George Jones (RAAF officer)
Encyclopedia
Air Marshal
Sir George Jones KBE
, CB
, DFC
(18 October 1896 – 24 August 1992) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF). 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. Jones was a surprise appointee to the Air Force’s top role, and his achievements in the position were coloured by a divisive relationship during World War II
with his head of operations and nominal subordinate, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock
.
Jones first saw action as an infantry
man in the Gallipoli campaign
of 1915, before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps the following year. Initially an air mechanic, he undertook flying training in 1917 and was posted to a fighter
squadron in France
, achieving seven victories to become an ace
. After a short spell in civilian life following World War I, he joined the newly formed RAAF in 1921, rising steadily through training and personnel commands prior to World War II.
He did not actively seek the position of Chief of the Air Staff before being appointed in 1942, and his conflict with Bostock—with whom he had been friends for 20 years—was partly the result of a divided command structure, which neither man had any direct role in shaping. After World War II Jones had overall responsibility for transforming what was then the world's fourth largest air force into a peacetime service that was also able to meet overseas commitments in Malaya
and Korea
. Following his retirement from the RAAF he continued to serve in the aircraft industry and later ran unsuccessfully for political office.
, a rural community in Victoria
. The date that appears on his birth certificate is 22 November 1896; however this was the date of registration and not of the birth itself, which occurred on 18 October. His father, a miner, had died three months earlier. Jones was brought up in a strict Methodist household and for the rest of his life rarely touched alcohol
. He attended Rushworth State School, leaving at the age of 14 with a Certificate of Merit.
Following his schooling, Jones took an apprenticeship as a carpenter before moving to Melbourne
, where he became a motor mechanic. He undertook three years part-time military service prior to World War I
, firstly in cadets
and later in a Militia
mounted infantry
unit, the 29th Light Horse Regiment (also known as the Port Phillip
Horse).
, embarking for Egypt
in August with the 9th Light Horse Regiment. He landed at Gallipoli
the following month and served there until the end of the campaign in December. His experiences at Gallipoli, especially witnessing the death by enemy fire of one of his friends, affected him deeply and he suffered from headaches and nightmares for years afterwards. After briefly transferring to the Imperial Camel Corps
, Jones applied to join the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in 1916, taking a drop in rank from corporal
to private to do so.
Jones became an air mechanic in No. 1 Squadron AFC
(known as No. 67 Squadron Royal Flying Corps
by the British), before being accepted for flying training in England. He gained his wings on 22 November 1917 and was posted to No. 4 Squadron AFC
(also known as No. 71 Squadron RFC) as a Second Lieutenant
in January the following year. Flying Sopwith Camel
s and Snipes
on the Western Front
, Jones finished the war a Captain
and an ace
, with seven victories from 150 patrols, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
. He was badly injured by a bullet wound and petrol burns in combat with a German fighter in March 1918, and did not return to his unit for three months. On 29 October 1918 he achieved two kills in one engagement, at Tournai
, in what is frequently described as "one of the greatest air battles of the war". Amid a confrontation involving over 75 Allied and German fighters, Jones led his patrol of three Snipes in a dive on ten Fokker
s, destroying a brace of enemy aircraft in the attack.
in Melbourne. He married Muriel Cronan, a clerk who also played piano
professionally, on 15 November 1919. They had met prior to the war and kept in touch throughout Jones' overseas postings. The couple's first child, Ronald, arrived on 2 October 1920. A second son, Ian, would be born on 26 June 1934. Jones was described by family members as being a somewhat distant husband and father, dedicated to his career and rarely given to obvious displays of emotion.
Encouraged by a fellow 4 Squadron veteran, Harry Cobby
, Jones applied to join the Permanent Air Force on 22 March 1921. His rank was Flying Officer
, one below the equivalent of his AFC rank of Captain. Another Australian pilot joining the fledgling Air Force was William (Bill) Bostock
who, though a Lieutenant
in World War I, had been commissioned a Flight Lieutenant
in the RAAF, giving him seniority over Jones. The pair nevertheless became firm friends, Bostock acting as something of a mentor to the younger officer. Jones was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 1 July 1923.
Posted to RAAF Point Cook
, Jones was put in charge of the Motor Transport Repair Section and made acting (later permanent) Officer Commanding
Workshops. He was highly regarded for his technical and administrative ability but rated only "average" in command and dealing with personnel. In 1926 he took up flight instruction
and within a year had been graded a 1A Flying Instructor. He was promoted to Squadron Leader
on 31 March 1927 and given command of Flying Squadron at No. 1 Flying Training School
(1FTS). Jones spent two years in Britain from 1928, attending the Royal Air Force Staff College
and graduating top of his class at the RAF’s Central Flying School
. While in the UK Jones had expected, as the RAAF's senior officer in the country, to accompany the airship
R101
on its maiden flight to India
. Instead another Australian officer was nominated; Jones was chagrined at the time but it meant that he avoided the disaster which followed. Returning to Australia in October 1930 he was made Chief Flying Instructor at Point Cook and Officer Commanding 1FTS. On 16 November 1931 Jones became Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne and in April 1936, having been promoted to Wing Commander
, he was made Director of Personnel Services.
, in December 1939, Jones was raised to temporary Group Captain
. In 1940, returning to the position of Director of Training, he assumed responsibility for Australia’s part in the Empire Air Training Scheme
(EATS), establishing many schools, acquiring hundreds of aircraft, and overseeing the training of thousands of airman. The RAAF's Central Flying School
was reformed in April 1940 to meet the vital requirement for additional flying instructors, whose numbers would grow from 16 in the first year of the war to 3,600 by 1945. His achievements in this role led to Jones being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
in 1941 for "diligence, devotion to duty and perseverance of outstanding merit".
On 5 May 1942, Jones was appointed Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), the RAAF’s senior position. He was considered an unlikely choice, a contemporary newspaper describing him as "the darkest of dark horses". Jones was still only a substantive Wing Commander and acting Air Commodore
(since 21 February 1941) when he succeeded to the role, leapfrogging several more senior officers including his friend Bill Bostock, now an Air Vice Marshal and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. Bostock, described as the RAAF’s "most capable senior commander" at the time, was believed by himself (and Jones) to be the leading candidate for the position. The suggestion even arose that Jones' selection was a mistake, based on the government's reading of an organisation chart that implied he was the RAAF's most senior officer after Bostock, when in fact he was ranked six places below.
Other potential appointees had included Air Marshal
Richard Williams and Air Vice Marshal Peter Drummond
. Williams, however, had been out of favour since his dismissal from the position of CAS in the wake of the Ellington
Report criticising RAAF flying safety in 1939, while Drummond was not released from his position as Deputy Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Middle East
. Bostock was first choice of the incumbent CAS, Air Chief Marshal
Charles Burnett
, but the latter’s ill-concealed contempt for John Curtin
's Federal Labor government
helped ensure that his preference was ignored. Although he admitted to being "stunned" by the decision, Jones himself had the ambition and a reasonable expectation of becoming CAS at some point in his career. However, he found it occurred "much sooner than I anticipated". Jones had proved his organisational abilities directing EATS, and believed that this was a significant factor in his appointment. His working class origin has also been seen as contributing to his suitability to a Labor government.
RAAF Command
, in charge of RAAF operations in the Pacific. Jones' role, in contrast, was primarily administrative, that of "raising, training and maintaining" the service. Though the CAS was de jure
head of the RAAF, Jones’ new rank of Air Vice Marshal was no higher than Bostock's. In the words of Air Force historian Alan Stephens, "Jones was the head of his service, but he was neither unambiguously its senior officer, nor presiding over a unified command. [...] The system of divided command... was not an ideal arrangement, but with men of goodwill it could have worked. Regrettably Bostock and Jones were not of that mind..."
Friction between the two senior officers over the command structure rapidly deteriorated into a state of "complete obduracy", and remained so until the end of the war. As a direct report to George C. Kenney, USAAF, commander of Allied Air Forces in the South West Pacific Area
(SWPA), Bostock was able to ignore many directives from Jones, his nominal superior in the RAAF. The CAS, however, continued to assert his authority over Bostock’s supplies of manpower and equipment.
In March 1943 Jones proposed that he take over responsibility for air operations in defence of the Australian mainland but General Douglas MacArthur
, Supreme Commander SWPA, refused to countenance it. The next month, with the support of the Air Board, Jones tried to remove Bostock from RAAF Command and replace him with Air Commodore Joe Hewitt
, Air Officer Commanding No. 9 Operational Group
(9OG). Bostock appealed to Kenney, who advised Jones that he was opposed to any such change of command and threatened to escalate the matter to the Australian Government. MacArthur subsequently told Prime Minister Curtin that Hewitt "was not an adequate replacement" for Bostock, and the matter was dropped. Six months later Jones would sack Hewitt over morale issues in 9OG raised during the offensive on Rabaul
; Kenney called Hewitt’s removal "bad news".
Jones himself came under threat of transfer or subordination in April 1943 when the Federal Government began moves to unite the Air Force's command by creating an overarching Air Officer Commanding RAAF position that would have effectively replaced Jones as CAS and also been senior to Bostock. Air Marshal Drummond was again approached but once more the British Air Ministry
refused to release him, having selected him for an Air Council post. Macarthur rejected two other RAF candidates, and the plan was held over. In the King's Birthday Honours
that June, Jones was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
.
By June 1944 the Jones-Bostock conflict and the anomalous division of administrative and operational responsibilities again led the Australian government to consider the appointment of a new commander senior to both officers. Air Marshal Sir Keith Park
, the New Zealand
-born AOC of No. 11 Group RAF
during the Battle of Britain
, was sought for the position but negotiations were broken off when MacArthur advised that it was too late to make such a change and that the problem had now gone "quiet". That it was far from over, however, was apparent in a series of cables exchanged between the two Air Vice Marshals in January 1945. Jones sent a signal to Bostock complaining of the latter’s "insubordinate tone" and "repeated attempts to usurp authority of this Headquarters". Bostock replied that as AOC RAAF Command he was "responsible to Commander, Allied Air Forces, and not, repeat not, subordinate to you”, and that he would "continue to take the strongest exception to your unwarranted and uninformed interference". Despite such acrimony, the command structure remained unchanged for the rest of the war.
Responsible as CAS for building up Australia's air combat assets, in 1943 Jones had given an assurance to the Australian government that he could maintain a force of 73 squadrons, despite Kenney's prediction that even the RAAF's then-currently approved strength of 45 squadrons was beyond its capacity. In the event, by the end of the war Jones had expanded the RAAF to 70 squadrons in the Pacific and Europe, including several heavy bomber units. One of his most controversial decisions of the war was during the invasion of Tarakan
in May 1945 when he grounded Australian B-24 Liberator
squadrons scheduled to take part in the attack, due to their crews having exceeded their monthly quota of flying hours. Bostock was not consulted, and said that he would have thankfully "fallen through a crack in the boards on the deck" as he watched the attacking formations from a U.S. warship, minus the expected RAAF aircraft. Kenney sympathised with him; he once commented in his diary that "Jones and Bostock ... fight each other harder than the Japs".
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Towards the end of the war Jones intervened in the so-called "Morotai Mutiny
", when a number of senior pilots in the Australian First Tactical Air Force
(1TAF) proffered their resignations rather than carry on attacking what they saw as unimportant targets. Jones personally interviewed all but one of the officers involved, later declaring, "I believed them all to be sincere in what they were stating and what they had attempted to do ... Yes, sincerely held beliefs, no matter how ill-founded, coupled possibly with a rather exaggerated sense of national duty."
Kenney also insisted on speaking to the pilots himself, overriding Jones' protestations that it was an internal RAAF matter, and threatened to appear on behalf of the pilots should they be court-martial
led. Jones sacked the Air Officer Commanding 1TAF, his former 4 Squadron comrade Harry Cobby, along with two of Cobby's staff. In what has been considered a reaction to Kenney's threat, Jones insisted that the subsequent inquiry before Justice John Barry
focus not only on the attempted resignations but on reports of alcohol trafficking on Morotai. While no action was taken against the pilots over the mutiny directly, two of the RAAF's best-known aces, Group Captain Clive Caldwell
and Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes
, were court-martialled for their involvement in the alcohol racket and reduced in rank. Although Barry did not find it a significant factor, the Jones-Bostock conflict was also blamed for contributing to the poor morale that precipitated the “mutiny”. One of the other participants, Wing Commander Kenneth Ranger, told the inquiry: "I deplore the fighting and wrangling between them which is common knowledge throughout the Air Force. Every week there are instances of it."
Along with Bostock, Jones represented the RAAF at the Japanese surrender
aboard USS Missouri
in September 1945. With Jones’ concurrence, Bostock and a number of other senior commanders were summarily retired in 1946, in Bostock's case for "inability to work in harmony with certain other high ranking RAAF officers". The CAS oversaw planning for the demobilisation of thousands of RAAF personnel and the creation of a peacetime service, known as the "Interim Air Force". When he was eventually promoted Air Marshal in 1948 the RAAF was made up of approximately 8,000 staff, compared to 175,000—the world's fourth largest air force—he had commanded in 1945 as Air Vice Marshal. Believing that wastage was reaching a critical point, Jones proposed recruiting women into a new service to replace the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
that had been disbanded in September 1946. Blocked initially by the Labor government of the day, it came into being in 1950 as the Women's Royal Australian Air Force
, following the election of Robert Menzies
' Liberal Party
in December 1949.
Concurrently with demobilisation, Jones shaped the RAAF’s "Plan D", adopted in 1947. It outlined the service’s post-war organisation and requirements, which included 16 squadrons flying technologically advanced aircraft. This basic structure remained in place for the next 20 years. In 1949, Jones visited the UK with a team of advisors and recommended the English Electric Canberra
jet to replace the RAAF’s Avro Lincoln
piston-engined bombers. Entering service in 1953, the Canberras ultimately equipped three Squadrons, operating with distinction in the Vietnam War
and continuing to fly until 1982. Other enduring types purchased under Jones’ tenure as CAS included the CAC Sabre
, P-2 Neptune
and CAC Winjeel
.
in April 1950, Jones formed the requisite RAAF assets into one unit, No. 90 (Composite) Wing, to ensure they would operate autonomously rather than be dispersed throughout other Allied groups. He also stipulated that the Air Officer Commanding
all Commonwealth
air force units should be from the RAAF. This was agreed by the British Air Ministry
, and the position gave valuable experience to two future Chiefs of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshals Frederick Scherger
and Val Hancock
. Jones allocated No. 77 Squadron
, then based in Japan as part of British Commonwealth Occupation Forces, to the United Nations Command
when the Korean War
broke out. Prime Minister Menzies rang Jones at home on Saturday, 1 July 1950, requesting a squadron and the unit went into action the following day.
Almost immediately that Menzies' Liberal Party replaced the Chifley
Labor government at the end of 1949, it began to investigate possible replacements (largely from the RAF) for the incumbent CAS, eventually deciding on Air Marshal (later Air Chief Marshal) Sir James (Donald) Hardman
. Jones was informed of his retirement, which he claimed to have been expecting, in December 1951. In a farewell speech at the Australia Club in Melbourne, attended by Menzies, Jones said that organising EATS and expanding the Air Force in the South West Pacific had been his greatest achievements. His official exit from RAAF was on 22 February 1952. The Prime Minister sent him a letter thanking him for his "valuable contribution", which would "long be remembered".
(CAC) and member of the board of Ansett
Transport Industries. In the 1953 New Year Honours, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
for his military service. He retired from the CAC directorship in 1957 but remained on the Ansett board until the early 1970s. Jones pursued a political career in parallel to his aviation industry work, unsuccessfully standing for Liberal Party pre-selection in the seat of Flinders
in 1952. In 1958, he left the Liberals in favour of the Labor Party
, contesting the seat of Henty
in 1961. He switched parties when his views became too leftist for the Liberals, declaring "They got rather nasty with me and wouldn't give me a fair go, so I resigned and joined the Labor Party". He pursued an energetic campaign in Henty, but lost to his Liberal opponent by fewer than 3,000 primary votes.
Jones also evinced an interest in unidentified flying object
s, having first encountered unexplained aerial phenomena at Warrnambool, Victoria
, in 1930. He reported witnessing another UFO in October 1957, but admitted that he was "loath to talk about it publicly lest people should think I was either an incompetent witness or getting a little screwy in the head". In the mid-1960s he patronised the Commonwealth Aerial Phenomena Investigation Organisation and joined the Victorian UFO Research Society. In 1988 Jones published his autobiography, From Private to Air Marshal. He was Australia's last surviving World War I ace when he died in 1992, at the age of 95.
Beyond these controversies, however, Jones significantly influenced the Air Force's development during and after the war. He was honoured for his work running the Empire Air Training Scheme in 1940–42 and has received credit as CAS for building up the RAAF's strength to 70 squadrons by 1945. After the war he played a personal part in improving education within the service, including the establishment of RAAF College
, along similar lines to Royal Military College, Duntroon
and the Royal Australian Naval College
, as well as the RAAF Staff College. One of his last directions as Chief was the formation of RAAF Museum
at Point Cook, where it is still based.
Jones encouraged local industry to design and build trainers for the RAAF and produce more sophisticated combat aircraft under licence from overseas manufacturers. This led to the Winjeel basic trainer and Australian industry co-partnership in production of the CAC Sabre and Canberra jets; such local participation has continued to figure in major RAAF aircraft acquisitions.
He refused to update the Air Force's command structure from one based on region to one of function, something his successor, Air Marshal Sir Donald Hardman
, would accomplish, and has been criticised for a systemic resistance to change. Jones was described in David Horner
's The Commanders as "a steady, sincere but colourless leader", while Alan Stephens found him "a good and decent man, who had overcome considerable personal hardship in his youth to achieve exceptional professional success" but "neither an inspiring leader, nor a notable thinker". Nevertheless his 'Plan D' for the RAAF's post-war organisation remained the service’s blueprint until the early 1970s.
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Sir George Jones KBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, CB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
(18 October 1896 – 24 August 1992) 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...
(RAAF). He rose from private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
soldier in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
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. Jones was a surprise appointee to the Air Force’s top role, and his achievements in the position were coloured by a divisive relationship during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
with his head of operations and nominal subordinate, Air Vice Marshal William Bostock
William Bostock
Air Vice Marshal William Dowling Bostock CB, DSO, OBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. During World War II he led RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation, with responsibility for the defence of Australia and air offensives against Japanese targets in the...
.
Jones first saw action as an infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
man in the Gallipoli campaign
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
of 1915, before transferring to the Australian Flying Corps the following year. Initially an air mechanic, he undertook flying training in 1917 and was posted to a fighter
Fighter aircraft
A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat with other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed primarily to attack ground targets...
squadron in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, achieving seven victories to become an ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
. After a short spell in civilian life following World War I, he joined the newly formed RAAF in 1921, rising steadily through training and personnel commands prior to World War II.
He did not actively seek the position of Chief of the Air Staff before being appointed in 1942, and his conflict with Bostock—with whom he had been friends for 20 years—was partly the result of a divided command structure, which neither man had any direct role in shaping. After World War II Jones had overall responsibility for transforming what was then the world's fourth largest air force into a peacetime service that was also able to meet overseas commitments in Malaya
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....
and Korea
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. Following his retirement from the RAAF he continued to serve in the aircraft industry and later ran unsuccessfully for political office.
Early life
Jones was born near RushworthRushworth, Victoria
Rushworth is a township in Victoria, Australia. It is located north of Melbourne and, at the 2006 census, had a population of 2066.-History:...
, a rural community 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....
. The date that appears on his birth certificate is 22 November 1896; however this was the date of registration and not of the birth itself, which occurred on 18 October. His father, a miner, had died three months earlier. Jones was brought up in a strict Methodist household and for the rest of his life rarely touched alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
. He attended Rushworth State School, leaving at the age of 14 with a Certificate of Merit.
Following his schooling, Jones took an apprenticeship as a carpenter before moving to 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...
, where he became a motor mechanic. He undertook three years part-time military service prior to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, firstly in cadets
Australian Army Cadets
The Australian Army Cadets is a youth organisation that is involved with progressive training of youths in military and adventurous activities. The programme has more than 19,000 Army Cadets between the ages of 12½ and 19 based in 236 units around Australia...
and later in a Militia
Australian Army Reserve
The Australian Army Reserve is a collective name given to the reserve units of the Australian Army. Since the Federation of Australia in 1901, the reserve military force has been known by many names, including the Citizens Forces, the Citizen Military Forces, the Militia and, unofficially, the...
mounted infantry
Mounted infantry
Mounted infantry were soldiers who rode horses instead of marching, but actually fought on foot . The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry...
unit, the 29th Light Horse Regiment (also known as the Port Phillip
Port Phillip
Port Phillip Port Phillip Port Phillip (also commonly referred to as Port Phillip Bay or (locally) just The Bay, is a large bay in southern Victoria, Australia; it is the location of Melbourne. Geographically, the bay covers and the shore stretches roughly . Although it is extremely shallow for...
Horse).
World War I
In May 1915 Jones joined the Australian Imperial ForceAustralian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
, embarking for Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
in August with the 9th Light Horse Regiment. He landed at Gallipoli
Battle of Gallipoli
The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign or the Battle of Gallipoli, took place at the peninsula of Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire between 25 April 1915 and 9 January 1916, during the First World War...
the following month and served there until the end of the campaign in December. His experiences at Gallipoli, especially witnessing the death by enemy fire of one of his friends, affected him deeply and he suffered from headaches and nightmares for years afterwards. After briefly transferring to the Imperial Camel Corps
Imperial Camel Corps
The Imperial Camel Corps was a brigade-sized military formation which fought for the Allies in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign in World War I. Its personnel were infantry mounted on camels for movement across desert....
, Jones applied to join the Australian Flying Corps (AFC) in 1916, taking a drop in rank from corporal
Corporal
Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4....
to private to do so.
Jones became an air mechanic in No. 1 Squadron AFC
No. 1 Squadron RAAF
No. 1 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron based at RAAF Amberley. The squadron is currently being re-equipped with F/A-18F Super Hornet multi-role fighters.-World War I:...
(known as No. 67 Squadron Royal Flying Corps
Royal Flying Corps
The Royal Flying Corps was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of the First World War. During the early part of the war, the RFC's responsibilities were centred on support of the British Army, via artillery co-operation and photographic reconnaissance...
by the British), before being accepted for flying training in England. He gained his wings on 22 November 1917 and was posted to No. 4 Squadron AFC
No. 4 Squadron RAAF
No. 4 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force squadron responsible for training forward air controllers. The squadron was previously a fighter and army co-operation unit active in both World War I and World War II.-World War I:...
(also known as No. 71 Squadron RFC) as a Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
in January the following year. Flying Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
s and Snipes
Sopwith Snipe
The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force . It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of that conflict, in late 1918.The Snipe was not a fast aircraft...
on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, Jones finished the war a Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
and an ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
, with seven victories from 150 patrols, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
. He was badly injured by a bullet wound and petrol burns in combat with a German fighter in March 1918, and did not return to his unit for three months. On 29 October 1918 he achieved two kills in one engagement, at Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, in what is frequently described as "one of the greatest air battles of the war". Amid a confrontation involving over 75 Allied and German fighters, Jones led his patrol of three Snipes in a dive on ten Fokker
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names, starting out in 1912 in Schwerin, Germany, moving to the Netherlands in 1919....
s, destroying a brace of enemy aircraft in the attack.
Inter-war years
Jones remained with the Australian Flying Corps until June 1919, as part of the British Occupation forces in Germany. After returning to Australia he worked as a turnerTurning
Turning is the process whereby a single point cutting tool is parallel to the surface. It can be done manually, in a traditional form of lathe, which frequently requires continuous supervision by the operator, or by using a computer controlled and automated lathe which does not. This type of...
in Melbourne. He married Muriel Cronan, a clerk who also played piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
professionally, on 15 November 1919. They had met prior to the war and kept in touch throughout Jones' overseas postings. The couple's first child, Ronald, arrived on 2 October 1920. A second son, Ian, would be born on 26 June 1934. Jones was described by family members as being a somewhat distant husband and father, dedicated to his career and rarely given to obvious displays of emotion.
Encouraged by a fellow 4 Squadron veteran, Harry Cobby
Arthur Henry Cobby
Air Commodore Arthur Henry Cobby CBE, DSO, DFC & Two Bars, GM was an Australian military aviator...
, Jones applied to join the Permanent Air Force on 22 March 1921. His rank was 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...
, one below the equivalent of his AFC rank of Captain. Another Australian pilot joining the fledgling Air Force was William (Bill) Bostock
William Bostock
Air Vice Marshal William Dowling Bostock CB, DSO, OBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. During World War II he led RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation, with responsibility for the defence of Australia and air offensives against Japanese targets in the...
who, though 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 World War I, had been commissioned a 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"...
in the RAAF, giving him seniority over Jones. The pair nevertheless became firm friends, Bostock acting as something of a mentor to the younger officer. Jones was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on 1 July 1923.
Posted to RAAF Point Cook
RAAF Williams
RAAF Williams comprises the two bases of Point Cook and Laverton. Both establishments previously existed as separate RAAF Bases until 1999 when they were amalgamated to form RAAF Williams...
, Jones was put in charge of the Motor Transport Repair Section and made acting (later permanent) Officer Commanding
Officer 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...
Workshops. He was highly regarded for his technical and administrative ability but rated only "average" in command and dealing with personnel. In 1926 he took up flight instruction
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...
and within a year had been graded a 1A Flying Instructor. He was promoted 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...
on 31 March 1927 and given command of Flying Squadron at 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). Jones spent two years in Britain from 1928, attending the Royal Air Force Staff College
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:...
and graduating top of his class at the RAF’s 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:...
. While in the UK Jones had expected, as the RAAF's senior officer in the country, to accompany the airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
R101
R101
R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airship completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Ministry-appointed team and was effectively in competition...
on its maiden flight to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Instead another Australian officer was nominated; Jones was chagrined at the time but it meant that he avoided the disaster which followed. Returning to Australia in October 1930 he was made Chief Flying Instructor at Point Cook and Officer Commanding 1FTS. On 16 November 1931 Jones became Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters in Melbourne and in April 1936, having been promoted to 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...
, he was made Director of Personnel Services.
Rise to Chief of the Air Staff
Shortly after the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in December 1939, Jones was raised to temporary 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...
. In 1940, returning to the position of Director of Training, he assumed responsibility for Australia’s part in the Empire Air Training Scheme
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
(EATS), establishing many schools, acquiring hundreds of aircraft, and overseeing the training of thousands of airman. The RAAF's Central Flying School
Central Flying School RAAF
The Central Flying School RAAF is a Royal Australian Air Force training establishment, based at RAAF Base East Sale. It was formed in March 1913, and during the First World War it trained over 150 pilots, who fought in Europe and the Middle East....
was reformed in April 1940 to meet the vital requirement for additional flying instructors, whose numbers would grow from 16 in the first year of the war to 3,600 by 1945. His achievements in this role led to Jones being made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in 1941 for "diligence, devotion to duty and perseverance of outstanding merit".
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
(since 21 February 1941) when he succeeded to the role, leapfrogging several more senior officers including his friend Bill Bostock, now an Air Vice Marshal and Deputy Chief of the Air Staff. Bostock, described as the RAAF’s "most capable senior commander" at the time, was believed by himself (and Jones) to be the leading candidate for the position. The suggestion even arose that Jones' selection was a mistake, based on the government's reading of an organisation chart that implied he was the RAAF's most senior officer after Bostock, when in fact he was ranked six places below.
Other potential appointees had included 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 and Air Vice Marshal Peter Drummond
Peter Roy Maxwell Drummond
Air Marshal Sir Peter Roy Maxwell Drummond KCB, DSO & Bar, OBE, MC was an Australian-born commander in the Royal Air Force . He rose from private soldier in World War I to Air Marshal in World War II. Drummond enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in 1914 and saw action during the Gallipoli...
. Williams, however, had been out of favour since his dismissal from the position of CAS in the wake of the Ellington
Edward Leonard Ellington
Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Edward Leonard Ellington GCB, CMG, CBE was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force...
Report criticising RAAF flying safety in 1939, while Drummond was not released from his position as Deputy Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief RAF Middle East
Middle East Command
The Middle East Command was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to defend British interests in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region.The...
. Bostock was first choice of the incumbent 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...
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...
, but the latter’s ill-concealed contempt for John Curtin
John Curtin
John Joseph Curtin , Australian politician, served as the 14th Prime Minister of Australia. Labor under Curtin formed a minority government in 1941 after the crossbench consisting of two independent MPs crossed the floor in the House of Representatives, bringing down the Coalition minority...
's Federal Labor government
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
helped ensure that his preference was ignored. Although he admitted to being "stunned" by the decision, Jones himself had the ambition and a reasonable expectation of becoming CAS at some point in his career. However, he found it occurred "much sooner than I anticipated". Jones had proved his organisational abilities directing EATS, and believed that this was a significant factor in his appointment. His working class origin has also been seen as contributing to his suitability to a Labor government.
Divided command
Passed over as CAS, Bostock became Air Officer CommandingAir 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...
RAAF Command
RAAF Command
RAAF Command was the main operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. The command was established in September 1942 and by April 1943 comprised 27 squadrons, including units from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as Australia...
, in charge of RAAF operations in the Pacific. Jones' role, in contrast, was primarily administrative, that of "raising, training and maintaining" the service. Though the CAS was de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
head of the RAAF, Jones’ new rank of Air Vice Marshal was no higher than Bostock's. In the words of Air Force historian Alan Stephens, "Jones was the head of his service, but he was neither unambiguously its senior officer, nor presiding over a unified command. [...] The system of divided command... was not an ideal arrangement, but with men of goodwill it could have worked. Regrettably Bostock and Jones were not of that mind..."
Friction between the two senior officers over the command structure rapidly deteriorated into a state of "complete obduracy", and remained so until the end of the war. As a direct report to George C. Kenney, USAAF, commander of Allied Air Forces in the South West Pacific Area
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....
(SWPA), Bostock was able to ignore many directives from Jones, his nominal superior in the RAAF. The CAS, however, continued to assert his authority over Bostock’s supplies of manpower and equipment.
In March 1943 Jones proposed that he take over responsibility for air operations in defence of the Australian mainland but General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
, Supreme Commander SWPA, refused to countenance it. The next month, with the support of the Air Board, Jones tried to remove Bostock from RAAF Command and replace him with Air Commodore Joe Hewitt
Joe Hewitt (RAAF officer)
Air Vice Marshal Joseph Eric Hewitt, CBE was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force...
, Air Officer Commanding 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...
(9OG). Bostock appealed to Kenney, who advised Jones that he was opposed to any such change of command and threatened to escalate the matter to the Australian Government. MacArthur subsequently told Prime Minister Curtin that Hewitt "was not an adequate replacement" for Bostock, and the matter was dropped. Six months later Jones would sack Hewitt over morale issues in 9OG raised during the offensive on Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
; Kenney called Hewitt’s removal "bad news".
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
refused to release him, having selected him for an Air Council post. Macarthur rejected two other RAF candidates, and the plan was held over. In the King's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
that June, Jones was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
.
By June 1944 the Jones-Bostock conflict and the anomalous division of administrative and operational responsibilities again led the Australian government to consider the appointment of a new commander senior to both officers. Air Marshal Sir Keith Park
Keith Park
Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park GCB, KBE, MC & Bar, DFC, RAF was a New Zealand soldier, First World War flying ace and Second World War Royal Air Force commander...
, the New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
-born AOC of No. 11 Group RAF
No. 11 Group RAF
No. 11 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century, finally disbanding in 1996. Its most famous service was during 1940 when it defended London and the south-east against the attacks of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain.-First World War:No. 11 Group was...
during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, was sought for the position but negotiations were broken off when MacArthur advised that it was too late to make such a change and that the problem had now gone "quiet". That it was far from over, however, was apparent in a series of cables exchanged between the two Air Vice Marshals in January 1945. Jones sent a signal to Bostock complaining of the latter’s "insubordinate tone" and "repeated attempts to usurp authority of this Headquarters". Bostock replied that as AOC RAAF Command he was "responsible to Commander, Allied Air Forces, and not, repeat not, subordinate to you”, and that he would "continue to take the strongest exception to your unwarranted and uninformed interference". Despite such acrimony, the command structure remained unchanged for the rest of the war.
Responsible as CAS for building up Australia's air combat assets, in 1943 Jones had given an assurance to the Australian government that he could maintain a force of 73 squadrons, despite Kenney's prediction that even the RAAF's then-currently approved strength of 45 squadrons was beyond its capacity. In the event, by the end of the war Jones had expanded the RAAF to 70 squadrons in the Pacific and Europe, including several heavy bomber units. One of his most controversial decisions of the war was during the invasion 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...
in May 1945 when he grounded Australian B-24 Liberator
B-24 Liberator
The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
squadrons scheduled to take part in the attack, due to their crews having exceeded their monthly quota of flying hours. Bostock was not consulted, and said that he would have thankfully "fallen through a crack in the boards on the deck" as he watched the attacking formations from a U.S. warship, minus the expected RAAF aircraft. Kenney sympathised with him; he once commented in his diary that "Jones and Bostock ... fight each other harder than the Japs".
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...
", when a number of senior pilots in 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) proffered their resignations rather than carry on attacking what they saw as unimportant targets. Jones personally interviewed all but one of the officers involved, later declaring, "I believed them all to be sincere in what they were stating and what they had attempted to do ... Yes, sincerely held beliefs, no matter how ill-founded, coupled possibly with a rather exaggerated sense of national duty."
Kenney also insisted on speaking to the pilots himself, overriding Jones' protestations that it was an internal RAAF matter, and threatened to appear on behalf of the pilots should they be court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
led. Jones sacked the Air Officer Commanding 1TAF, his former 4 Squadron comrade Harry Cobby, along with two of Cobby's staff. In what has been considered a reaction to Kenney's threat, Jones insisted that the subsequent inquiry before Justice John Barry
John Vincent Barry
Sir John Vincent William Barry KC was an Australian justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, and an expert in criminology. Born the eldest child of William Edward Barry and Sarah Lena Jeanette, née Keene in Albury, New South Wales, Barry was educated in St Patrick's College, a small convent...
focus not only on the attempted resignations but on reports of alcohol trafficking on Morotai. While no action was taken against the pilots over the mutiny directly, two of the RAAF's best-known aces, Group Captain Clive Caldwell
Clive Caldwell
Group Captain Clive Robertson Caldwell DSO, DFC & Bar was the leading Australian air ace of World War II. He is officially credited with shooting down 28.5 enemy aircraft in over 300 operational sorties. In addition to his official score, he has been ascribed six probables and 15 damaged...
and Wing Commander Bobby Gibbes
Bobby Gibbes
Robert Henry Maxwell Gibbes DSO, DFC & Bar, OAM was a leading Australian fighter ace of World War II. He was officially credited with shooting down 10¼ enemy aircraft, although his score is often reported as 12 destroyed...
, were court-martialled for their involvement in the alcohol racket and reduced in rank. Although Barry did not find it a significant factor, the Jones-Bostock conflict was also blamed for contributing to the poor morale that precipitated the “mutiny”. One of the other participants, Wing Commander Kenneth Ranger, told the inquiry: "I deplore the fighting and wrangling between them which is common knowledge throughout the Air Force. Every week there are instances of it."
The "Interim Air Force"
Japanese Instrument of Surrender
The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that enabled the Surrender of Japan, marking the end of World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, the Union of Soviet Socialist...
aboard USS Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...
in September 1945. With Jones’ concurrence, Bostock and a number of other senior commanders were summarily retired in 1946, in Bostock's case for "inability to work in harmony with certain other high ranking RAAF officers". The CAS oversaw planning for the demobilisation of thousands of RAAF personnel and the creation of a peacetime service, known as the "Interim Air Force". When he was eventually promoted Air Marshal in 1948 the RAAF was made up of approximately 8,000 staff, compared to 175,000—the world's fourth largest air force—he had commanded in 1945 as Air Vice Marshal. Believing that wastage was reaching a critical point, Jones proposed recruiting women into a new service to replace the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve and by the Chief of the Air Staff who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service overseas. The WAAAF was the first and largest of the World War II...
that had been disbanded in September 1946. Blocked initially by the Labor government of the day, it came into being in 1950 as the Women's Royal Australian Air Force
Women's Royal Australian Air Force
The Women's Royal Australian Air Force was formed in 1950, after the success of women serving in the Air Forces had been demonstrated by the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force . The first recruits began training on 30 January 1951. In 1972, the service achieved a pay scale equal to the male...
, following the election of Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
' Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
in December 1949.
Concurrently with demobilisation, Jones shaped the RAAF’s "Plan D", adopted in 1947. It outlined the service’s post-war organisation and requirements, which included 16 squadrons flying technologically advanced aircraft. This basic structure remained in place for the next 20 years. In 1949, Jones visited the UK with a team of advisors and recommended the English Electric 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...
jet to replace the RAAF’s Avro Lincoln
Avro Lincoln
The Avro Type 694, better known as the Avro Lincoln, was a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were known initially as the Lancaster IV and V, but were renamed Lincoln I and II...
piston-engined bombers. Entering service in 1953, the Canberras ultimately equipped three Squadrons, operating with distinction in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and continuing to fly until 1982. Other enduring types purchased under Jones’ tenure as CAS included the CAC 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....
, P-2 Neptune
P-2 Neptune
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune was a Maritime patrol and ASW aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and PV-2 Harpoon, and being replaced in turn with the Lockheed P-3 Orion...
and CAC Winjeel
CAC Winjeel
|-See also:-External links:* http://www.warbirdalley.com/winjeel.htm* http://www.dropbears.com/f/felix_noble/winjeel.htm* http://www.raafmuseum.com.au/raaf2/html/body_winjeel.htm...
.
Overseas commitments and retirement from RAAF
When Australia committed forces to the Malayan EmergencyMalayan 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 April 1950, Jones formed the requisite RAAF assets into one unit, No. 90 (Composite) Wing, to ensure they would operate autonomously rather than be dispersed throughout other Allied groups. He also stipulated that the 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...
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 force units should be from the RAAF. This was agreed by the British Air Ministry
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the British Government with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964...
, and the position gave valuable experience to two future Chiefs of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshals Frederick Scherger
Frederick Scherger
Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rudolph William Scherger KBE, CB, DSO, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force...
and Val Hancock
Valston Hancock
Air Marshal Sir Valston Eldridge Hancock, KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1961 to 1965. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Hancock transferred to the RAAF in 1929 and qualified as a pilot...
. Jones allocated No. 77 Squadron
No. 77 Squadron RAAF
No. 77 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force fighter squadron. The Squadron was formed in 1942 and currently operates F/A-18 Hornet aircraft from RAAF Base Williamtown.-History:...
, then based in Japan as part of British Commonwealth Occupation Forces, to the United Nations Command
United Nations Command (Korea)
The United Nations Command is the unified command structure for the multinational military forces supporting the Republic of Korea during and after the Korean War...
when the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
broke out. Prime Minister Menzies rang Jones at home on Saturday, 1 July 1950, requesting a squadron and the unit went into action the following day.
Almost immediately that Menzies' Liberal Party replaced the Chifley
Ben Chifley
Joseph Benedict Chifley , Australian politician, was the 16th Prime Minister of Australia. He took over the Australian Labor Party leadership and Prime Ministership after the death of John Curtin in 1945, and went on to retain government at the 1946 election, before being defeated at the 1949...
Labor government at the end of 1949, it began to investigate possible replacements (largely from the RAF) for the incumbent CAS, eventually deciding on Air Marshal (later Air Chief Marshal) Sir James (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...
. Jones was informed of his retirement, which he claimed to have been expecting, in December 1951. In a farewell speech at the Australia Club in Melbourne, attended by Menzies, Jones said that organising EATS and expanding the Air Force in the South West Pacific had been his greatest achievements. His official exit from RAAF was on 22 February 1952. The Prime Minister sent him a letter thanking him for his "valuable contribution", which would "long be remembered".
Later life
Following his departure from the Air Force in 1952, Jones became Director of Coordination with the Commonwealth Aircraft CorporationCommonwealth 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) and member of the board of 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...
Transport Industries. In the 1953 New Year Honours, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
for his military service. He retired from the CAC directorship in 1957 but remained on the Ansett board until the early 1970s. Jones pursued a political career in parallel to his aviation industry work, unsuccessfully standing for Liberal Party pre-selection in the seat of Flinders
Division of Flinders
The Division of Flinders is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election...
in 1952. In 1958, he left the Liberals in favour of the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
, contesting the seat of Henty
Division of Henty
The Division of Henty was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1913 and abolished in 1990. It was named for the Henty family of Portland, the first European settlers in Victoria. It was located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, including at various times...
in 1961. He switched parties when his views became too leftist for the Liberals, declaring "They got rather nasty with me and wouldn't give me a fair go, so I resigned and joined the Labor Party". He pursued an energetic campaign in Henty, but lost to his Liberal opponent by fewer than 3,000 primary votes.
Jones also evinced an interest in unidentified flying object
Unidentified flying object
A term originally coined by the military, an unidentified flying object is an unusual apparent anomaly in the sky that is not readily identifiable to the observer as any known object...
s, having first encountered unexplained aerial phenomena at Warrnambool, Victoria
Warrnambool, Victoria
-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
, in 1930. He reported witnessing another UFO in October 1957, but admitted that he was "loath to talk about it publicly lest people should think I was either an incompetent witness or getting a little screwy in the head". In the mid-1960s he patronised the Commonwealth Aerial Phenomena Investigation Organisation and joined the Victorian UFO Research Society. In 1988 Jones published his autobiography, From Private to Air Marshal. He was Australia's last surviving World War I ace when he died in 1992, at the age of 95.
Legacy
Jones' ten years as CAS was the longest continuous tour of any RAAF chief. Despite his longevity in the position, he is still primarily known for two events early in his term, the surprise circumstance of his appointment, and his feud with Bill Bostock that lasted until the end of World War II. The conflict between its two senior officers has been labelled "disastrous" for the RAAF, one that "diminished its standing" in the eyes of its Allies. Jones would claim in his autobiography that he had never intrigued for the role of CAS and would have worked loyally for Bostock if the latter had been appointed.Beyond these controversies, however, Jones significantly influenced the Air Force's development during and after the war. He was honoured for his work running the Empire Air Training Scheme in 1940–42 and has received credit as CAS for building up the RAAF's strength to 70 squadrons by 1945. After the war he played a personal part in improving education within the service, including the establishment of 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...
, along similar lines to 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...
and the Royal Australian Naval College
HMAS Creswell
HMAS Creswell is a shore establishment of the Royal Australian Navy, a part of the Australian Defence Force, and consists of the Royal Australian Naval College , The RAN School of Survivability and Ship's Safety, Kalkara Flight, the Beecroft Weapons Range and an administrative support...
, as well as the RAAF Staff College. One of his last directions as Chief was the formation of RAAF Museum
RAAF Museum
RAAF Museum is the official museum of the Royal Australian Air Force, the second oldest air force in the world, located at RAAF Williams Point Cook. The museum displays aircraft of significance to the RAAF from its inception as the Australian Flying Corps to the present...
at Point Cook, where it is still based.
Jones encouraged local industry to design and build trainers for the RAAF and produce more sophisticated combat aircraft under licence from overseas manufacturers. This led to the Winjeel basic trainer and Australian industry co-partnership in production of the CAC Sabre and Canberra jets; such local participation has continued to figure in major RAAF aircraft acquisitions.
He refused to update the Air Force's command structure from one based on region to one of function, something his 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...
, would accomplish, and has been criticised for a systemic resistance to change. Jones was described in David Horner
David Horner
David Murray Horner AM is an Australian military historian and academic.-Biography:Horner was raised in a military household; his father Murray Horner had served in New Guinea during World War II and later joined the Citizen Military Forces . He joined the Army after completing school in 1966 and...
's The Commanders as "a steady, sincere but colourless leader", while Alan Stephens found him "a good and decent man, who had overcome considerable personal hardship in his youth to achieve exceptional professional success" but "neither an inspiring leader, nor a notable thinker". Nevertheless his 'Plan D' for the RAAF's post-war organisation remained the service’s blueprint until the early 1970s.