Robert Blucke
Encyclopedia
Air Vice Marshal Robert Stewart Blucke CB
CBE
DSO
AFC
& Bar
(22 June 1897 - 2 October 1988) was a Royal Air Force
officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Transport Command
.
in 1915 during World War I
and transferred to No. 63 Squadron
on formation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918. He became a Signals Officer at the Experimental Section of the Royal Aircraft Establishment
in January 1934 and in February 1935 he flew a Handley Page Heyford
over Stowe Nine Churches
becoming the first pilot to be detected by radar
. He served in World War II
as Officer Commanding
the Blind Approach Training and Development Unit and then as Officer Commanding the Wireless Investigation Development Unit before joining the Directorate of Flying Training at the Air Ministry
in November 1940. He became Station Commander at RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
in 1942, in which role he was awarded the DSO
for a bombing run over Mannheim
in a damaged Lancaster
, before becoming Station Commander at RAF Ludford Magna
in 1943 and Air Officer Commanding No. 1 (Bomber) Group
in 1945.
After the War he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at Air Headquarters India
and then became Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Technical Training Command in 1947. He went on to be Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Far East Air Force in 1949, Air Officer Commanding Air Headquarters Malaya in 1951 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Transport Command
in January 1952 before retiring in July 1952.
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...
CBE
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...
DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
AFC
Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
The Air Force Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom Armed Forces, and formerly also to officers of the other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying, though not in active operations against the enemy"...
& Bar
Medal bar
A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
(22 June 1897 - 2 October 1988) was a 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...
officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Transport Command
RAF Transport Command
RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967.-History:...
.
RAF career
Blucke was commissioned into the 3rd Bn the Dorsetshire RegimentDorset Regiment
The Dorset Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1958, the county regiment of Dorset. Until 1951 it was formally called The Dorsetshire Regiment, although usually known as "The Dorsets".-History:...
in 1915 during 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...
and transferred to No. 63 Squadron
No. 63 Squadron RAF
-In World War I:No. 63 Squadron was formed on 31 August 1916 at Stirling, Scotland as a squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. The squadron was intended to operate as a day-bomber unit over the Western Front in France, and was therefore equipped with de Havilland DH4 aircraft; however at the last...
on formation of the Royal Air Force in April 1918. He became a Signals Officer at the Experimental Section of the Royal Aircraft Establishment
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment , was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the UK Ministry of Defence , before finally losing its identity in mergers with other institutions.The first site was at Farnborough...
in January 1934 and in February 1935 he flew a Handley Page Heyford
Handley Page Heyford
The Handley Page Heyford was a twin-engine British biplane bomber of the 1930s. Although it had a short service life, it equipped several squadrons of the RAF as one of the most important British bombers of the mid-1930s, and was the last biplane heavy bomber to serve with the RAF.-Design and...
over Stowe Nine Churches
Stowe Nine Churches
Stowe Nine Churches is a civil parish incorporating the settlements of Church Stowe and Upper Stowe in the English county of Northamptonshire.-Name:...
becoming the first pilot to be detected by radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
. He served in 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...
as 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...
the Blind Approach Training and Development Unit and then as Officer Commanding the Wireless Investigation Development Unit before joining the Directorate of Flying Training 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 November 1940. He became Station Commander at RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor
RAF Holme-on-Spalding Moor, or more simply RAF Holme as it was also known, was an airfield in Yorkshire. Built during the Second World War, it was used during the war by the Royal Air Force as a bomber station, and after the war as a transport base and bomb store before being "mothballed"...
in 1942, in which role he was awarded the DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
for a bombing run over Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
in a damaged Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
, before becoming Station Commander at RAF Ludford Magna
RAF Ludford Magna
RAF Ludford Magna was a Royal Air Force airfield operated by Bomber Command during World War II and the Cold War. The station lay on agricultural farmland immediately south of the village of Ludford, Lincolnshire and was sited 21.4 miles north east of the county town of Lincoln, Lincolnshire...
in 1943 and Air Officer Commanding No. 1 (Bomber) Group
No. 1 Group RAF
Number 1 Group of the Royal Air Force is one of the two operations groups in Air Command.The group is today referred to as the Air Combat Group, as it controls the RAF's combat fast-jet aircraft and has airfields in the UK plus RAF Unit Goose Bay in Canada, which is used extensively as an...
in 1945.
After the War he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at Air Headquarters India
Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces. Its primary responsibility is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict...
and then became Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Technical Training Command in 1947. He went on to be Air Officer Administration at Headquarters Far East Air Force in 1949, Air Officer Commanding Air Headquarters Malaya in 1951 and Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Transport Command
RAF Transport Command
RAF Transport Command was a Royal Air Force command that controlled all transport aircraft of the RAF. It was established on 25 March 1943 by the renaming of the RAF Ferry Command, and was subsequently renamed RAF Air Support Command in 1967.-History:...
in January 1952 before retiring in July 1952.