Ralph Sorley
Encyclopedia
Air Marshal
Sir Ralph Squire Sorley, KCB
, OBE
, DSC
, DFC
, FRAeS, FRSA (9 January 1898 - 17 November 1974) was a World War I pilot with the Royal Naval Air Service
and the Royal Air Force
, who was also a senior commander during World War II
. After the War he held several senior RAF appointments until his retirement in 1948 in the rank of Air Marshal. and in 1947 was made a Commander of the Legion of Merit
of the United States of America.
He was instrumental in the specification of the armament of both the Supermarine Spitfire
and the Hawker Hurricane
, he founded the Empire Test Pilots' School
, foresaw the need for air-to-air missiles in the post-World War II
world and, having left the RAF to join De Havilland
, provided the RAF with such a weapon system.
in 1914. He served with distinction as a pilot in World War I
, earning his DSC "for the determined and successful bombing attacks on the "Breslau
" and "Goeben
" on the 20 January 1918,and subsequent days, both by day and by night." In the immediate post-war years he served in Iraq
and Palestine
before returning in 1924 to join the staff of the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment
in Felixstowe
.
He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 8 Squadron in 1931 and Squadron Leader
at the Operational Requirements section at the Air Ministry
in 1933. It was during his time as Squadron Leader in charge at the Operational Requirements section that the Operational Requirement F.36/34, which governed the procurement of both the Supermarine Spitfire
and the Hawker Hurricane
, was amended on his recommendation to change the armament from two .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun
s in each wing to four .303 in (7.7 mm) Brownings
. He went on to be Officer Commanding, No 4 Armament Training Station at RAF West Freugh
in 1937.
In 1939 he was made Station Commander at RAF Upwood
and in 1940 he became Commandant of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment
(A&AEE), MOD Boscombe Down
, after which he became Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. In his role as Controller of Research & Development, Ministry of Aircraft Production
in 1943 he created the Test Pilots' Training Flight, which was soon renamed the Test Pilots' School, the world's first such training establishment. It became the Empire Test Pilots' School
the following year. He was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours List
in June 1944. After the War he was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Technical Training Command
.
Upon his retirement from the RAF in 1948, Sorley joined the Board of De Havilland Propellers Ltd as its Managing Director, a post he held for twelve years. He recognised the need to diversify from manufacturing propellers due to the advent of the jet engine
and was instrumental in the development of the de Havilland Firestreak airborne infrared
missile, which became the RAF's main air defence weapon at the time.
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 Ralph Squire Sorley, KCB
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...
, OBE
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...
, DSC
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
, 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...
, FRAeS, FRSA (9 January 1898 - 17 November 1974) was a World War I pilot with the Royal Naval Air Service
Royal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
and 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...
, who was also a senior commander 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...
. After the War he held several senior RAF appointments until his retirement in 1948 in the rank of Air Marshal. and in 1947 was made a Commander of the Legion of Merit
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
of the United States of America.
He was instrumental in the specification of the armament of both the Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
, he founded the Empire Test Pilots' School
Empire Test Pilots' School
The Empire Test Pilots' School is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type...
, foresaw the need for air-to-air missiles in the post-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...
world and, having left the RAF to join De Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
, provided the RAF with such a weapon system.
Career
Sorley joined the Royal Naval Air ServiceRoyal Naval Air Service
The Royal Naval Air Service or RNAS was the air arm of the Royal Navy until near the end of the First World War, when it merged with the British Army's Royal Flying Corps to form a new service , the Royal Air Force...
in 1914. He served with distinction as a pilot 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...
, earning his DSC "for the determined and successful bombing attacks on the "Breslau
SMS Breslau
SMS Breslau was a Magdeburg-class light cruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine , built in the early 1910s. Following her commissioning, Breslau and the battlecruiser were assigned to the Mittelmeerdivision in response to the Balkan Wars...
" and "Goeben
SMS Goeben
SMS Goeben was the second of two Moltke-class battlecruisers of the Imperial German Navy, launched in 1911 and named after the German Franco-Prussian War veteran General August Karl von Goeben...
" on the 20 January 1918,and subsequent days, both by day and by night." In the immediate post-war years he served in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
before returning in 1924 to join the staff of the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment
Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment
The Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment was a British military research and test organisation. It was originally formed as the Marine Aircraft Experimental Station in October 1918 at RAF Isle of Grain, a former Royal Naval Air Service seaplane base, to design, test and evaluate seaplanes,...
in Felixstowe
Felixstowe
Felixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
.
He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 8 Squadron in 1931 and 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...
at the Operational Requirements section at the 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...
in 1933. It was during his time as Squadron Leader in charge at the Operational Requirements section that the Operational Requirement F.36/34, which governed the procurement of both the Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and the Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
, was amended on his recommendation to change the armament from two .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun
Vickers machine gun
Not to be confused with the Vickers light machine gunThe Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled .303 inch machine gun produced by Vickers Limited, originally for the British Army...
s in each wing to four .303 in (7.7 mm) Brownings
M1919 Browning machine gun
The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...
. He went on to be Officer Commanding, No 4 Armament Training Station at RAF West Freugh
RAF West Freugh
RAF West Freugh is a Royal Air Force station located in Wigtownshire, five miles south east of Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland....
in 1937.
In 1939 he was made Station Commander at RAF Upwood
RAF Upwood
RAF Upwood was a United States Air Force installation adjacent to the village of Upwood, Cambridgeshire in the United Kingdom.It is a non-flying station which was under the control of the United States Air Force, and one of three RAF stations in Cambridgeshire currently used by the United States...
and in 1940 he became Commandant of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment
The Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment was a research facility for British military aviation from 1918 to 1992.-History:...
(A&AEE), MOD Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down
MoD Boscombe Down is an aircraft testing site located at Idmiston, south of Amesbury, in Wiltshire, England. It is run and managed by QinetiQ, the company created as part of the breakup of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency in 2001 by the UK Ministry of Defence...
, after which he became Assistant Chief of the Air Staff. In his role as Controller of Research & Development, Ministry of Aircraft Production
Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II...
in 1943 he created the Test Pilots' Training Flight, which was soon renamed the Test Pilots' School, the world's first such training establishment. It became the Empire Test Pilots' School
Empire Test Pilots' School
The Empire Test Pilots' School is a British training school for test pilots and flight test engineers of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft at MoD Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England. It was established in 1943, the first of its type...
the following year. He was knighted in the King's Birthday Honours List
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...
in June 1944. After the War he was appointed Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at Technical Training Command
RAF Technical Training Command
Technical Training Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force which controlled units responsible for delivering aircraft maintenance training and other non-flying training, initially in Berkshire then in Cambridgeshire.-History:...
.
Upon his retirement from the RAF in 1948, Sorley joined the Board of De Havilland Propellers Ltd as its Managing Director, a post he held for twelve years. He recognised the need to diversify from manufacturing propellers due to the advent of the jet engine
Jet engine
A jet engine is a reaction engine that discharges a fast moving jet to generate thrust by jet propulsion and in accordance with Newton's laws of motion. This broad definition of jet engines includes turbojets, turbofans, rockets, ramjets, pulse jets...
and was instrumental in the development of the de Havilland Firestreak airborne infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
missile, which became the RAF's main air defence weapon at the time.
Honours and awards
- Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath - 8 Jun 1944 (CB - 11 Jun 1942)
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire - 23 Jun 1936
- Distinguished Service CrossDistinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
- 14 Sep 1918 - Distinguished Flying CrossDistinguished 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...
- 28 Oct 1921 - Commander of Legion of MeritLegion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...
(United States) - 6 May 1947 - Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical SocietyRoyal Aeronautical SocietyThe Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community.-Function:...
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts