Allegiance United Kingdom Rank Air chief marshal | Name David Harcourt-Smith Years of service 1952–1989 | |
Born 14 October 1931 (age 93) ( 1931-10-14 ) Commands held RAF Support CommandRAF College CranwellRAF BruggenNo. 6 SquadronNo. 54 Squadron Awards Order of the British Empire, Order of the Bath, Distinguished Flying Cross | ||
Air Chief Marshal Sir David Harcourt-Smith, (born 14 October 1931) is a former Royal Air Force officer who became Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Support Command. He is the author of Wings Over Suez, an account of air operations during the Sinai and Suez wars.
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RAF career
Educated at Felsted School and RAF College Cranwell, Harcourt-Smith was commissioned into the Royal Air Force in 1952. He served in Aden where he won the Distinguished Flying Cross for gallantry and devotion to duty in 1957.
He was appointed Officer Commanding No. 54 Squadron in 1963 and Officer Commanding No. 6 Squadron in 1969 before moving on to be Station Commander at RAF Bruggen in 1972 and Commandant of the RAF College Cranwell in 1978. He went on to be Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operational Requirements) in 1980, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief at RAF Support Command in 1984 and Controller of Aircraft in 1986. As Controller of Aircraft he oversaw the introduction of the Tucano training aircraft. He retired in 1989.
Family
In 1957 he married Dorothy Mary Entwistle; they had two sons and one daughter.