:Frank Bladin

Francis Masson Bladin was born on 26 August 1898 in Korumburra, Victoria, the youngest son of engineer Frederick Bladin and his wife Ellen.Ritchie, Australian Dictionary of Biography, pp. 192–193{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16428315 |title=Bladin–Magennis |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |location=Sydney |date=21 December 1927 |access-date=30 August 2011 |page=5 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} Educated to junior public level at Melbourne High School, Frank sought to join the Australian Imperial Force during World War I. His parents refused their permission, and he instead entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1917.Stephens; Isaacs, High Fliers, pp. 54–57Dennis et al, Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, p. 259 Graduating in 1920, Bladin served for the next two years in the Australian Army, including sixteen months seconded to the Royal Field Artillery in Britain.{{cite web|url=http://airpower.airforce.gov.au/Contents/About-APDC/About-APDC/Office-of-Air-Force-History/Air-Marshals-of-the-RAAF/135/Air-Vice-Marshals-A-K.aspx |title=Air Vice-Marshals (A–K) |work=Air Marshals of the RAAF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120706182222/http://airpower.airforce.gov.au/Contents/About-APDC/About-APDC/Office-of-Air-Force-History/Air-Marshals-of-the-RAAF/135/Air-Vice-Marshals-A-K.aspx |archive-date=6 July 2012| publisher= Royal Australian Air Force|access-date=30 August 2011}}

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In January 1923 Bladin transferred to the recently established Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as a flying officer. He undertook pilot training at Point Cook, Victoria, where he was among five former Army lieutenants on the inaugural RAAF flying course—all of whom had left their original service in part because of poor career prospects in the post-war army. One of Bladin's other classmates on the course was a 1919 graduate of the Royal Australian Naval College, Sub-Lieutenant Joe Hewitt.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 192 During 1925–26, Bladin was in charge of running Citizens Air Force (reserve) pilots' courses at No. 1 Flying Training School, Point Cook.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 234 Having been promoted to flight lieutenant, he married Patricia Magennis at Yass, New South Wales, on 20 December 1927; the couple had a son and two daughters.Alexander, Who's Who in Australia 1955, p. 97

Bladin was posted to Britain in 1929 to attend RAF Staff College, Andover, and wrote an article on Empire air defence in 1931 for Royal Air Force Quarterly, one of the few published pieces of work on air power produced by RAAF officers in the pre-war years.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 445 Promoted to squadron leader, he took over as commanding officer of No. 1 Squadron from Squadron Leader Frank Lukis in April 1934.RAAF Historical Section, Units of the Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 2–5 Bladin found that the unit, flying Westland Wapitis and Hawker Demons out of RAAF Station Laverton in Victoria, "had not operated under field conditions away from its brick hangars and concrete tarmac since its inception some eight years previous". He proceeded to change this, deploying the squadron 300 miles away to Cootamundra in rural New South Wales, where he "borrowed a portion of a sheep station from a friend so that the pilots could carry out their bombing practice" over a two-week period commencing in late November 1935.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 190–191

After completing his tenure with No. 1 Squadron in December 1935, Bladin was appointed Officer Commanding Cadet Squadron at No. 1 Flying Training School. He modelled the squadron's training course on that of Duntroon, foreshadowing instruction at the Air Force's own cadet institute, RAAF College,Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 95, 200–201 which would be established in 1947.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 186–188 On 12 March 1937, he was promoted to wing commander.

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File:P00474.006Bladin1941.jpg (left) and Major Generals Clowes, Cannan and Rowell in Melbourne, December 1941|alt=Five men in light-coloured military uniforms]]

Bladin's first posting following the outbreak of World War II was as Director of Operations and Intelligence at RAAF Headquarters, Melbourne, in March 1940. Promoted to group captain in June, he became Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Southern Area in August 1941 and was raised to acting air commodore the following month. By 1 January 1942, Bladin was serving as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations), charged with readying air bases and putting into effect plans for the Empire Air Training Scheme.Gillison, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070485/document/5519768.PDF Royal Australian Air Force, p. 298]Stephens, The RAAF in the Southwest Pacific Area, pp. 29–31 He took over as AOC North-Western Area (NWA) on 25 March that year.Gillison, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070727/document/5520009.PDF Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 554–559]

Based in Darwin, Bladin's role as AOC NWA was to conduct the air defence of Torres Strait, the Northern Territory, and north Western Australia. He also had to restore morale following the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 and deal with the threat of imminent invasion, tasks complicated by the poor state of local communications, transport and early warning systems. Initiating combat training for all RAAF ground crew, Bladin constructed secondary airfields so he could disperse his forces. He became, in the words of historian Alan Stephens, "the RAAF's outstanding area commander of the war", and earned distinction as the first Australian decorated by the United States in the Pacific theatre of operations when he was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry. The cited action took place in June when Bladin personally led a raid by US B-17 Flying Fortresses on Celebes in the Dutch East Indies. As well as destroying machines on the ground and damaging infrastructure, the Allied bombers managed to evade an attack by nine Japanese fighters during their return to base. Bladin's award was recommended in September, and promulgated in the Australian Gazette on 23 November 1944.{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/AWM192/00306/003060628.pdf |title=Recommendation: US Silver Star |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023012159/http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awm192/awm192-306-0628.pdf |archive-date=23 October 2012|publisher= Australian War Memorial|access-date= 24 April 2009}}{{cite web|url=http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/honours_and_awards/person.asp?p=378992 |title=Awarded: US Silver Star |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607145004/http://www.awm.gov.au/research/people/honours_and_awards/person.asp?p=378992 |archive-date=7 June 2011 |publisher= Australian War Memorial |access-date=24 April 2009}}

By December 1942, Bladin's strength in NWA consisted of seven RAAF squadrons operating mainly Bristol Beaufighter and P-40 Kittyhawk fighters, Lockheed Hudson light bombers, and A-31 Vengeance dive bombers. These were soon augmented by one squadron each of Dutch East Indies B-25 Mitchell medium bombers and US B-24 Liberator heavy bombers.Gillison, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070521/document/5519804.PDF Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 649–651] As Japanese air raids continued into 1943, Bladin placed his bombers inland, and his fighters close to the coast where they could intercept the raiders.Odgers, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070532/document/5519815.PDF Air War Against Japan, p. 43] Appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1943,{{London Gazette|issue=35841 |page=13|date=1 January 1943}} he stepped up offensive strikes against island bases and shipping in the Timor and Arafura Seas as the Allies took the fight to the Japanese. He often employed his own judgement in the selection of targets, as detailed directives from superior headquarters were not always forthcoming. On 27 February, acting on intercepted radio transmissions, he launched a pre-emptive raid on Penfui airfield, near Koepang on Timor, which destroyed or damaged twenty-two Japanese bombers that had been destined to make a major raid on Darwin.

File:NWA0450Bladin1943.jpg

To help protect northern Australia from ongoing air attack, three squadrons of Spitfire fighters were transferred from the United Kingdom in late 1942, becoming operational in March 1943 as No. 1 Fighter Wing. A major engagement over Darwin on 2 May resulted in eight Spitfires crashing and several others making forced landings, for the destruction of one Japanese bomber and five fighters. An adverse communiqué concerning the action was issued from General Douglas MacArthur's headquarters and was picked up by Australian newspapers, which reported the Spitfires' "heavy losses" and caused resentment in NWA. Bladin complained to his superior, Air Vice-Marshal Bill Bostock, that the "alarmist tendency of the press and radio references was having a bad effect on the combat pilots". He also ordered an immediate Beaufighter strike led by Wing Commander Charles Read against Penfui airfield, on the assumption that this was where the Japanese raiders were based; four aircraft were destroyed on the ground.Odgers, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070532/document/5519815.PDF Air War Against Japan, pp. 46–50]

On 17 June 1943, under the command of Group Captain Clive Caldwell, No. 1 Fighter Wing recorded NWA's most successful interception to date, claiming fourteen Japanese raiders destroyed and ten damaged, for the loss of two Spitfires.Odgers, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070533/document/5519816.PDF Air War Against Japan, pp. 59–60] The 380th Bombardment Group USAAF, consisting of four squadrons of Liberators, came under Bladin's control the same month, enhancing NWA's strategic strike capability.Odgers, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070533/document/5519816.PDF Air War Against Japan, p. 61] When Bladin handed over North-Western Area to Air Vice-Marshal Adrian Cole in July 1943, the latter reported that his new command was "well organised, keen and in good shape".Odgers, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070556/document/5519839.PDF Air War Against Japan, p. 104]

Posted to England as senior air staff officer (SASO) of No. 38 Group RAF, Bladin was closely involved in training aircrew and planning airborne operations for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of France.Herington, [https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/RCDIG1070702/document/5519985.PDF Air Power Over Europe, pp. 14–15] He flew a mission on D-Day, 6 June 1944, to deliver glider-borne troops to Normandy, and was mentioned in despatches two days later.{{London Gazette|issue=36544 |supp=y |page=2642|date=8 June 1944}} Completing his RAF service on the staff of the Second Tactical Air Force in France, Bladin returned to Australia to become Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in October 1944. On two occasions in June 1945, he was considered for the position of AOC RAAF Command, the Air Force's main operational formation in the South West Pacific. Bladin would have replaced Bostock, who was facing disciplinary action for refusing to comply with directives from the Air Board, the RAAF's controlling body, but in the end the Australian government made no change to command arrangements.Helson, Ten Years at the Top, pp. 154–159

File:133308Bladin1947.jpg, May 1947|alt=Man in dark military uniform with peaked cap inspecting troops at a parade]]

The RAF had planned to deploy an airborne formation, No. 238 (Airborne Assault) Group, to the Pacific theatre and requested Bladin be released from his duties as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff to assume its command, but this was cancelled with the end of hostilities in August 1945. His next posting was to Kure, Japan, in January 1946, as chief of staff to Lieutenant General John Northcott, commander of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF). Northcott reportedly chose Bladin not only for his operational command and staff experience in the RAAF and the RAF during World War II, but for his pedigree as a Duntroon graduate rather than having a purely Air Force background.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 212–213 Promoted acting air vice-marshal on 1 March 1946, Bladin handed over to another Duntroon graduate, Air Vice-Marshal John McCauley, in June 1947. After returning to Australia, Bladin was to figure prominently, along with such figures as McCauley, Air Commodore Hewitt and Air Commodore Frederick Scherger, in shaping the post-war Air Force.Stephens, Going Solo, p. 5

Bladin's next command was Eastern Area, which would evolve over the years into Home Command, Operational Command and, finally, Air Command.Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 69–70 His acting rank of air vice-marshal was made substantive on 1 October 1948.Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 24–25 As AOC Eastern Area, Bladin was instrumental in organising the acquisition of a new site for his then-headquarters at Bradfield Park on Sydney's North Shore, namely the former Lapstone Hotel at Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains. Subsequently known as Headquarters Operational Command, later Headquarters Air Command, the site was purchased in mid-1949, and became operational at the end of the year. As well as commanding a view of the surrounding countryside, the property was within {{convert|5|km|mi|spell=on|sigfig=1}} of the City of Penrith and {{convert|30|km|mi|spell=on|sigfig=1}} of RAAF Station Richmond, and incorporated a disused railway tunnel that offered, according to government correspondence, "complete protection from Atom Bomb attack".

File:JK0138Bladin1951.jpg during a visit to Korea, 1951|alt=Man in flying helmet putting on a harness in the cockpit of a military aircraft]]

Bladin became Air Member for Personnel (AMP) on 24 November 1948; this position gave him a seat on the Air Board, which consisted of the RAAF's most senior officers and was chaired by the Chief of the Air Staff. He succeeded Hewitt, and worked to consolidate the innovations in Air Force education and training that the latter had initiated.Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 76, 118, 500Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 185 RAAF Staff College opened in June 1949 at Point Cook, providing an advanced defence course aimed at squadron leaders and wing commanders; international facilities were also utilised to further officers' education.Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 142–144 In October, Bladin became involved in the push for a training scheme to offer apprenticeships to clerical and supply staff, which was established two years later.Coulthard-Clark, From the Ground Up, pp. 91–95 He was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the King's Birthday Honours announced in June 1950.{{London Gazette|issue=34396 |supp=y |page=3088|date=8 June 1950}}

In 1951, inspired by a similar initiative in state education, Bladin sponsored a move to have RAAF education officers augment their degree qualifications with formal teaching credentials.Stephens, Going Solo, p. 120 Over the following year, in response to increased demands for aircrew to meet Australia's commitments to the Malayan Emergency and the Korean War, pilot training was broken out from a single all-encompassing course at No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) in Point Cook, Victoria, into separate courses at the newly formed No. 1 Initial Flying Training School at Archerfield, Queensland, No. 1 Basic Flying Training School at Uranquinty, New South Wales, and No. 1 Applied Flying Training School (re-formed from No. 1 FTS) at Point Cook.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 199

Bladin retired from the Air Force on 15 October 1953, and was succeeded as AMP by Air Vice-Marshal Val Hancock.{{cite web|url=http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=R&veteranId=1204610 |title=Bladin, Francis Masson |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035939/http://www.ww2roll.gov.au/Veteran.aspx?serviceId=R&veteranId=1204610 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |work= World War Two Nominal Roll| publisher=Department of Veterans' Affairs|access-date=22 April 2009}}Stephens, Going Solo, p. 500 Shortly after leaving the Air Force, Bladin donated an eponymous trophy for the service's best-performing Avro Lincoln unit in bombing and aerial gunnery competition.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2902051 |title=Air Weapons Contest at Canberra |newspaper=The Canberra Times |location=Canberra |date=4 December 1953 |access-date=30 August 2011 |page=2 |publisher=National Library of Australia}} He ran a grazing property, which he named Adastra, at Yass, just north of the Australian Capital Territory. Between 1951 and 1954, and again from 1956 to 1969, he also served as treasurer of the Returned Sailors', Soldiers' and Airmen's Imperial League of Australia, which became the Returned Services League in 1965. In the early 1960s he helped raise funds for building the Anzac Memorial Chapel of St Paul at his old college, Duntroon. Bladin died in Melbourne on 2 February 1978, survived by his three children. His wife, who was involved in the support of veterans' families and other community work, had died earlier. Accorded an Air Force funeral at the Church of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Deepdene, Bladin was buried at Springvale, Victoria.

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category}}

• {{cite book|editor-last=Alexander |editor-first=Joseph A.| year=1955| title=Who's Who in Australia 1955|location= Melbourne|publisher= Colorgravure |oclc=221681426|title-link=Who's Who in Australia|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Coulthard-Clark| first=Chris|year=1997| title=From the Ground Up: The Training of RAAF Technical Ground Staff, 1948–1993|location=Canberra| publisher=RAAF Air Power Studies Centre|url=https://www.radschool.org.au/Books/From%20the%20Ground%20up.pdf|isbn=0-642-26509-7|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Coulthard-Clark| first=Chris|year=1991| title=The Third Brother: The Royal Australian Air Force 1921–39| location=North Sydney| publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=0-04-442307-1|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|editor-last=Ritchie|editor-first=John|last=Dalkin| first=R.N.| year=1993| title=Australian Dictionary of Biography: Volume 13| chapter=Bladin, Francis Masson (1898–1978)| chapter-url=http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A130227b.htm| location=Melbourne | publisher=Melbourne University Press|isbn=0-522-84512-6|title-link=Australian Dictionary of Biography|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last1=Dennis| first1=Peter|last2=Grey|first2=Jeffrey|author-link2=Jeffrey Grey |last3=Morris|first3=Ewan|last4=Prior|first4=Robin| year=2008| orig-year=1995| title=The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History| location=South Melbourne| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-551784-2|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Gillison | first=Douglas |year=1962| title=Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942 | location=Canberra| publisher=Australian War Memorial|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070209/|oclc=2000369|ref=none}}
• {{cite thesis | author = Helson, Peter | title = Ten Years at the Top |type=PhD thesis| location=Sydney| publisher = University of New South Wales | year = 2006 | url = http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/38729|oclc=225531223|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Herington | first=John |year=1963| title=Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) Volume IV – Air Power Over Europe 1944–1945 | location=Canberra| publisher=Australian War Memorial|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070212/|oclc=3633419|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Odgers | first=George | author-link=George Odgers | orig-year=1957| year=1968| title=Australia in the War of 1939–1945: Series Three (Air) Volume II – Air War Against Japan 1943–1945 | location=Canberra| publisher=Australian War Memorial|url=https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1070210/|oclc=246580191|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|author=RAAF Historical Section|year=1995|title=Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 3: Bomber Units|location=Canberra| publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|isbn=0-644-42792-2|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|editor-last=Stephens| editor-first=Alan | year=1993| title=The RAAF in the Southwest Pacific Area 1942–1945|location=Canberra|publisher=RAAF Air Power Studies Centre|isbn=0-642-19827-6| url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218193440/https://airpower.airforce.gov.au/APDC/media/PDF-Files/Conference%20Proceedings/CONF04-RAAF-History-Conference-1993-The-RAAF-in-the-SouthWest-Pacific-Area.pdf |ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Stephens| first=Alan| year=1995| title=Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946–1971|location=Canberra|publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|isbn=0-644-42803-1|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Stephens| first=Alan|orig-year=2001|year=2006| title=The Royal Australian Air Force: A History| location=South Melbourne| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-555541-7|ref=none}}
• {{cite book|last=Stephens| first=Alan|author2=Isaacs, Jeff | year=1996| title=High Fliers: Leaders of the Royal Australian Air Force|location=Canberra|publisher=Australian Government Publishing Service|isbn=0-644-45682-5|ref=none}}

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{{succession box|

title=Air Officer Commanding North-Western Area|

before=Air Commodore Douglas Wilson |

after=Air Vice-Marshal Adrian Cole|

years=1942–1943|

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{{s-bef|before=Air Commodore John McCauley}}

{{s-ttl|title=Deputy Chief of the Air Staff|years=1944–1946}}

{{s-aft|after=Air Commodore John McCauley}}

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{{succession box|

title=Air Officer Commanding Eastern Area|

before=Air Commodore Leon Lachal|

after=Air Vice-Marshal John McCauley|

years=1947–1948|

}}

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{{s-bef|before=Air Vice-Marshal Joe Hewitt}}

{{s-ttl|title=Air Member for Personnel|years=1948–1953}}

{{s-aft|after=Air Vice-Marshal Valston Hancock}}

{{s-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bladin, Frank}}

Category:1898 births

Category:1978 deaths

Category:Australian Army officers

Category:Australian aviators

Category:Australian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire

Category:Australian Companions of the Order of the Bath

Category:Foreign recipients of the Silver Star

Category:Military personnel from Victoria (state)

Category:People educated at Melbourne High School

Category:People from Korumburra

Category:Royal Australian Air Force air marshals

Category:Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II

Category:Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates