page:  = Frank <unk> = 
   
   Air Vice Marshal Frank <unk> , CB , CBE ( 15 July 1914 – 23 December 1976 ) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) . Born and educated in Tasmania , he joined the RAAF as an air cadet in January 1934 . He specialised in flying instruction and navigation before the outbreak of World War II . In April 1941 , he became commanding officer of No. 2 Squadron , which operated Lockheed <unk> . The squadron was deployed to Dutch Timor in December , and saw action against Japanese forces in the South West Pacific . After returning to Australia in February 1942 , <unk> held staff appointments and training commands , finishing the war a group captain . 
   <unk> served as Officer Commanding North @-@ Western Area in 1946 , and as Director of Training from 1947 to 1950 . In 1950 – 51 , during the Malayan Emergency , he was stationed at Singapore as commander of No. 90 ( Composite ) Wing and , later , RAF <unk> . He twice served as acting Air Member for Personnel , in 1957 and 1959 – 60 , receiving appointment as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1958 . Promoted air vice marshal , he successively held the positions of Air Officer Commanding ( AOC ) Operational Command in 1961 – 62 , AOC No. 224 Group RAF from 1962 to 1965 during the Indonesia – Malaysia <unk> , Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in 1965 – 66 , and AOC Support Command in 1966 – 67 . He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1965 . Following a posting to London as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff from 1968 to 1971 , he retired from the Air Force and died in Melbourne five years later . 
   
   = = Early career = = 
   
   The son of farmers Malcolm and Hilda <unk> , Frank <unk> was born on 15 July 1914 in <unk> , Tasmania . He was <unk> at <unk> College , Hobart , and <unk> in 1932 . Against the wishes of his parents he joined the Royal Australian Air Force ( RAAF ) as an air cadet on 16 January 1934 . He underwent flying instruction with No. 1 Flying Training School ( <unk> ) at RAAF Point Cook , Victoria , and was commissioned as a pilot officer on 1 January 1935 . 
   After completing a conversion course , <unk> was assigned to the <unk> Squadron at Point Cook . No larger than a flight according to the official history of the pre @-@ war RAAF , <unk> Squadron was part of No. 1 <unk> and operated <unk> Southampton flying boats and de Havilland <unk> Moth <unk> , among other types . During this posting <unk> was promoted to flying officer , on 1 July 1935 , and wrote a paper on national defence in which he suggested that with " strong air forces , naval forces ( including submarines ) , and fixed defences , Australia may be made practically <unk> " . According to Air Force historian Alan Stephens , this paper " in effect , defined the ' anti @-@ <unk> ' concept which has been a persistent feature of RAAF strategic thinking " . 
   <unk> completed a flying instructors course in July 1936 and joined the staff of No. 1 <unk> . He was promoted to flight lieutenant on 1 March 1937 . <unk> in July 1938 , he was one of six students to take part in the RAAF 's first Long <unk> Navigation Course , run by Flight <unk> Bill <unk> and <unk> Murdoch at Point Cook . The course involved several epic training flights that attracted considerable media attention , including a twelve @-@ day , 10 @,@ 800 @-@ kilometre ( 6 @,@ 700 mi ) round @-@ Australia trip by three Avro Ansons , one of which was <unk> by <unk> , in November . The following month , <unk> led the three Ansons on a six @-@ day journey back and forth over Central Australia . He subsequently passed the navigation course with a special distinction . On 27 January 1939 he was posted to RAAF Station Laverton , Victoria , as a flight commander . He served initially with No. 2 Squadron , before transferring to No. 1 Squadron on 29 August . Both units operated Ansons . 
   
   = = World War II = = 
   
   Following the outbreak of World War II , No. 1 Squadron was engaged in convoy escort and maritime reconnaissance duties off south @-@ eastern Australia . <unk> continued to serve with the squadron as a flight commander until 15 January 1940 , when he was assigned to Headquarters Laverton as the station navigation officer . On 27 March he was posted to the staff of RAAF Headquarters , Melbourne . He was promoted to squadron leader on 1 June 1940 . Two weeks later he married Katherine Bridge at St Paul 's Anglican Church in <unk> ; the couple would have a son and a daughter . 
   <unk> was given command of No. 2 Squadron at Laverton on 15 April 1941 , and raised to wing commander on 1 July . <unk> with Lockheed <unk> , the squadron mainly conducted maritime patrols in southern waters until 5 December , when four of its aircraft were ordered to Darwin , Northern Territory , in response to fears of Japanese aggression in the Pacific . On 7 December , this detachment established itself at <unk> , near <unk> in Dutch Timor , while No. 2 Squadron 's eight remaining <unk> were stationed at Darwin on standby . The following day , aware that Australia was now at war in the Pacific , one of the <unk> @-@ based <unk> attacked the Japanese <unk> <unk> <unk> , which was suspected of being a radio ship , and forced it aground . By 12 December , <unk> had transferred to <unk> as commanding officer of the base , as well as No. 2 Squadron . 
   During January 1942 , No. 2 Squadron 's aircraft were dispersed at <unk> , <unk> Island , and Darwin . The <unk> detachment attacked Japanese shipping taking part in the invasion of <unk> . Two <unk> shot down or damaged three Japanese <unk> that attacked them as they were bombing a transport ship on 11 January ; the next day both <unk> were themselves shot down by <unk> <unk> . <unk> was bombed by the Japanese for the first time on 26 January 1942 , and attacked regularly thereafter , damaging some aircraft . The intact <unk> were withdrawn to Darwin but <unk> and his staff remained at <unk> to enable the base to be used by aircraft during reconnaissance missions from Australia . On 18 February , <unk> was ordered to evacuate all his personnel except a small party to <unk> the airfield with assistance from <unk> Force . He returned to Darwin the following day , just as the city experienced its first raid by the Japanese . Four of No. 2 Squadron 's <unk> were destroyed in the attack ; the remainder were relocated to Daly Waters , where they continued to carry out reconnaissance and bombing missions against Japanese targets in Timor . 
   <unk> remained in Darwin as <unk> of Operations at Headquarters North @-@ Western Area Command until 12 May 1942 , when he was posted to <unk> , Victoria , as commanding officer of No. 2 Air Navigation School , operating Ansons . No. 97 ( Reserve ) Squadron was formed from the school 's personnel in June . On 20 July 1943 , <unk> took command of No. 2 Air Observer School ( <unk> ) , also operating Ansons , at Mount Gambier , South Australia . He was promoted to group captain on 1 December 1943 , and was appointed the inaugural commanding officer of No. 3 <unk> , operating Ansons and <unk> Battles out of Port <unk> , on 9 December . After handing over command of No. 3 <unk> , he commenced studies at RAAF Staff School in Mount Martha , Victoria , on 2 October 1944 . He was appointed senior administrative staff officer at North @-@ Western Area Command on 12 January 1945 . 
   
   = = Post @-@ war career = = 
   
   <unk> became Officer Commanding North @-@ Western Area in January 1946 . <unk> to Britain at the end of the year , he attended the Royal Air Force Staff College , <unk> , and served with RAAF Overseas Headquarters , London . On his return to Australia , in November 1947 , he became Director of Training at RAAF Headquarters . In November 1950 , <unk> was appointed to take over command of No. 90 ( Composite ) Wing from Group Captain Paddy <unk> . Headquartered at RAF <unk> , Singapore , No. 90 Wing controlled RAAF units operating during the Malayan Emergency : No. 1 ( <unk> ) Squadron , flying Avro <unk> , and No. 38 ( Transport ) Squadron , flying Douglas C @-@ 47 Dakotas . The <unk> conducted area bombing missions over communist @-@ held territory , as well as strikes against <unk> targets . The Dakotas were tasked with <unk> flights , <unk> transport and medical <unk> across South East Asia , and in Malaya with <unk> troops and cargo , dropping supplies to friendly forces and <unk> propaganda leaflets . <unk> was slightly injured on 20 December , when a No. 38 Squadron Dakota he was co @-@ <unk> on a supply drop crash @-@ landed at Kampong <unk> in <unk> , following engine failure . In August 1951 he was named commander of RAF <unk> , Singapore , in addition to his post as commanding officer of No. 90 Wing . <unk> handed over command of No. 90 Wing in December 1951 . 
   On 19 February 1952 , <unk> became senior air staff officer ( <unk> ) at Eastern Area Command in <unk> , New South Wales . During his term as <unk> , the RAAF began re @-@ <unk> with English Electric Canberra jet bombers and CAC Sabre jet fighters . The Air Force also underwent a major <unk> change , as it transitioned from a geographically based command @-@ and @-@ control system to one based on function , resulting in the establishment of Home ( operational ) , Training , and Maintenance <unk> . Eastern Area Command , considered a de facto operational headquarters owing to the <unk> of combat units under its control , was reorganised as Home Command in October 1953 . <unk> was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire ( OBE ) in the 1954 New Year Honours for his " exceptional ability and devotion to duty " . He was promoted to acting air <unk> in May . His appointment as aide @-@ de @-@ camp to Queen Elizabeth II was announced on 7 October 1954 . 
   <unk> was promoted to substantive air <unk> on 1 January 1955 . In November he was posted to RAAF Overseas Headquarters , London , and the following year undertook studies at the Imperial Defence College . Returning to Australia , he served as acting Air Member for Personnel at the Department of Air , Canberra , from 19 March to 21 October 1957 , between the terms of Air Vice <unk> Fred <unk> and Allan Walters , and again from 24 August 1959 to 28 March 1960 , between the terms of Walters and Air Vice Marshal Bill <unk> . In this role <unk> occupied a seat on the Air Board , the service 's controlling body that comprised its senior officers and was chaired by the Chief of the Air Staff . He was also one of two RAAF representatives to serve on a committee , chaired by businessman William John Allison , examining conditions of defence service ; the committee 's recommendations led to a doubling of flight pay , among other improvements . <unk> 's other positions at the Department of Air included Air Commodore Plans from October 1957 to January 1959 , and Director General Plans and Policy from January to August 1959 . The latter assignment put him in charge of the RAAF 's Directorate of Intelligence . <unk> was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) in the 1958 Queen 's <unk> Honours , <unk> on 3 June . In May 1960 he became acting Deputy Chief of the Air Staff . 
   On 30 January 1961 , <unk> joined the staff of Operational Command ( <unk> ) , the successor organisation to Home Command , responsible for the direction of RAAF operational units . He took over as Air Officer Commanding ( AOC ) <unk> from Air Vice Marshal <unk> Hancock in April . <unk> was promoted to air vice marshal on 29 May . On 17 July 1962 , he was posted to RAAF Base <unk> , Malaya , and took up the appointment of AOC No. 224 Group RAF in Singapore one week later . He was succeeded as AOC <unk> by Air Vice Marshal <unk> Murdoch . As AOC No. 224 Group , <unk> had overall responsibility for regional air defence and offensive air operations during the <unk> Rebellion in December 1962 , and the subsequent <unk> between Indonesia and Malaysia that officially began the following month . <unk> from his first wife in 1956 , he married widowed social worker Vernon Spence at the Sydney registry office on 20 January 1964 . He handed over No. 224 Group to Air Vice Marshal Christopher <unk> @-@ Norris on 30 November . 
   Returning to Australia , <unk> became Deputy Chief of the Air Staff ( <unk> ) on 26 January 1965 . He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) " in recognition of distinguished service in the Borneo Territories " on 22 June . His tenure as <unk> coincided with the most significant <unk> program the Air Force had undertaken since World War II , and with manpower shortages stemming from this expansion and from Australia 's increasing involvement in the security of South East Asia . The first RAAF helicopters were committed to the Vietnam War towards the end of his term , and he travelled to Saigon with the Chief of the General Staff , Lieutenant General Sir John <unk> , in March 1966 to plan the deployment . The year before , <unk> had recommended to Air Marshal Murdoch , the Chief of the Air Staff , that two Iroquois be sent to Vietnam for <unk> purposes ; Murdoch had rebuffed <unk> , and the RAAF helicopter squadron was considered <unk> for its army co @-@ operation role when it finally did deploy . <unk> succeeded Air Vice Marshal Douglas Candy as AOC Support Command , Melbourne , on 8 August 1966 . Support Command had been formed in 1959 , by merging the RAAF 's former Training and Maintenance <unk> . On 1 January 1968 , <unk> was posted to London as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff . He served as an Extra Gentleman Usher to the Queen from 17 November 1970 to 5 June 1971 . 
   
   = = <unk> = = 
   
   Returning to Australia in June 1971 , <unk> took <unk> leave before retiring from the Air Force on 3 August . He made his home in Melbourne , where he died aged 62 on 23 December 1976 , after a lengthy battle with cancer . <unk> by his children and his second wife , he was given a private funeral and <unk> at <unk> <unk> . 
   
   