Air Vice Marshal Donald Bennett, CB, CBE, DSO

Don Bennett was born on 14 September 1910 at Toowoomba, Queensland, youngest of the four sons of George Thomas Bennett, a Queensland born stock and station agent and grazier, and his English-born wife Celia Juliana, nee Lucas. Educated at Brisbane Grammar School. “Somewhat of a loafer” at school, Bennett worked as a jackeroo on the family property, where he developed an intense interest in motorised vehicles, at one stage helping a neighbour rebuild a Maurice Farman biplane.

Don left school without academic distinction, he did not follow his brothers' academic careers in law and medicine. Well known Barrister, Sir Arnold Bennett was a brother. After a time working on his father’s cattle station, he moved to Brisbane where his attendance as an evening science student at the University of Queensland, together with his rank as a Non-Commissioned Officer in the Militia, resulted in Don being one of only 15 successful candidates from thousands of applicants to become a cadet in the Royal Australian Air Force. He joined on 16 July 1930 and began flying training at Point Cook, Victoria, as a pilot on the DH Moth and Westland Wapiti. At the end of the course, he came second in the theoretical examination and top in practical flying. Australia at the time was mired in the Great Depression, and while the RAAF was able to train pilots, it couldn’t afford to retain them; consequently, Bennett and his fellow cadets had to agree to transfer to the British RAF upon graduation. Don topped his course in flying, and in August 1931 began a four-year commission with the RAF in the United Kingdom.

Through his acceptance of a short-service commission in the RAF on 11 August 1931, Bennett began an association with England; he was to live principally in the Home Counties for the rest of his life. He served with No. 29 Squadron, flying the Siskin, a biplane fighter aircraft, and with No. 210 Squadron, equipped with flying boats, before becoming and Instructor. In January 1932, he had been promoted to Flying Officer. He left the RAF and transferred to the RAAF Reserve on   11 August 1935, holding a First-Class Navigator’s Licence, a Wireless Operator’s Licence, three categories of the Ground Engineer’s Licence, a Commercial Pilot’s Licence and a Flying Instructor’s Certificate.

In April 1935, he met Swiss woman Elsa Gubler. “Ly” was beautiful, intelligent, spoke seven languages, and shone at sport. It was a classic romance: their eyes met and they were both smitten. Four months later, they married at the registry office in Winchester, Hampshire. It was to be a close and rewarding union of equals. With her co-operation, he wrote The Complete Air Navigator (1935), which became the essential textbook on the subject and remained in print for over thirty years.

Bennett joined Imperial Airways Ltd in January 1936 and was soon flying between London, Paris and Cologne in Germany. Posted to Egypt, he flew Handley Page 42’s to India and Kenya, and Empire Flying Boats from Southhampton, England, to Alexandria and South African ports. In 1938, he published The Air Mariner, which was concerned with the handling of flying boats. That year Imperial Airways decided to fly the North Atlantic mail using a small four-engined aircraft, the Short Mayo named Mercury, launched from the back of a larger flying boat. It was known as the Short Mayo Composite. Bennett was placed in command of Mercury, and in July he successfully made the first commercial trans-Atlantic flight employing this revolutionary combination. In doing so, he achieved a record east to west crossing of the North Atlantic. For these, he was awarded in 1938, the Johnston Memorial Trophy and the Oswald Watt Gold Medal. In October, he flew Mercury non-stop from Scotland to South Africa, setting a long-distance record for a seaplane. The next year, he took part in proving the concept of air-to-air refuelling, designed to make possible non-stop trans-Atlantic commercial flights.

During 1940, Bennett's long-distance expertise was harnessed setting up the Atlantic Ferry Organization tasked with the wartime delivery of thousands of aircraft manufactured in the United States and Canada to the United Kingdom. In mid-winter, he personally led the first flight of seven Hudson aircraft to safely make the crossing. At that time, a transatlantic flight was a significant and very dangerous event, but the Atlantic Ferry project proved remarkably successful and demonstrated that with suitable training even inexperienced pilots could safely deliver new aircraft across the North Atlantic.

Bennett was recommissioned in 1941 in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve as a Squadron Leader. His first task was to oversee the formation of the Elementary Air Navigation School, Eastbourne, for the initial training of observers (later navigators). However, he was promoted to Wing Commander and appointed to command No 77 Squadron on 7 December 1941. Based at RAF Leeming, the squadron flew Armstrong Whitworth Whitleys in 4 Group, Bomber Command.
In April 1942, No 77 Squadron was transferred to Coastal Command and Bennett was given command of No 10 Squadron (Handley Page Halifax) and shortly afterwards led a raid on the German battleship Tirpitz. Shot down during that raid, he evaded capture and escaped to Sweden, from where he was able to return to Britain. He and his copilot were awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 16 June 1942.

In July 1942, Bennett was appointed to command the new Pathfinder Force (PFF).
Having already demonstrated that he could pass on his meticulous navigational ability to others, Bennett was an obvious choice for the role, nevertheless a surprising one. The Air Ministry's Directorate of Bomber Operations had for some time been pushing to establish an elite precision bombing force, but Bomber Command, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Air Chief Marshal Arthur Harris was implacably opposed to the idea on the grounds that it would "lower the morale" of the other squadrons. When Harris learned that Vice-Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Wilfrid Freeman planned to order the formation of the new bombing force, and that the strong-willed Basil Embry would probably be given command of the new force, Harris bowed to the inevitable but was given a "more or less free hand" in selection of the force commander. He chose to appoint Bennett without considering other candidates. Harris described Bennett as "the most efficient airman I have ever met." Bennett was called to Bomber Command HQ when he was on the point of leaving with his squadron for the Middle East. There he was informed by Harris that he was to lead a special force to make use of the new bombing and navigational aids then available and the more sophisticated ones that would follow. With effect from 5 July 1942, he was promoted to Group Captain.

In 1943, the PFF was upgraded to group status and Bennett was promoted to Air Commodore; and then in December to acting Air Vice Marshal – the youngest ever to hold that rank – giving him a rank similar to other commanders of Groups. He remained in command of the PFF until the end of the war, overseeing its growth to an eventual 19 squadrons, a training flight and a meteorological flight, working relentlessly to improve its standards, and tirelessly campaigning for better equipment, in particular for more Mosquitos and Lancasters to replace the diverse assortment of often obsolete aircraft with which the force started.

Bennett was an inspirational leader touched by genius: a personally difficult and naturally aloof man, he earned a great deal of respect from his crews. As Harris wrote, "he could not suffer fools gladly, and by his own high standards there were many fools." Bennett held everyone, including himself, to the highest professional standards, but he could be warm and charming. Nor did Bennett get on well with the other RAF group commanders: not only was he 20 years younger, but he was also an Australian. Indeed, Bennett saw his own appointment in those terms: it was, he believed, a victory for the "players" over the "gentlemen". There was antagonism between Bennett and Air Vice-Marshal Ralph Cochrane of No 5 Group. In No 5 Group's 617 Squadron, Cochrane had his own specialist squadron pursuing high levels of target marking accuracy utilising low level tactics.

Despite the unquestioned achievements of No 8 Group, at the end of the war, Bennett was the only Bomber Command Group Commander not to be knighted. He resigned his commission in the RAF and returned to private life to pursue a variety of activities. He became a director of British South American Airways (BSAA) and designed and built both cars, Fairthorpes, and light aircraft.

He was dismissed from BSAA on 10 February 1948 after a disagreement with the board, and started his own airline, Airflight, based at Langley Airfield, Berkshire, which was also BSAA's base. The company operated two Avro Tudor airliners, mainly used for carrying fuel during the Berlin Airlift. One of his darkest hours after the war came on 12 March 1950, when one of his aircraft, operating a charter flight, crashed at Llandow in Wales, killing 80 of its 83 occupants. 
Bennett became one of the shortest-serving Members of Parliament of the 20th century when he was elected at a by-election in 1945 as Liberal MP for Middlesbrough West. He was defeated soon afterwards in the 1945 general election – his parliamentary career having lasted all of 73 days. He had previously attempted to be selected as a Conservative candidate for Macclesfield in February 1944. One of his fellow candidates was Guy Gibson; Gibson was selected instead. 
Attempts to return to the House of Commons for Croydon North at a by-election in 1948 and in Norwich North at the 1950 general election were unsuccessful. A later attempt at the 1967 Nuneaton by-election, standing for the obscure National Party, resulted in his losing his deposit. He continued his support for far-right fringe parties during the 1970s as a patron of the National Independence Party. At the February 1974 general election, he stood against the incumbent Conservative prime minister Ted Heath in Sidcup, under the banner "Anti-EEC" (in opposition to Britain's membership of the European Economic Community). He came last, winning just 1.5% of the vote. 

In 1958, he penned an autobiography entitled Pathfinder, detailing his experiences throughout the war, it was published by Frederick Muller Ltd.

After the closure of Blackbushe Airport in 1960 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Bennett purchased three-quarters of the Aerodrome from the Calthorpe Estate and set about reopening the airport as a general aviation facility. He was successful and Blackbushe reopened on 6 October 1962. Bennett fought a planning battle with local councils to develop Blackbushe with new hangar facilities. At the time he faced a lot of opposition from local residents, councils, and the ministry. Ultimately many of the efforts to establish modern facilities at Blackbushe were unsuccessful, and he subsequently sold the airport.

Bennett died at the age of 76 on Battle of Britain Day, 15 September 1986.

In the words of Australian Military Historian, Dr Alan Stephens:
“Air Vice-Marshal Donald Bennett’s life was defined by his peerless leadership of the Pathfinders. No other Australian held such an important command for so long, and none contributed more to victory in the most consequential war this country has fought. Given that compelling context, it is not unreasonable to suggest that he is Australia’s greatest military leader”.