John Slessor

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John Cotesworth Slessor
3 June 1897 – July 12, 1979 (aged 82)
Air Marshal Slessor
Place of birth	Ranikhet, British India
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1915–1952
Rank	Marshal of the Royal Air Force
Commands held	No. 4 Squadron (1925–1928) No. 3 (Indian) Wing (1935–1937) No.5 Group (1941–1942) Coastal Command (1943–1944) Royal Air Force (1950–1952)
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Military Cross
Other work	High Sheriff of Somerset

Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir John Cotesworth Slessor GCB, DSO, MC (3 June 1897 – 12 July 1979) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. A pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, he held operational commands during World War II and served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1950 to 1952.

Contents 1 World War I 2 Inter-war years 3 World War II 4 Post-war career 5 Later life 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading

[edit] World War I

The son of a serving Colonel, Slessor was educated at Haileybury. He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1915, seeing action in Egypt and the Sudan, and later on the Western Front. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1917 and finished the war with the temporary rank of Major.^[1]

[edit] Inter-war years

After leaving the RAF in 1919, Slessor was offered a short-service commission the following year as a Flight Lieutenant. He served as Officer Commanding No. 4 Squadron from 1925 to 1928, and attended Staff College, Camberley in 1931. Slessor became Officer Commanding No. 3 (Indian) Wing in March 1935, winning the Distinguished Service Order for operations in Waziristan.^[1][2] He authored Air Power and Armies, an examination of the use of air power against targets on and behind the battlefield, in 1936. In this work he advocated army co-operation, interdiction to seal off battlefields from enemy reinforcements and supply, and the use of aerial bombardment as a weapon against enemy morale.^[3] In May 1937, following his posting to India, he was promoted Group Captain and appointed Deputy Director of Plans; he took over as Director in December 1938.^[1]

[edit] World War II

Slessor became Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No.5 Group in 1941, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff in 1942 and AOC Coastal Command in 1943. He went on to become Commander-in-Chief RAF Mediterranean and Middle East in 1944 and Air Member for Personnel in 1945. He was promoted Temporary Air Vice Marshal on 10 January 1941 (made substantive on 14 April 1942) and Temporary Air Marshal on 1 June 1943 (made substantive on 6 June 1945). Slessor was appointed Companion of the Bath in 1942 and Knight Commander of the Bath the following year.^[1]

[edit] Post-war career

Slessor was promoted Air Chief Marshal on 1 January 1946. He remained as Air Member for Personnel until the end of 1947, when he was made Commandant of the Imperial Defence College. On 10 June 1948 he was appointed Knight Grand Cross of the Bath. Slessor served in the RAF's most senior post, Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), from 1 January 1950 to 31 December 1952. He was promoted Marshal of the Royal Air Force on 8 June 1950.^[1] As CAS, Slessor coined the term 'V-Force' to denote the RAF's trio of strategic jet bombers: the Vickers Valiant, Handley Page Victor, and Avro Vulcan.^[3]

During his term as CAS, Slessor played a key role in promoting nuclear weapons as an effective instrument of deterrence in early Cold War British strategy. In 1952 the RAF argued that, because bombers were such an important deterrent, conventional forces could be drastically reduced at a time when the Government was seeking significant public expenditure savings.^[4] Slessor believed that it was improbable that the United Kingdom would be able to meet a communist offensive without resorting to tactical nuclear weapons.^[5] He became one of the key propagandists of the 'Great Deterrent' (which he employed as the title of a book he wrote after he retired) on both sides of the Atlantic.^[6]

[edit] Later life

Slessor published two books after his retirement from the RAF in 1953: his autobiography The Central Blue (1956) and The Great Deterrent (1957). He served as a Somerset County Councillor from 1963 to 1974, and was High Sheriff of Somerset from 1965 to 1966.^[1] His son John also joined the RAF, rising to the rank of Group Captain.^[7]

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

• Barrass, Malcolm (2001–2008). Marshal of the RAF Sir John Slessor. Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation.
• Probert, H. (1991). High Commanders of the Royal Air Force. HMSO. ISBN 0-11-772635-4. 

[edit] Further reading

• Slessor, Sir John [1956] (1993). The Central Blue. Patrick Stephens Ltd.. 

Military offices
Preceded by Norman Bottomley	Air Officer Commanding No. 5 Group 1941–1942	Succeeded by Alec Coryton
Preceded by Sir Philip Joubert de la Ferté	Commander-in-Chief Coastal Command 1943–1944	Succeeded by Sir William Sholto Douglas
Preceded by Sir Bertine Sutton	Air Member for Personnel 1945–1947	Succeeded by Sir Hugh Saunders
Preceded by Sir Arthur Tedder	Chief of the Air Staff 1950–1952	Succeeded by Sir William Dickson
Honorary titles
Preceded by Richard Hill	High Sheriff of Somerset 1965–1966	Succeeded by Sir Edward Malet

v • d • e Chiefs of the Air Staff of the Royal Air Force Sir Hugh Trenchard • Sir Frederick Sykes • Sir Hugh Trenchard • Sir John Salmond • Sir Geoffrey Salmond • Sir John Salmond • Sir Edward Ellington • Sir Cyril Newall • Sir Charles Portal • Sir Arthur Tedder • Sir John Slessor • Sir William Dickson • Sir Dermot Boyle • Sir Thomas Pike • Sir Charles Elworthy • Sir John Grandy • Sir Denis Spotswood • Sir Andrew Humphrey • Sir Neil Cameron • Sir Michael Beetham • Sir Keith Williamson • Sir David Craig • Sir Peter Harding • Sir Michael Graydon • Sir Richard Johns • Sir Peter Squire • Sir Jock Stirrup • Sir Glenn Torpy