Marshal of the Royal Air Force William Sholto Douglas, 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside GCB MC DFC (December 23, 1893 - October 29, 1969) was a senior figure in the Royal Air Force up to and during World War II. Marshal of the RAF sleeve/shoulder insignia Marshal of the Royal Air Force was the highest rank in the Royal Air Force. ... December 23 is the 357th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (358th in leap years). ... 1893 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... October 29 is the 302nd day of the year (303rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 63 days remaining. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday For other uses, see Number 1969. ... The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the...

Born in Headington, Oxfordshire he was educated at Tonbridge School and Lincoln College, Oxford. At the outbreak of World War I he joined an artillery company. In 1915, following a disagreement with his Commanding Officer, he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and became a fighter pilot, ending the war as leader of 84 Squadron with a Military Cross and a Distinguished Flying Cross. The Headington Shark Headington is a residential suburb of Oxford, England, lying on top of a hill of the same name overlooking the city of Oxford in the river valley below. ... Oxfordshire (abbreviated Oxon, from Latin Oxonia) is a county in south-east England, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire. ... Tonbridge School is a British independent all boys boarding school in Tonbridge, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd. ... College name Lincoln College Named after Richard Fleming, Bishop of Lincoln Established 1427 Sister College Downing College Rector Prof. ... Combatants Entente Powers Central Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties > 5 million military deaths > 3 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War I, also known as the First World War and (before 1939) the Great War, the War of the Nations, War to End All Wars, was a world... The Royal Regiment of Artillery, generally known as the Royal Artillery (RA), is, despite its name, a corps of the British Army It is made up of a number of regiments. ... The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the over-land air arm of the British military during most of World War I. Origin and Early History Formed by Royal Warrant on May 13, 1912, the RFC superseded the Air Battalion of the Royal Engineers. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... No. ... Military Cross The Military Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army, and formerly also to officers of the armies of other Commonwealth countries, for distinguished and meritorious services in battle. ... This article is about the award given in the United Kingdom; a separate article describes the award given in the United States. ...

Post-war he worked briefly for Handley Page and as a commercial pilot before rejoining the Royal Air Force in 1920. He became an RAF instructor before being appointed to the Air Ministry in 1936. He was raised to Air Vice Marshal in 1938 and made assistant chief of air staff. Handley Page logo The Handley Page Aircraft Company was founded by Frederick Handley Page in 1909 as the United Kingdoms first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. ... The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... An Air Vice Marshals sleeve/shoulder insignia An Air Vice Marshals command flag Air Vice Marshal is the third most senior rank active in the Royal Air Force today, after the inactivation of Marshal of the Royal Air Force as a substantive rank in peacetime during defence cuts...

During World War II he and Trafford Leigh-Mallory clashed with the head of 11 Group, Keith Park, and the head of Fighter Command, Hugh Dowding, over strategy in the Battle of Britain. Douglas argued for a more aggressive engagement with a 'Big Wing' strategy. When Charles Portal was made Chief of the Air Staff in October 1940 he supported Douglas, moving Park and Dowding and appointing Douglas to replace Dowding as head of Fighter Command. Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War (sometimes WW2 or WWII or World War Two), was a mid-20th century conflict that engulfed much of the... Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory KCB, DSO and Bar (11 July 1892 - 14 November 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in World War II and the highest-ranking British officer to die in the war. ... Air Chief Marshal Sir Keith Rodney Park GCB, KBE, MC, DFC, DCL (June 15, 1892 - February 6, 1975) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force in World War II. // Early Life and Army Career Park was born near Auckland, New Zealand. ... Fighter Command was one of three functional commands that dominated the public perception of the RAF for much of the mid-20th century. ... Hugh Caswell Tremenheere Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding G.C.B., G.C.V.O., C.M.G. (24 April 1882 - 15 February 1970) was a British officer in the Royal Air Force. ... Combatants British Royal Air Force and allies Nazi German Luftwaffe Commanders Hugh Dowding Hermann Göring Strength approx 700 fighters (at the beginning) 1,260 bombers; 316 dive-bombers; 1,089 fighters Casualties 1,547 aircraft; Civilian: 27,450 dead, 32,138 wounded 1,887 aircraft A major campaign of... The Big Wing, also known as a Balbo, was a air fighting tactic proposed during the Battle of Britain by Acting Squadron Leader Douglas Bader and 12 Group commander Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. ... RAF Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal (left) and Polish Commander in Chief Władysław Sikorski (right) visit an airbase of the 300th Polish Bomber Squadron in England. ... Chief of the Air Staff can also refer to the head of the Canadian Forces Air Command. ...

In 1942 Douglas was replaced at Fighter Command by Leigh-Mallory and was transferred to Egypt, becoming commander of the RAF in the Middle East in 1943. Douglas returned to England in 1944 to head Coastal Command during the invasion of Normandy. Coastal Command was an organization within the Royal Air Force tasked with protecting the United Kingdom from naval threats. ... Combatants Allied Powers Nazi Germany Commanders Dwight D. Eisenhower (Supreme Allied Commander) Bernard Montgomery (land) Bertram Ramsay (sea) Trafford Leigh-Mallory (air) Gerd von Rundstedt (OB WEST) Erwin Rommel (Heeresgruppe B) Strength 326,000 (by June 11)  ? Casualties 53,700 dead, 18,000 missing, 155,000 wounded about 200,000...

Douglas was well rewarded after the war. He was the first commander of the British Occupation Zone in Germany and in 1946 he was promoted to Marshal of the Royal Air Force, one of only two RAF officers ever to hold this rank without serving as Chief of the Air Staff. In 1948 he was made 1st Baron Douglas of Kirtleside. Douglas retired in 1948 and became chairman of BEA in 1949 a post he retained until 1964. Chief of the Air Staff can also refer to the head of the Canadian Forces Air Command. ... Spaytans brader Baron is a specific title of nobility or a more generic feudal qualification. ... For alternate usages of BEA see Bea (disambiguation). ...

Reference

• Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - MRAF Douglas