Henry Cave-Browne-Cave

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Henry Meyrick Cave-Browne-Cave
Born	1 February 1887 Wandsworth, Surrey, England
Died	5 August 1965 (aged 78) Southampton, Hampshire, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy Royal Air Force
Years of service	1903 – 1940
Rank	Air Vice Marshal
Commands held	Far East Flight No. 205 Squadron
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Companion of the Order of the Bath Distinguished Service Order Distinguished Flying Cross

Air Vice Marshal Henry Meyrick Cave-Browne-Cave CB, DSO, DFC, RAF (1 February 1887 – 5 August 1965) was an engineering officer in the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I and senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the 1930s.

Henry Cave-Browne-Cave was the son of Sir Thomas Cave-Browne-Cave (1835–1924) (see Cave-Browne-Cave baronets for earlier history of the family) and Blanche Matilda Mary Ann Milton. He was the brother of the mathematicians Beatrice Mabel Cave-Browne-Cave and Frances Cave-Browne-Cave. He was educated at Dulwich College in London.

World War I

During World War I, Cave-Browne-Cave served in the Royal Naval Air Service, initially as the Engineering Officer at the Grain Island naval air station and later as the second in command of the station. In the summer of 1916, Cave-Browne-Cave was appointed as a squadron commander. He later served as Officer Commanding the Seaplane Station at Dunkirk and then as the Officer Commanding the Seaplane Station at Malta.

By 1918, Cave-Browne-Cave had risen to the rank of wing commander and on 1 April, when the Royal Naval Air Service merged with the Royal Flying Corps to form the Royal Air Force, Cave-Browne-Cave was transferred to the RAF as a lieutenant colonel.

Inter-war years

In 1919 Cave-Browne-Cave was awarded a permanent commission in the RAF and reverted to his previous rank of wing commander. He went on to serve in a senior training appointment at No. 1 School of Technical Training before working as the RAF's Deputy Director of Design.

The summer of 1926 saw Cave-Browne-Cave promoted to group captain and appointed as Deputy Director of Technical Development several months later. He only worked in technical development for several months as in May 1927 he took up the post of Officer Commanding the Far East Flight. The Far East Flight was a newly created unit and it was established to prove that the RAF had the capability to reinforce the more remote parts of the British Empire. The Flight, led by Cave-Browne-Cave, departed Plymouth on 17 October 1927 and eventually arrived in Singapore on 28 February the next year. Cave-Browne-Cave then took the Far East Flight on a flying tour of Australia further demonstrating the increasing reach of British air power. After the Far East Flight returned to Singapore, it was redesignated No. 205 Squadron and Cave-Browne-Cave returned to England as a supernumerary within the headquarters of Coastal Area.^[1] The following summer, Cave-Browne-Cave returned to Singapore, resuming his former command in its upgraded form as No. 205 Squadron. At the start of 1930 he became the Officer Commanding RAF Base Singapore.

Back at the Air Ministry in London, Cave-Browne-Cave is credited as being the person who authorised the UKP 10,000 investment in the development of the Supermarine Spitfire in time for it to be the decisive fighter in the Battle of Britain.^[2]

On 17 January 1939, when flying out of RAF Eastchurch, Cave-Browne-Cave was seriously injured in a flying accident which occurred at Butley in Suffolk. His personal assistant, Flying Officer Geoffrey Beavis was killed^[3] and Cave-Browne-Cave's active career came to an end.^[4]

References

Notes

↑ http://www.rafweb.org/Ops_FE.htm
↑ The Airplane That Saved the World: What the RAF's World War II Spitfire can teach us about nurturing innovation and radical ideas., Tim Harford, Slate.com, excerpt: Harford's book "Adapt: Why Success Always Starts With Failure", 16 May 2011, accessed 19 May 2011
↑ http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1939/1939%20-%200213.html
↑ http://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Cave-Browne-Cave.htm

Military offices
Preceded by W G S Mitchell	RAF College Commandant 1934 – 1936	Succeeded by J E A Baldwin

v t e Aviation in World War I

People and aircraft	Commanders Aces Aircraft of the Entente Powers Aircraft of the Central Powers Zeppelins

Campaigns and battles	Strategic bombing German Cuxhaven Bombing of cities Aerial reconnaissance Fokker Scourge Flight over Vienna Bloody April Battles

Entente Powers air services	British air services Royal Flying Corps Royal Naval Air Service Royal Air Force Australian Flying Corps Canadian Air Force (1918–1920) French Air Service Imperial Russian Air Service Italian Military Air Corps United States Army Air Service Greek air services Army Air Service Naval Air Service

Central Powers air services	Imperial German Air Service Austro-Hungarian Imperial and Royal Aviation Troops Ottoman Air Force Bulgarian Army Aeroplane Section

Persondata
Name	Cave-Browne-Cave, Henry Meyrick
Alternative names
Short description	Royal Air Force air marshals
Date of birth	1 February 1887
Place of birth	Wandsworth, Surrey, England
Date of death	5 August 1965
Place of death	Southampton, Hampshire, England

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