Oliver Swann
Sir Oliver Swann | |
---|---|
Born | Wimbledon, London | 18 November 1878
Died | 7 March 1948 Littleton, Guildford | (aged 69)
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ | Royal Navy (1895–1918) Royal Air Force (1918–40) |
Years of service | 1895–1929 1939–40 |
Rank | Air Vice Marshal |
Commands held | No. 1 School of Technical Training (1939–40) RAF Halton (1939–40) RAF Middle East (1923–26) Air Member for Personnel (1922–23) (1920–21) (1919–20) Orkneys Division (1917–18) HMS Campania (1915–17) HMS Niger (1910) |
Battles/wars | First World War Second World War |
Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Air Vice Marshal Sir Oliver Swann, KCB, CBE (born Schwann; 18 November 1878 – 7 March 1948) was a British military commander who was a leading figure in the Royal Naval Air Service and senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the first half of the 20th century.
Early years[]
Schwann joined the Royal Navy in 1892,[1] and was a lieutenant when in July 1902 he was posted as junior staff to HMS Vernon, naval torpedo school ship at Chatham dockyard.[2]
[]
In 1910 Schwann was selected to assist Captain Murray Sueter who was conducting pioneering naval aviation work with airships.[3] Later, Schwann bought an Avro Type D landplane (at his own expense with support from friends) for £700 and fitted floats to it.[3] Despite not having qualified as a pilot, Schwann managed to fly it off the water.[3] Although Schwann crashed the aircraft, this was the first aircraft take off by a British pilot from salt water.[3]
In November 1912, after Schwann had qualified as a pilot, he was appointed assistant director of the Air Department at the Admiralty,[4] making him deputy to Murray Sueter.[3] Over the next two years Sueter and Schwann worked to establish the Royal Naval Air Service.[3]
First World War[]
In 1914, just prior to the outbreak of the First World War, Schwann was promoted to captain and assigned to port duties.[4] The following year he was appointed captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Campania, a former Cunard liner that had been converted to carry a dozen aircraft.[4] Later in the war, Schwann served as Officer Commanding the Orkneys Division.[4] In 1917 Oliver Schwann anglicized the spelling of his name to Swann.[4] With the establishment of the Royal Air Force in early 1918, Swann was transferred to the new service.[4] He served as Deputy Chief of the Air Staff during the last months of the war and into 1919.[4]
Inter-war years[]
In April 1919 Swann was appointed Air Officer Commanding the and the following year his command was redesignated as the Mediterranean Group.[4] On 1 June 1920, Swann was posted to become Air Officer Commanding .[4] On his return to Great Britain in early 1923, Swann became Director of Personnel.[4] Later that year his post was retitled Air Member for Personnel when Swann became a member of the Air Council with responsibility for personnel matters.[4] Swann did not spend long at home. On 27 November 1923 Swann was appointed Air Officer Commanding RAF Middle East.[4] He held this post until late 1926 and he retired from the RAF in 1929.[4]
Second World War[]
During the Second World War, Swann was recalled to service as the Commandant of No. 1 School of Technical Training at RAF Halton.[4] He retired from the RAF for the second time in July 1940 and afterwards worked as the Air Liaison Officer for the North Midland Region.[4] Swann died only three years after the end of the Second World War on 7 March 1948 at his home in Littleton, Guildford.[3]
References[]
- ^ Britannia Royal Naval College, Cadet Open List 1894-1906
- ^ "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36812. London. 5 July 1902. p. 9.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sir Oliver Swann at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Vice-Marshal Sir Oliver Swann
- 1878 births
- 1948 deaths
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
- Royal Air Force air marshals
- Royal Air Force generals of World War I
- Royal Naval Air Service aviators
- Royal Navy officers
- Military personnel from London