Hugh Dowding

ACM HUGH DOWDING d1970. British officer in the Royal Air Force. He was Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain and is generally credited with playing a crucial role in Britain's defence and hence the defeat of Adolf Hitler's plan to invade Britain. He joined the Royal Flying Corps at the start of WW1 and went on to serve as a fighter pilot and then as commanding officer of No16 Squadron. During the inter-war years he became Air Officer Commanding Fighting Area, Air Defence of Great Britain and then joined the Air Council as Air Member for Supply and Research. In July 1936, he was appointed chief of the newly created RAF Fighter Command. During the Battle of Britain in WW2 his Fighter Command successfully defended the UK against the attacks of the Luftwaffe, thanks to his prudent management of RAF resources and detailed preparation of Britain's air defences (the Dowding system). He subsequently came into conflict with proponents of the Big Wing tactic (most notably Trafford Leigh-Mallory and Douglas Bader) which along with the inadaquecies of RAF's night-time defence during the Blitz led to his eventual downfall. In November 1940, he was replaced in command against his wishes by Sholto Douglas another Big Wing advocate. He retired from the Royal Air Force in July 1942 and was made a peer in June 1943. He died aged 87 in Tunbridge Wells on 15th February 1970