over, next to the offices of the Director of Operations in Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, to more closely align air tasking with overall military planning. He expanded the use of helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s for troop delivery and casualty evacuation, and presided over a change in tactics that saw an earlier policy of indiscriminate saturation bombing of jungle areas replaced by one of precision strike against enemy camps. He also pioneered psychological warfare
Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare , or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations , have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda...
in the form of "voice" aircraft broadcasting propaganda, close cooperation between light aircraft spotters and ground forces to aid bombing missions, and defoliation
Defoliant
A defoliant is any chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause its leaves to fall off. A classic example of a highly toxic defoliant is Agent Orange, which the United States armed forces used abundantly to defoliate regions of Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1970.Defoliants differ...
to clear jungle cover.
Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 30 April 1954 for his service in Malaya, Scherger joined the Air Board as Air Member for Personnel in March 1955. During his term he commissioned a review into the effectiveness of the syllabus at RAAF College
RAAF College
The Royal Australian Air Force College is the Royal Australian Air Force training and education academy which is responsible for all the Air Force's initial, career development, promotion and leadership training...
for meeting the future needs of the Air Force in an age of missiles and nuclear weaponry. This led to a policy of cadets undertaking academic degrees, in line with similar institutions in the other armed services; the College was subsequently renamed RAAF Academy. Promoted Air Marshal, he became Chief of the Air Staff in March 1957, succeeding Air Marshal Sir John McCauley
John McCauley (RAAF officer)
Air Marshal Sir John Patrick Joseph McCauley, KBE, CB was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1954 to 1957. A Duntroon graduate, McCauley spent four years in the Australian Military Forces before transferring to the RAAF in 1924...
. Long identified as a strong contender for the RAAF's senior role, Scherger was described by Air Marshal Hardman as "easily the best material on offer". He declared that as an administrator he was "not going to allow myself to be bogged down with minor matters of detail ... Broad policy comes from the top. These decisions have to be implemented in the commands—and that's the way it's going to be."
1957–61: Chief of the Air Staff
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
for the Air Force. During visits to Britain and the US he explored the possibility of weapons being delivered by the RAAF's Sabre
CAC Sabre
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Allward, Maurice. F-86 Sabre. London: Ian Allen, 1978. ISBN 0-71100-860-4.* Curtis, Duncan. North American F-86 Sabre. Ramsbury, UK: Crowood, 2000. ISBN 1-86126-358-9....
fighters or its Canberra
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
bombers. In 1958, he held discussions with the Chief of Staff of the USAF
Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Air Force, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the...
, General Thomas D. White
Thomas D. White
General Thomas Dresser White was the fourth Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force.White was born in Walker, Minnesota, in 1901...
, about storing nuclear weapons in Australia under USAF control. In 1959 and 1960, Scherger had information sent out, including manuals and maintenance instructions, regarding equipping the Canberras with Mark 7 nuclear bomb
Mark 7 nuclear bomb
Mark 7 "Thor" was the first tactical nuclear bomb adopted by US armed forces. It was also the first weapon to be delivered using the toss method with the help of the low-altitude bombing system . The weapon was tested in Operation Buster-Jangle. To facilitate external carry by fighter bomber...
s, the same type that the British Canberras used. For a time, Scherger championed the purchase of a force of British-built Vulcan
Avro Vulcan
The Avro Vulcan, sometimes referred to as the Hawker Siddeley Vulcan, was a jet-powered delta wing strategic bomber, operated by the Royal Air Force from 1956 until 1984. Aircraft manufacturer A V Roe & Co designed the Vulcan in response to Specification B.35/46. Of the three V bombers produced,...
heavy bombers but excessive cost and a governmental determination to remain "under the shelter of the American nuclear umbrella" put paid to the proposal. Instead, in 1963, the decision was taken to purchase the General Dynamics F-111
General Dynamics F-111
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...
swing-wing bomber "on the understanding that it could carry nuclear weapons".
Turning to fighters, Scherger succeeded in reversing a publicly announced decision to purchase the F-104 Starfighter
F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is a single-engine, high-performance, supersonic interceptor aircraft originally developed for the United States Air Force by Lockheed. One of the Century Series of aircraft, it served with the USAF from 1958 until 1969, and continued with Air National Guard units...
as a replacement for the Sabre, in favour of the Dassault Mirage III
Dassault Mirage III
The Mirage III is a supersonic fighter aircraft designed by Dassault Aviation during the late 1950s, and manufactured both in France and a number of other countries. It was a successful fighter aircraft, being sold to many air forces around the world and remaining in production for over a decade...
, a type better suited for Australia's requirements. During trials he had taken the controls of a Starfighter, reportedly becoming the first Australian to fly at twice the speed of sound
Speed of sound
The speed of sound is the distance travelled during a unit of time by a sound wave propagating through an elastic medium. In dry air at , the speed of sound is . This is , or about one kilometer in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds....
. He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1958 Queen's Birthday Honours.
An advocate of helicopters since his experience in Malaya, Scherger influenced purchase of the UH-1 Iroquois
UH-1 Iroquois
The Bell UH-1 Iroquois is a military helicopter powered by a single, turboshaft engine, with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor. The helicopter was developed by Bell Helicopter to meet the United States Army's requirement for a medical evacuation and utility helicopter in 1952, and first flew...
for Australia. He also played a key role in the acquisition of the C-130 Hercules
C-130 Hercules
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built originally by Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin. Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 was originally designed as a troop, medical evacuation, and cargo transport...
transport in 1959, over the Federal treasury's "bureaucratic hand-wringing"; the type soon proved itself vital to defence force activity in the region, being described as second only to the F-111 as "the most significant aircraft the RAAF has ever operated". The same year, harking back to his experience in 1942, Scherger proposed a second airfield in the Darwin area, which led to the establishment of RAAF Tindal
RAAF Base Tindal
RAAF Base Tindal is a Royal Australian Air Force air base located near the town of Katherine in the Northern Territory. The base is currently home to No...
near Katherine
Katherine, Northern Territory
Katherine is a town situated southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of Australia in the Northern Territory. It is the fourth largest settlement in the Territory after the capital Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs...
. He transferred funding already in place for extension of the runway at Laverton to effect this, signalling a fundamental shift in the Air Force's "centre of gravity" to the north of Australia. The first edition of RAAF News (now Air Force News), which had been sponsored by Scherger, appeared in January 1960 and carried a message from the CAS concerning current defence policy, as well as announcing that Sidewinder
AIM-9 Sidewinder
The AIM-9 Sidewinder is a heat-seeking, short-range, air-to-air missile carried mostly by fighter aircraft and recently, certain gunship helicopters. The missile entered service with United States Air Force in the early 1950s, and variants and upgrades remain in active service with many air forces...
air-to-air missiles would begin equipping the Air Force's Sabres. Scherger also oversaw introduction of Bloodhound surface-to-air missiles to the RAAF's arsenal. Towards the end of his term as CAS, he expressed interest in Britain's supersonic BAC TSR-2
BAC TSR-2
The British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 was a cancelled Cold War strike and reconnaissance aircraft developed by the British Aircraft Corporation for the Royal Air Force in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
as a replacement for the Canberra, but noted that it was "many years" from production.
1961–66: Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee
Scherger became Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff CommitteeChief of the Defence Force (Australia)
Chief of the Defence Force is the most senior appointment in the Australian Defence Force . The CDF commands the ADF under the direction of the Minister of Defence, in a coequal arrangement with the Secretary of Defence, the most senior public servant in the Department of Defence.The position is a...
(COSC), the senior Australian military position at the time, in May 1961, taking over from Vice Admiral Sir Roy Dowling
Roy Dowling
Vice Admiral Sir Roy Russell Dowling KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Navy...
. Keen as ever to see a supersonic bomber replace the Canberra, he visited Britain in April 1963 to investigate progress of the TSR-2. Using back-channel sources of information, he satisfied himself that the RAF's pronouncements on the bomber's development were overly optimistic, and later that year began supporting selection of the F-111 as the aircraft best suited to supplant the Canberra.
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
on 25 January 1964, he supported British requests for Australian combat forces in Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
but was in the short term "overruled by 'political cross-currents'". Towards the end of the year, he advocated bombing Indonesian air bases using RAAF Canberras in Malaya, but in this instance the British held back. Although Australia eventually deployed battalion
Battalion
A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...
s of the Royal Australian Regiment
Royal Australian Regiment
The Royal Australian Regiment is the parent regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps...
from March 1965, Scherger's earlier optimistic estimation of the speed and level of his government's readiness to commit troops was said to have confused the British.
The latter part of Scherger's tour as Chairman COSC coincided with the beginning of large-scale Australian involvement in the Vietnam War
Military history of Australia during the Vietnam War
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war Australia...
. By mid-1964, the Commonwealth had already sent a small team of military advisors, plus a detachment of newly acquired DHC-4 Caribou transports, to the region at the request of the South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
ese government. At a joint US, Australian and New Zealand conference from 30 March to 1 April 1965, however, and with instructions only to ascertain America's objectives in the conflict, Scherger indicated that Australia would be prepared to commit a sizeable ground force, of around battalion size. Within a week, Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
' Federal cabinet had ratified the proposal, which was formally announced on 19 April. The 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment is a regular light infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion in 1945 and since then has been deployed on active service during the Korean War, the Malayan Emergency and the Vietnam War...
deployed to Vietnam in May 1965, and two squadrons of the RAAF were committed by mid-1966. With the formation of Australian Forces Vietnam (AFV) at this time, Scherger recommended that Air Force units effectively serve under Army control "to convey an image of all Australian forces fighting together, as one unit". However the Minister for Air, Peter Howson
Peter Howson (Australian politician)
Peter Howson, CMG was an Australian politician.-Biography:Howson was born in London, England in 1919 to Jessie and George Arthur Howson, and was educated at Stowe School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
, felt that this made Scherger and the Army guilty of "exaggerated national pride".
Promoted to Air Chief Marshal
Air Chief Marshal
Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
in March 1965, Scherger became not only the first RAAF officer to attain four-star rank, but also the first Duntroon graduate to do so. Already considered "a particularly assertive Chairman" of COSC, his role was further strengthened by the promotion as he now out-ranked the three service heads. His predecessors in the position had not advanced beyond three-star rank. Scherger remained as Chairman until retiring from military life on 18 May 1966, having twice had his term extended by unanimous vote of Federal cabinet.
Later life
After leaving the military, Scherger became Chairman of the Australian National Airlines Commission (ACAC), the controlling body of the Federal government's domestic carrier Trans Australia AirlinesTrans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines or TAA, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its sale to Qantas in May 1996. During that period TAA played a major part in the development of the Australian air transport industry...
(TAA), on 1 July 1966. Considered as bringing to TAA "the dash and leadership the new air age demanded", he presided over delivery of its first Douglas DC-9
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.The DC-9 was followed in subsequent modified forms by...
twin-jet transport in 1967. The government's Two Airlines Policy
Two Airlines Policy
The Australian Two Airlines Policy was a policy of Australian Federal Governments from the late 1940s to the 1990s. Under the policy, only two airlines were allowed to operate flights between state capital city and major regional city airports...
, designed to ensure even competition between TAA and Australia's private domestic carrier, Ansett
Ansett Australia
Ansett Australia, Ansett, Ansett Airlines of Australia, or ANSETT-ANA as it was commonly known in earlier years, was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996...
, meant that the decision of which airline would land the first DC-9 in the country came down to the toss of a coin, which Scherger won. He augmented his role at ACAC with Chairmanship of the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation
The Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation was an Australian aircraft manufacturer. The CAC was established in 1936, to provide Australia with the capability to produce military aircraft and engines.-History:...
(CAC) from 1968, and joined an Australian defence industries mission to the US the following year.
Scherger continued to lead ACAC and CAC until retiring to live in Melbourne in 1975. He also served as director on the boards of a number of other firms including electronics companies Plessey Pacific
Plessey
The Plessey Company plc was a British-based international electronics, defence and telecommunications company. It originated in 1917, growing and diversifying into electronics. It expanded after the second world war by acquisition of companies and formed overseas companies...
and International Computers (Australia) Limited. His wife Thelma died in a car accident in 1974. On 3 March 1975, at the age of seventy, he married Joy Robertson, a widow he had known three months. At the time, he was quoted as saying, "In the Air Force you have to move quickly or someone else will shoot you down". In retirement he attracted some controversy by continuing to advocate for the Australian military to acquire a nuclear capability. Sir Frederick Scherger died in Melbourne on 16 January 1984, having been ill following a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
the previous year.
Legacy
Described by Air Force historian Alan Stephens as one of "the outstanding officers of the post-war area" and "among the RAAF's better chiefs", Scherger is credited with helping to shift Australia's defence posture to the north by developing the concept of a series of front-line air basesRAAF Bare Bases
The Royal Australian Air Force currently maintains three Bare Bases in remote areas of Northern Australia. These bases were developed in the 1980s and 1990s in line with the Defence of Australia Policy in order to enhance the RAAF's ability to conduct combat operations from the Australian mainland...
in the continent's top end, beginning with plans for RAAF Tindal in 1959. From the time of his command of No. 10 Operational Group, he had an easy rapport—and worked to foster relations—with the US military, presaging closer defence ties with the Americans that he pursued as CAS. Among other things this manifested itself in the purchase of more and more US equipment for the Air Force, and far less from the United Kingdom. Once elevated to the position of Chairman of COSC, he further severed ties with Britain by removing senior Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
officers from the Royal Navy List
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, and dropping the words "... and Chief of the Australian Section of the Imperial General Staff" from the title of Chief of the General Staff in the Australian Army List.
As Chairman of COSC, Scherger played a leading role in the large-scale commitment of Australian forces to Vietnam. In an address at the Australian War Memorial
Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial is Australia's national memorial to the members of all its armed forces and supporting organisations who have died or participated in the wars of the Commonwealth of Australia...
in 2005, journalist Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly (journalist)
Paul John Kelly is an Australian political journalist and historian from Sydney. He has worked in a variety of roles, principally for The Australian newspaper, and is currently its Editor-at-large. He has written several books on political events since the 1970s including on the Australian...
referred to him as "Australia's most prominent military hawk" at the time, who "exceeded his brief" by promising a battalion to the Americans before a formal request had been made. Historians Peter Edwards and Gregory Pemberton have written that "no official could have done more to press Australia into a military commitment in Vietnam than its most highly ranked serviceman, Air Chief Marshal Scherger". Reflecting later on Australia's involvement in the war, Scherger said "If you want allies, you've got to support allies ... It was never conceivable to us that America could lose—no way."
Along with Athol Townley
Athol Townley
Athol Gordon Townley was an Australian politician and Minister for Defence.Townley was born in Hobart and educated at Elizabeth Street State School and Hobart High School, and at Hobart Technical College. He qualified as a pharmaceutical chemist in 1928 and in 1930 found a job looking after...
, Minister for Defence
Minister for Defence (Australia)
The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
from 1958 to 1963, Scherger urged the establishment of an Australian Joint Services Staff College (JSSC), to further inter-service knowledge and cooperation against an indigenous background instead of sending officers to overseas colleges; the JSSC opened in 1970 as the Joint Services Wing of a proposed Australian Services Staff College, later being subsumed by the Australian Defence College
Australian Defence College
The Australian Defence College comprises three tri-service educational organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory:* the Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies ,...
.
Scherger was also an early advocate for "one Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
" comprising three branches, under one Minister for Defence, rather than three competing services, each with its own minister. According to his biographer, Harry Rayner, he bequeathed to his successor as Chairman of COSC, Lieutenant General Sir John Wilton, a position much invigorated and respected by the service chiefs and the government, and contributing to a more cohesive Australian defence organisation. In 1973, the single-service ministries were abolished in favour of an all-encompassing Department of Defence
Department of Defence (Australia)
The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...
; by 1984, the Chairman COSC position had evolved to become the Chief of the Defence Force
Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)
Chief of the Defence Force is the most senior appointment in the Australian Defence Force . The CDF commands the ADF under the direction of the Minister of Defence, in a coequal arrangement with the Secretary of Defence, the most senior public servant in the Department of Defence.The position is a...
, directly commanding all three armed services through their respective chiefs.
Rayner described Scherger as "the most quoted and best known of contemporary military leaders" in Australia from 1957 to 1966, recognised and admired by civilian and soldier alike. Detractors accused him of cunning and excessive politicking, Air Marshal Williams declaring that Scherger favoured his friends in the service and later in TAA and CAC, while John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
famously called him "a politician in uniform". Scherger was also labelled a self-publicist, but argued "... you can't sell your ideas unless you can sell yourself, and if you can sell yourself you're half way to selling the ideas that you've got". The newest of the northern air bases he proposed while CAS, near Weipa
Weipa, Queensland
Weipa is the largest town on the Gulf of Carpentaria coast of the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. At the 2006 census, Weipa had a population of 2,830; the largest community on Cape York Peninsula. It exists because of the enormous bauxite deposits along the coast...
in Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
, was opened in 1998 and named RAAF Scherger
RAAF Scherger
RAAF Base Scherger is the newest of the Royal Australian Air Force's three 'bare bases', completing a chain of bases across Australia’s ‘top end’...
in his honour. His name is also borne by Sir Frederick Scherger Drive in North Turramurra
North Turramurra, New South Wales
-Transport:The nearest train station is Turramurra railway station. Buses to North Turramurra are serviced by Shorelink at Turramurra train station. Shorelink bus route 577 runs through North Turramurra...
, New South Wales.