Dowding, Hugh Caswall Tremenheere, Lord Dowding of Bentley Priory

Dowding, Hugh Caswall Tremenheere, Lord Dowding of Bentley Priory (1882-1970), Air Chief Marshal of the Royal Air Force (RAF), and Air-Officer Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain in 1940.

Dowding was born in Moffat, Scotland, on April 24, 1882, and was educated at Winchester School, before joining the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich in 1899. Between 1900 and 1912 he served with the Royal Artillery in Gibraltar, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Hong Kong, and India. Returning to Britain, he attended the Army Staff College where he gained his pilot’s licence in 1913. In World War I he was a squadron commander with the Royal Flying Corps in France, and later ran the Southern Training Brigade at Salisbury, Wiltshire. In 1919 Dowding joined the newly created Royal Air Force (RAF) at the rank of group captain, advancing to air vice-marshal in 1929 and air marshal four years later.

In 1930 Dowding joined the Air Council, where as Air Member for Supply and Research he concentrated on preparing the RAF for war, in particular with a design competition that led to the production of the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft after 1934. To strengthen Britain’s inadequate defences he also encouraged the development of the coastal chain of radar stations that became operational in 1937 and later proved to be vital in World War II. Dowding took command of the newly formed Fighter Command in July 1936 where he argued for the development of defensive fighter aircraft rather than offensive bombers. He also fought for an increase in anti-aircraft guns and searchlights, radio control of aircraft, and a vast expansion of the Observer Corps. In January 1937 he became air chief marshal.

In covering the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk in 1940 Fighter Command performed well against the more numerous German Luftwaffe but suffered heavy losses. As a result, Dowding was unwilling to further sacrifice pilots in what he considered the now futile defence of France, and so advised the War Cabinet to concentrate on the defence of Britain. Dowding’s leadership and planning in the subsequent Battle of Britain contributed significantly to the RAF’s victory and Britain’s survival, although the Luftwaffe’s change of tactics from continuing to attack RAF airfields (with the RAF on the verge of collapse) to attacking Britain’s cities, London in particular, was the critical turning point in the course of the battle.

During the battle Dowding had been criticized by both Air Vice-Marshal William Sholto Douglas and Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory for not being aggressive enough and attacking the Luftwaffe before it reached Britain. Air Chief Marshal Charles Portal, the new Chief of the Air Staff, had agreed with this criticism, and in November 1941 Dowding was retired from head of Fighter Command and was replaced by Douglas. Dowding retired from the RAF in July 1942, and in 1943 was awarded a baronetcy.

Dowding’s writings included Many Mansions (1943), Lychgate (1945), Twelve Legions of Angels (1946), God's Magic (1946), and The Dark Star (1951). He died on February 15, 1970.