Alec Coryton
| Sir William Alec Coryton | |
|---|---|
|
Air Commodore Coryton c.1940 | |
| Born |
16 February 1895 Pentillie, Pillaton |
| Died |
20 October 1981 (aged 86) Langton Matravers |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom |
| Service/branch |
 British Army (1914–18) Royal Air Force (1918–51) |
| Years of service | 1914–1951 |
| Rank | Air Chief Marshal |
| Commands held |
AHQ Burma (1945) Third Tactical Air Force (1944) No. 5 Group (1942–43) No. 16 Squadron (1925–28) |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
| Awards |
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire Member of the Royal Victorian Order Distinguished Flying Cross Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
Air Chief Marshal Sir William Alec Coryton KCB, KBE, MVO, DFC (16 February 1895 – 20 October 1981), known as Alec Coryton, was a senior Royal Air Force commander in the Second World War.
Life
Originally commissioned as an officer into the British Army's Rifle Brigade (Special Reserve), Coryton transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as a lieutenant in 1918. When the RFC became the Royal Air Force, he resigned his Army commission and became a Royal Air Force officer.
From 1925 to 1928, he was Officer Commanding 16 Squadron, based at Old Sarum, Wiltshire, operating the Bristol F.2 Fighter in the tactical reconnaissance role.
On 25 April 1942 he became Air Officer Commanding No. 5 Group RAF. It has been claimed that the then Air Commodore Coryton was sacked by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris for refusing to send a small force of Lancasters from his group on a sneak raid to Berlin in poor weather conditions.
In February 1943 Coryton moved to the Air Staff at the Air Ministry and was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in 1944.
On 25 August 1944 he became Commander, RAF Third Tactical Air Force.
- 1944 4 December Commander, RAF in Bengal & Burma.
- 1944 14 December – May 1945 Assistant Air Commander, Eastern Air Command.
- 1945 27 February Air Marshal Commanding HQ RAF Burma
References
- Air Chief Marshal Coryton at Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation
External links
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Slessor |
Air Officer Commanding No. 5 Group 1942–1943 |
Succeeded by Ralph Cochrane |
| Preceded by Jack Baldwin |
Air Officer Commanding Third Tactical Air Force Post downgraded to AOC HQ RAF Bengal and Burma on 4 December 1944 Post renamed AOC HQ RAF Burma on 1 June 1945 1944–1947 |
Post disestablished |