Douglas Lowe (RAF officer)

Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Charles Lowe, GCB, DFC, AFC[1] (14 March 1922 – 24 January 2018) was a Second World War pilot and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Sir Douglas Charles Lowe
Born(1922-03-14)14 March 1922
Died24 January 2018(2018-01-24) (aged 95)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1940–1983
RankAir Chief Marshal
Commands heldController Aircraft (1975–82)
No. 18 Group (1973–75)
RAF Cranwell (1963–65)
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsKnight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Force Cross
Mentioned in Despatches

Family

Douglas Charles Lowe was born on 14 March 1922.[2] He married Doreen Elizabeth Nichols the daughter of Ralph Henry Nichols. Their only daughter, Frances Elizabeth Lowe, married Christopher Russell Bailey, the 5th Baron Glanusk.[3]

RAF career

Lowe enlisted in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) in 1940, and flew as a pilot during the Second World War. As a sergeant, he was granted an emergency commission in the RAFVR as a probationary pilot officer on 4 January 1943.[4] He was promoted to probationary flying officer on 1 July 1943.[5]

As an acting flight lieutenant with No.75 (N.Z.) Squadron, Lowe was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on 9 July 1943.[6] He was confirmed in his rank of flying officer on 23 December 1943,[7] and received a mention in despatches in January 1945.[8] Lowe was promoted to flight lieutenant (war-substantive) on 1 January 1945.[9] In the 1946 Birthday Honours, Lowe was decorated with the Air Force Cross.[10] He remained in the RAF post-war, being awarded a permanent commission in the rank of flying officer on 1 July 1946, with a subsequent promotion to flight lieutenant on 4 July.[11][12]

Lowe was promoted to squadron leader on 1 July 1952.

Vickers Valiant 1957

On 1 January 1958 he was promoted to wing commander on 1 January 1958[13][14] to command the Vickers Valiants of 148 Squadron at RAF Marham in Norfolk, part of the UK "V" force which was NATO's deterrent to the build-up of the Warsaw Pact nations led by the Soviet Union.

Promoted to group captain on 1 July 1962, he served as Station Commander at RAF Cranwell from November 1963 to 1965.[15][16] With his promotion to air commodore on 1 July 1966, he attained air officer rank.[17] He was promoted to air vice marshal on 1 January 1970 and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1971 Birthday Honours.[18][19]

In 1973 Lowe was appointed Air Officer Commanding No. 18 Group and he continued in this post until 1975.[20] Thereafter, he was promoted to air chief marshal and was appointed the Controller of Aircraft:[21] he remained in that post until late 1982.[22] Lowe was the Chief of Defence Procurement at the Ministry of Defence from 1982 to 1983.[23] He retired on 22 August 1983.[24]

Later life

Lowe died on 24 January 2018 at the age of 95.[25]

References
  1. "Person Page". thepeerage.com. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  2. Birthdays The Independent, 14 March 1998
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 May 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. "No. 35914". The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 February 1943. p. 932.
  5. "No. 36175". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 September 1943. p. 4138.
  6. "No. 36084". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 July 1943. p. 3095.
  7. "No. 36488". The London Gazette (Supplement). 25 April 1944. p. 1943.
  8. "No. 36866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 December 1944. p. 73.
  9. "No. 36909". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 January 1945. p. 574.
  10. "No. 37598". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1946. p. 2816.
  11. "No. 37870". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 January 1947. p. 600.
  12. "No. 37895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 February 1947. p. 1038.
  13. "No. 39586". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 June 1952. p. 3582.
  14. "No. 41266". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1957. p. 7594.
  15. "No. 42721". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 June 1962. p. 5302.
  16. "Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – RAF Station Commanders – Lincolnshire and East Midlands". rafweb.org. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
  17. "No. 44039". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 June 1966. p. 7468.
  18. "No. 45013". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 January 1970. p. 221.
  19. "No. 45384". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1971. p. 5959.
  20. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Group No's 10 – 19 Archived 5 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  21. Defence Flight International, 18 September 1975
  22. Whitaker's Almanack 1983
  23. Birthdays The Times, 14 March 2007
  24. "No. 49503". The London Gazette (Supplement). 10 October 1983. p. 13293.
  25. "Air Chief Marshal Sir Douglas Lowe – obituary". 10 April 2018 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
Military offices
Preceded by
R G Knott		 Senior Air Staff Officer Near East Air Force
1969–1971		 Succeeded by
Robert Freer
Preceded by
Michael Giddings		 Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operational Requirements)
1971–1973		 Succeeded by
D Bower
Preceded by
Sir Anthony Heward		 Air Officer Commanding No. 18 Group
1973–1975		 Succeeded by
Sir Robert Freer
Preceded by
Sir Neil Wheeler		 Controller Aircraft
1975–1982		 Succeeded by
Sir John Rogers
Preceded by
Sir David Cardwell		 Chief of Defence Procurement
1982–1983		 Succeeded by
Sir David Perry
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