Anthony Noble Frankland 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...

, (1922–), D.Phil., is a British historian.

Noble Frankland attended Trinity College, Oxford

Trinity College, Oxford

The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...

 from March 1941 to May 1942, and then from October 1945 to November 1947. He served in the Royal Air Force

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 (RAF) from 1941 to 1945, as a navigator in RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command

RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...

 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. From 1948 until 1951 he worked at the Air Historical Branch of the Air Ministry, and received his DPhil from Oxford in April 1951. He was an Official Military Historian to the Cabinet Office between 1951 and 1958, during which time he completed a four volume official history of the RAF's strategic air offensive against Germany with his co-author Sir Charles Webster, as part of the official History of the Second World War

History of the Second World War

The History of the Second World War is the official history of Britain's contribution to the Second World War and was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office . This immense project was sub-divided into a number of areas to ease publication. Military operations are covered in the United Kingdom...

 series. In 1963 he was invited to give the Lees Knowle Lecture and lectured on The strategic air offensive. From 1960 to 1982 he was Director of the Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...

 and transformed it from a failing institution into one of the world's leading historical centres for the study of the conflicts of the 20th century. While still serving as Director of the Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...

 he was advisor to the Thames Television

Thames Television

Thames Television was a licensee of the British ITV television network, covering London and parts of the surrounding counties on weekdays from 30 July 1968 until 31 December 1992....

 series, The World at War (1971-4) and completed several books on historical subjects.

Other works

• Noble Frankland (1981). Preface to The Imperial War Museum Duxford Handbook
• Noble Frankland (1981). Introduction to A Concise Catalogue of Paintings drawings and Sculpture of the first World War 1914-1918, Second Edition