Harold Brownlow Martin

"H. B. Martin" redirects here. For the 19th century British naval officer and watercolour artist, see Henry Byam Martin.

Harold Brownlow (Mick) Martin
Nickname	Micky
Born	27 February 1918 Edgecliff, New South Wales, Australia
Died	3 November 1988 London, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1940–1975
Rank	Air Marshal
Unit	No. 455 Squadron RAAF No. 50 Squadron RAF No. 617 Squadron RAF
Commands held	Royal Air Force Germany RAF Nicosia
Battles/wars	World War II Operation Chastise
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order & Bar Distinguished Flying Cross & Two Bars Air Force Cross
Other work	Advisor (Hawker Siddeley)

Air Marshal Sir Harold Brownlow Morgan "Micky" Martin, KCB, DSO & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC (27 February 1918 – 3 November 1988) was an Australian pilot in the Royal Air Force.

He rose to become a senior officer in the RAF commanding RAF Germany, then appointed as Air Member for Personnel, a member of the Air Council the managing council of the RAF.

He took part in Operation Chastise, the RAF's famous "Dambusters" mission in 1943. He was described by journalist Sir Max Hastings as "one of the three great bomber pilots of the war".^[1]

Early life

Born on 27 February 1918 in Edgecliff, New South Wales, Martin left Australia for the United Kingdom in 1939. He intended to study medicine at the University of Edinburgh, but instead volunteered to join the Royal Air Force on 28 August 1940.^[2]

World War II

Martin commenced his operational career with No. 455 Squadron RAAF in October 1941, flying the Handley Page Hampden.^[3] In February 1942, he captained the first all-Australian crewed bombing sortie against Germany. Martin soon acquired a reputation for low-level flying in order to avoid anti-aircraft fire and fighters. After 13 operations, he and his crew joined No. 50 Squadron. Flying Hampdens, the Avro Manchester and finally Avro Lancasters, they completed their tour in October 1942, Martin being awarded the DFC.

Martin's penchant for low flying contributed to his selection in March 1943 for assignment to the newly formed No. 617 Squadron under Wing Commander Guy Gibson.^[3]

Martin took part in the famous "Dambusters" raid on 17 May 1943.^[3] He piloted the Lancaster bomber AJ-P "Popsie" (officially known as AJ-P "Peter") in the first formation, which was assigned to attack the Möhne Dam in Western Germany. Martin's plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire during the attack, but he successfully accomplished the bombing run and returned. He was awarded a DSO for his actions.

Following Gibson's retirement from operations and the immediate loss in action of his successor, Wing Commander George Holden, Martin assumed temporary command of 617 Squadron.^[3] Later, under the command of Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire, Martin participated in various pin-point attacks on targets in France, Italy and Germany, often employing the new 12,000 lb Tallboy bomb.

In February 1944, during an abortive attack on the Antheor Viaduct in the French Riviera, Martin's Lancaster was hit by ground fire, killing the bomb aimer Bob Hay, causing Martin to force land his crippled aircraft in Sardinia. This was Martin's 49th (and last) heavy bomber operation.

Martin was soon back on operations, however, flying Mosquito fighter-bombers with No. 515 Squadron.^[3] By late 1944 Martin had flown another 34 operations, where he claimed 2 aircraft shot down, and 3 destroyed (and 1 damaged) on the ground.^[4]

After World War II

After the war he attended a course at the RAF Staff College in Haifa and in 1945 joined the Headquarters staff of No. 100 Group.^[3]

He broke the speed record for flying from England to Cape Town in a de Havilland Mosquito, for which he won the Oswald Watt Gold Medal. In 1947 he flew the meteorological Mosquito for the first transatlantic jet crossing in support of 54 Squadron's Vampires.^[5]

He was appointed to a succession of staff jobs; Air Attache, Tel Aviv (1952), Operation Plans Division (1955), Group Captain - Electronic Warfare, HQ Signals Command (1959) before being appointed ADC to the Queen in 1964.^[3] He then served for three years (1967–1970) as Air Officer Commanding No. 38 Group.^[3] In 1970 he was appointed C in C RAF Germany and finally in 1973 Air Member for Personnel.^[3]

After retiring from the RAF on 31 October 1974 he worked for aircraft manufacturer Hawker Siddeley as an advisor.^[3] Sir Harold Martin died at his home in London on 3 November 1988,^[6] and is buried at Gunnersbury Cemetery.

References

1. ^ O'Donnell, Conal: WW2 People's War, British Broadcasting Corporation.
2. ^ Nelson, Hank (2006). Chased by the Sun: The Australians in Bomber Command in World War II. Sydney: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1741148472. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j} Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Air Marshal Sir Harold Martin
4. ^ Those Other Eagles; C.Shores, 2004 page 388
5. ^ Flight 1948
6. ^ Sir Harold Martin, Pilot, 70, The New York Times, 6 November 1988.

Further reading

• Bowyer, Chaz (1983). Bomber Barons. Kimber & Co.

External links

• Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation - Air Marshal Sir Harold Martin
• Find-A-Grave profile for Harold Brownlow Martin
• The Dambusters: AJ-P "Popsie"

Military offices
Preceded by G W Holden	Officer Commanding No. 617 Squadron Acting September – November 1943	Succeeded by G L Cheshire
Preceded by C N Foxley-Norris	Commander-in-Chief RAF Germany Also Commander of the Second Tactical Air Force 1970–1973	Succeeded by N M Maynard
Preceded by Peter C Fletcher	Officer Commanding No. 38 Group RAF August 1967 – June 1970	Succeeded by Denis Crowley-Milling
Preceded by Sir Lewis Hodges	Air Member for Personnel 1973–1974	Succeeded by Sir Neil Cameron

Persondata
Name	Martin, Harold Brownlow
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	27 February 1918
Place of birth	Edgecliff, New South Wales, Australia
Date of death	3 November 1988
Place of death	London, England