John Dowling (RAF officer)
Appearance
John Dowling | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "Mr Helicopter"[1] |
Born | Manchester, England | 5 July 1923
Died | July 2000 |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Air Force |
Years of service | 1941–1978 |
Rank | Wing Commander |
Commands | No. 72 Squadron (1961–62) |
Battles/wars | Second World War Berlin Airlift Malayan Emergency Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation |
Awards | Member of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar Air Force Cross Mentioned in Despatches |
![A Belvedere helicopter lifts the spire over Coventry Cathedral](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Belvedere_over_Coventry.png/220px-Belvedere_over_Coventry.png)
Wing Commander John Reginald Dowling, MBE, DFC & Bar, AFC[2] (5 July 1923 – July 2000) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and helicopter pilot famous for placing the spire of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral on 22 April 1962.[1] He was a Lancaster bomber pilot during the Second World War, and the author of RAF Helicopters: The First Twenty Years, a comprehensive overview of the RAF's early helicopters and their uses.[1]
Dowling was born in Withington Manchester, the son of Dr Stephen Dowling and Mrs Kathleen Dowling (née Gilmore). One of four children, he was educated at Ampleforth College and practised Catholicism all of his life.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Wing Commander John Dowling". The Telegraph. London. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
- ^ "No. 41589". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1958. p. 9.
Categories:
- 1923 births
- 2000 deaths
- British World War II pilots
- British World War II bomber pilots
- Helicopter pilots
- British military personnel of the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
- Members of the Order of the British Empire
- Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
- Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)
- Royal Air Force wing commanders
- Royal Air Force personnel of the Malayan Emergency
- Military personnel from Manchester
- People educated at Ampleforth College
- Royal Air Force personnel stubs