Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding

INTRODUCTION
“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust
upon them.”
- William Shakespeare
1. One name that stood out during The Battle of Britain was Air Chief Marshal
Sir Hugh Dowding. Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding’s place in history is
secured by what, in his own eyes, was a failure. Dowding intended, and
expected, to become Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) and, for justifiable reasons,
he never made it. Instead, he became the man who led ‘The Few’ in the Battle of
Britain. The manner and timing of Dowding’s dismissal from his post as Air
Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOCinC) Fighter Command in the immediate
aftermath of his great victory in the Battle of Britain remains controversial,
and clearly reflects upon his command and leadership competence. As Sir
Arthur ‘Bomber’ Harris reflected: ‘He is the only commander who won one of the
decisive battles of history, and got sacked for his pains.
AIM
2. To Apprise the life history of Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding and
analyze his leadership traits.
BACKGROUND AND EARLY LIFE
3. Hugh Dowding, the son of a schoolmaster, was born in Moffatt,
Scotland, on 24 April 1882. His father wanted Hugh to have a sound education,
saying 'you must choose and work at your profession, because a profession will
not always choose you." So enrolled Hugh into his old school Winchester for his
education.
4. He was very selective in what he wanted to learn, had a personal hate for
Latin and Greek. After just a couple of years, he chose to leave Winchester when
only 17 years old .
 MILITARY CAREER
5. He was accepted into the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. Deciding to
become an engineer, he failed because of his hate for formulas so he enlisted as a
gunner in the army instead. After that-
 Promoted to lieutenant on 8 May 1902.
 Posted to No. 7 Mountain Artillery Battery in India in 1904.
 After returning to the United Kingdom, he attended the Army Staff College
1912
 Promoted to captain on 18 August 1913 and being posted with the Royal
Garrison Artillery on the Isle of Wight later that year.
 After becoming interested in aviation, Dowding gained Aviator's Certificate
no. 711 on 19 December 1913.
 He then attended the Central Flying School, where he was awarded his
wings.
 He joined the RFC in December 1913.
 With the outbreak of World War I in August 1914, Dowding served with No.
6 and 9 Squadrons.

6. Dowding in WWI

 Dowding returned to Britain in April 1915 to form the Wireless

Experimental Establishment at Brooklands and also commanded No 16 Sqn.
 Posted to the 7th Wing at Farnborough in early 1916 and took part in the
Battle of the Somme.
 promoted to brigadier general in 1917.
 In 1918, he moved to the newly created Royal Air Force and in the years
after the war led No. 16 and No. 1 Groups.
 He was sent to the Middle East in 1924 as the chief staff officer for the RAF
Iraq Command.
 Promoted to air vice marshal in 1929.
 Joined the Air Council in 1930.
7. The Battle of Britain. Dowding took command of Fighter Command
where he argued that the Air Ministry should concentrate on development of
aircraft for the defence of Britain rather than producing a fleet of bombers. Aware
that the RAF would struggle against the Luftwaffe, Dowding advised Neville
Chamberlain to appease Adolf Hitler in an attempt to gain time to prepare the
country for war.

8. In 1940 Dowding worked closely with Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, the
commander of No. 11 Fighter Group, in covering the evacuation at Dunkirk.
Although Dowding only had 200 planes at his disposal he managed to gain air
superiority over the Luftwaffe. However, he was unwilling to sacrifice his pilots in
what he considered to be a futile attempt to help Allied troops during the
Western Offensive.

9. During the Battle of Britain Dowding was criticized by Air Vice-Marshal

William Sholto Douglas, assistant chief of air staff, and Air Vice-Marshal Trafford
Leigh-Mallory, for not being aggressive enough. Douglas took the view that RAF
fighters should be sent out to meet the German planes before they reached
Britain. Dowding rejected this strategy as being too dangerous and argued it
would increase the number of pilots being killed. Dowding was removed from
Fighter Command in November 1940, shortly after winning the battle.

LATER CAREER
10. Awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath for his role in the
battle, Dowding was effectively sidelined for the rest of his career due to his
outspoken and forthright manner. After conducting an aircraft purchasing mission
to the United States, he returned to Britain and conducted an economic study on
RAF manpower before retiring in July 1942. In 1943, he was created First Baron
Dowding of Bentley Priory for his service to the nation. In his later years, he
became actively engaged in spiritualism and increasingly bitter regarding his
treatment by the RAF. Largely living away from the service, he did serve as the
president of the Battle of Britain Fighter Association. Dowding died at Tunbridge
Wells on February 15, 1970, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.
 LEADERSHIP TRAITS
11. Leadership Analysis:
a. Dowding was well fitted to exercise authority, yet command
of a squadron was not the employment where one would expect him
to be happiest.
b. To most of his subordinates he was seen as a tall, softly
spoken man with a quiet manner.
c. He had an air of abstracted concern with things outside their
ken, was curiously withdrawn, and had a disconcerting habit of
mingling praise with blame. To them, he personified aloofness.

d. His considerable technical background was invaluable to his

support for the development of radar command and control, and modern
all metal fighter aircraft made him well qualified, perhaps the most
qualified in the RAF, to become AOCinC Fighter Command.

e. Dowding’s organisation and subsequent running of Fighter

Command provided an almost classic example of how a CinC should
work. Over a protracted period of time, he evolved a method of
formulating his plans in a strategic sense and for giving orders. He
had a complete grasp of the necessity to keep his eye on the long-term
view, planning ahead for what he believed would be the most likely course
of future action. However, if there was a potential flaw in Dowding’s
intellect, it was he became too involved at the tactical level.

f. However, despite being a natural a sceptic, Dowding possessed

very good technical knowledge, and he did his own investigating when
he considered the operational or technical advice suspect, a lesson he
learned from his time in the Air Ministry.