Frank McNamara (RAAF officer)
Francis Hubert McNamara, VC, CB, CBE was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was honoured for his actions on 20 March 1917, when he rescued a fellow pilot who had been forced down behind enemy lines. McNamara was the first Australian aviator and the only one in World War I to receive the VC. He later became a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force.
About Frank McNamara (RAAF officer) in brief
Francis Hubert McNamara, VC, CB, CBE was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was honoured for his actions on 20 March 1917, when he rescued a fellow pilot who had been forced down behind enemy lines. McNamara was the first Australian aviator and the only one in World War I to receive the VC. He later became a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. He died from heart failure in 1961, but continued to live in Britain until his death in 1961. He is buried in Melbourne, Victoria, where he was born and educated. He served in the Australian Flying Corps during World War I. In 1921, McNamara enlisted as a flying officer in the newly formed RAAF, rising to the rank of air vice marshal by 1942. He retired from the Air Force in 1946, and died in London, England, in 1962, aged 80. He had a son and a daughter, both of whom were born in Melbourne. He also had a step-son, who died in a car crash in 2007. He has a daughter and a son-in-law, who are both still living in Australia. His great-great-grandson is Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. He received the CBE for his services to the RAAF in 1946. He worked as a teacher in Melbourne before joining the militia in 1913. He became a teacher after graduating from Melbourne Teachers’ Training College in 1914. In 1915, he was selected for pilot training at Central Flying School, Point Cook, and transferred to the Australian flying Corps the following year.
He flew with No. 1 Squadron in the Middle Eastern Theatre with No 1 Squadron when he earned the VC in 1917. On his first sortie, a reconnaissance mission over Sinai, his plane had been hit by anti-aircraft fire; he returned to base with his engine’s oil supply almost exhausted. He undertook further scouting and bombing missions in the ensuing months. In March 1916, he departed Melbourne for Egypt aboard HMAT Orsova, arriving in Suez the following month. On 6 January 1916, he was assigned as adjutant to No.1 Squadron,Australian Flying Corps. In July 1916, McNaraam was seconded to No 42 Squadron RFC in May to attend the Central flying School at Upavon, England; his secondment to the RFC was gazetted on 5 July 1916. In May 1917, he flew with C-Flight, commanded by Captain Richard Williams, in a raid against a Turkish railway junction near Gaza. Owing to a shortage of bombs, four of his shells exploded prematurely, badly wounding him in the leg with shrapnel, an effect he likened to being “hit with a sledgehammer” Despite the rough terrain and his gash in his leg, he spotted a fellow squadron member in his cockpit in an attempt to rescue him. He saw that a company of Turkish cavalry was fast approaching, and saw that there was no spare time to spare him.
You want to know more about Frank McNamara (RAAF officer)?
This page is based on the article Frank McNamara (RAAF officer) published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 02, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
