Sir Charles Read | |
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 Official RAAF portrait of Air Marshal Read | |
| Birth name | Charles Frederick Read |
| Born | 9 October 1918 Sydney, New South Wales |
| Died | 17 September 2014(2014-09-17) (aged 95) Woolgoolga, New South Wales |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Service/branch | Royal Australian Air Force |
| Service years | 1937–75 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Unit | No. 30 Squadron (1942) |
| Commands |
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| Conflicts | |
| Awards | |
Air MarshalSir Charles Frederick Read,KBE,CB,DFC,AFC (9 October 1918 – 17 September 2014) was a senior commander in theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served asChief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1972 to 1975. Born inSydney, Read joined the RAAF in 1937, and began his career flying biplane fighters. As aBeaufighter pilot, he ledNo. 31 Squadron andNo. 77 Wing in theSouth West Pacific during World War II. His achievements earned him theDistinguished Flying Cross and amention in despatches, and he finished the war an actinggroup captain.
Read's post-war commands included theAustralian First Tactical Air Force,No. 24 (Commonwealth) Squadron RAF,Central Flying School andNo. 82 (Bomber) Wing. He was awarded theAir Force Cross in 1960. Following staff roles, Read took charge ofRAAF Base Point Cook and theRAAF Academy in the mid-1960s, and laterRAAF Base Richmond. In 1970 he was promoted toair vice marshal and becameDeputy Chief of the Air Staff. He succeeded Air MarshalSir Colin Hannah as CAS in March 1972, when the latter cut short his term as head of the Air Force to becomeGovernor of Queensland. Air Marshal Read retired from the military in March 1975 and wasknighted the following year.
Born inSydney on 9 October 1918, Read was the son of an immigrant fromBristol, England.[1][2] He was educated atSydney Grammar School, where he completed his Leaving Certificate. After working as a clerk in a motoring firm, Read joined theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as an air cadet on 21 July 1937. He underwent instruction atNo. 1 Flying Training School inPoint Cook, Victoria, and gained his commission as apilot officer in June 1938.[3][4] Over the next two years he flew withNo. 3 Squadron andNo. 22 Squadron, which were based atRAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, and operatedHawker Demon biplanes.[5][6] He was involved in experimental parachute drops with dummies nearMenangle; on one such test a fundamental flaw in the harness revealed itself when the dummy slipped clean from the chute, necessitating a redesign.[7] By the time Australia declared war on 3 September 1939, Read had been promoted toflying officer. He later recalled a flurry of activity on the day, but with little real purpose: "After all, we were pretty remote from Europe".[8]
Read was assigned toNo. 30 Squadron flyingBristol Beaufighters after the unit was formed in March 1942; during this posting he reportedly flew a Beaufighter under theSydney Harbour Bridge.[9]Squadron Leader Read was subsequently given responsibility for raisingNo. 31 Squadron, also equipped with Beaufighters.[9] After completing its initial training, the unit was deployed toCoomalie, Northern Territory, in October. Coming under the control ofNorth-Western Area Command, it went into action overPortuguese Timor the following month.[10] By April 1943, Read had been promotedwing commander. On 2 May, he led a low-level sortie againstPenfui airfield, a key base for Japanese raids onDarwin, during which he destroyed two enemyMitsubishi Zero fighters on the ground with cannon.[11] Read was awarded theDistinguished Flying Cross for the "courage and skill" he displayed during assaults on Japanese installations, pressed home in the face of severe anti-aircraft fire.[3][12] The citation was promulgated in theLondon Gazette on 2 July 1943.[13]
Returning to Australia, Read held command ofNo. 1 Service Flying Training School atPoint Cook from October 1943 until the unit's disbandment in September 1944.[14] He transferred back to theSouth West Pacific theatre later that year as Officer CommandingNo. 77 Wing, which controlled three squadrons of Beaufighters.[15][16] Read led Beaufighters of No. 31 Squadron into action during theOperation Oboe Six landings atLabuan on 10 June 1945,[17] and was the first RAAF pilot to land at the newly openedTarakan airfield on 28 June.[18] He wasmentioned in despatches for the operational and administrative efficiency achieved by No. 77 Wing, and by the end of the war was an actinggroup captain on the headquarters staff of theAustralian First Tactical Air Force atMorotai.[3][5] He took over command of the formation following the end of hostilities, leading it into 1946 as its units were steadily disbanded.[19] Read returned to Australia in early 1946.[9]
Read married Betty Bradshaw on 1 June 1946; the couple had three sons.[20] He was the inaugural commanding officer (CO) of the re-formed No. 1 Flying Training School at RAAF Station Point Cook from November 1947 to September 1949.[21] During this time he was offered a permanent commission in the post-war Air Force, with the provisional rank of squadron leader. Read was then promoted to substantive wing commander,[3] and posted to England where he ledNo. 24 (Commonwealth) Squadron RAF from March to December 1950.[22] Returning from England in 1952, he was made CO ofCentral Flying School atRAAF Base East Sale, Victoria, and went on to hold staff appointments atHeadquarters Training Command from 1953 to 1957.[5]
Ranked group captain, Read commandedNo. 82 Wing atRAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, from February 1957 to July 1960, flyingEnglish Electric Canberra jet bombers.[3] He was awarded theAir Force Cross in the1960 New Year Honours.[23] Read then served as Director of Operational Requirements at theDepartment of Air inCanberra.[3] He was appointed aCommander of the Order of the British Empire in the1964 New Year Honours for his work introducing aircraft and weapons systems into the Air Force, including two overseas missions for aircraft and equipment selection.[24][25] In December 1964, he was promoted toair commodore, and the following year attended theImperial Defence College in London.[3][26] Read was made Officer Commanding RAAF Base Point Cook in January 1966, simultaneously holding the appointment of Commandant ofRAAF Academy.[27][28] He then served as Officer Commanding RAAF Base Richmond from March 1968 to July 1969.[5][29]
Read was promotedair vice marshal and madeDeputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) in January 1970. In 1962, while Director of Operational Requirements, he had recommended theBoeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter for Australian service. As DCAS, after plans to acquire such a heavy-lift capability had languished for eight years, Read was able to finally give the go-aheadfor their purchase.[30] He led a team to the United States in May 1970 to review a proposal tolease two squadrons ofMcDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantoms to provide an interim strike force for the RAAF, pending delivery of the long-delayedGeneral Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber. According to the official history of the post-war Air Force, Read's decision to take up the F-4E offer, over competingHawker Siddeley Buccaneer andGrumman A-6 Intruder options, "delighted RAAF senior officers and aircrews".[31]
In March 1972, Air MarshalSir Colin Hannah resigned as CAS one year short of his planned three-year term, to becomeGovernor of Queensland. Read had not been consulted by Hannah prior to the latter's departure, and was reputed to be somewhat reluctant to take over the CAS role.[32] Nevertheless, he was promoted toair marshal and served a full three-year tour as the Air Force's senior officer.[3] Read was appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bath in the1972 Queen's Birthday Honours.[33] A highlight of his tenure as CAS was the belated entry into RAAF service of the F-111C with No. 82 Wing in June 1973; as well as being an advocate for building up Australia's offensive strike capability, he had been a member of the 1963 mission led by Air MarshalVal Hancock to examine replacements for the Canberra, which led to the F-111's acquisition.[3][34] Read ordered the Officer Commanding No. 82 Wing, Group CaptainJake Newham, to operate the F-111 with great caution initially, well within limits, lest the controversial aircraft suffer greater damage to its reputation through early attrition.[35] Read felt that "the nature of the office of CAS changed for the worse" towards the end of his term as the RAAF's senior officer, as a plethora of committees sprang up in the wake of theTange report on the defence force. In the words of historian Alan Stephens, "The seemingly interminable round of committee meetings which followed the Tange reorganisation made management very difficult, to the extent that Air Marshal Read often felt he was fighting against the system rather than working with it".[36]
Read retired from military life on 20 March 1975 and was succeeded by Air MarshalJames Rowland, who later becameGovernor of New South Wales. Considered disdainful ofbureaucracy and some of the trappings of high office, Read refused to sit for the traditional portrait painted of former Chiefs of the Air Staff.[3][37] As CAS during theWhitlamLabor government, which was generally antipathetic to imperial knighthoods, he was not raised to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) until the1976 Queen's Birthday Honours, after theLiberal Party underMalcolm Fraser had been returned to power.[38][39] Originally fromVaucluse, in Sydney's east, by 2010 Read was living inSafety Beach, on the New South WalesMid North Coast.[15][20] He died at Woolgoolga and District Retirement Village on 17 September 2014.[40]
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by Air MarshalSir Colin Hannah | Chief of the Air Staff 1972–1975 | Succeeded by Air MarshalSir James Rowland |
| Chief of the Air Staff |
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| Chief of Air Force | ||
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| National | |
