Air Chief Marshal Sir James Milne Robb , GCB , KBE , DSO , DFC , AFC (26 January 1895 – 18 December 1968) was a senior Royal Air Force commander. After early service in the First World War with the Northumberland Fusiliers , Robb joined the Royal Flying Corps and became a flying ace credited with seven aerial victories. He was granted a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force in 1919 and commanded No. 30 Squadron RAF in the Iraqi revolt against the British . In 1939, Robb travelled to Canada to help establish the Empire Air Training Scheme , a massive training program that provided the Royal Air Force with trained aircrew from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia . He commanded No. 2 Group RAF of RAF Bomber Command and No. 15 Group RAF of RAF Coastal Command .
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Robb became Deputy Chief of Combined Operations under Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1942. During Operation Torch he was air advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander , Lieutenant General Dwight Eisenhower and in February 1943, Eisenhower appointed him Deputy Commander of the Northwest African Air Forces . When Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander in Europe in January 1944, he brought Robb to his Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force as Deputy Chief of Staff (Air). Robb became Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command in 1945 and learned to fly the Gloster Meteor , the RAF's first operational jet aircraft . He became Vice-Chief of the Air Staff in 1947, and then Commander in Chief of the Western Union 's air forces in 1948. In 1951 he became Inspector General of the RAF .
In a ceremony at the airport in Frankfort, Germany, President Harry S. Truman (third from left) presents the Army Distinguished Service Medal to (opposite the President, L to R:) General H. D. G. Crerar , Canadian Army, Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham , Air Marshal Sir James Robb, and Major General Sir F. W. Guingand . President Truman is in Frankfort to inspect U. S. troops during a break in the Potsdam Conference.
In 1939, Robb travelled to Canada to help establish the Empire Air Training Scheme , a massive training program that provided the Royal Air Force with trained aircrew from Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Southern Rhodesia throughout the Second World War . In January 1940 he was promoted to air commodore . He took command of No. 2 Group RAF in April.[1] In July 1940 he was awarded the Air Force Cross ,[6] and in September he was promoted again, this time to air vice marshal .[7] On 1 January 1941, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath .[8] However, he fell out with the head of RAF Bomber Command , Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse , over the merits of sending Bristol Blenheims on unescorted daylight missions, which Robb regarded as suicidal. Robb was therefore transferred to RAF Coastal Command , where he command No. 15 Group RAF .[1]
Robb became Deputy Chief of Combined Operations under Lord Louis Mountbatten in 1942. During Operation Torch he was air advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander , Lieutenant General Dwight Eisenhower . In February 1943, Eisenhower appointed him Deputy Commander of the Northwest African Air Forces under Major General Carl Spaatz . After Air Chief Marshal Tedder became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in Europe in January 1944, he brought Robb to his Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force as Deputy Chief of Staff (Air). Robb was promoted to air marshal in October 1944 and created a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in January 1945. In May 1945 he was appointed the head of RAF Fighter Command and learned to fly the Gloster Meteor , the RAF's first operational jet aircraft . He claimed to have flown over 150 different aircraft types in his career. In August 1945 he received the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal from the President of the United States , Harry S. Truman .[1]
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