Allen Wheeler
Birth nameAllen Henry Wheeler
Born(1903-09-27)27 September 1903
Bitterley, Shropshire, England
Died1 January 1984(1984-01-01) (aged 80)
Berkshire, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1925–1955
RankAir Commodore
Service number05109
Commands heldRAF Fairford
RAF Cyprus
Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsCommander of the Order of the British Empire

Air Commodore Allen Henry Wheeler CBE FRAeS (27 September 1903 – 1 January 1984) was a Royal Air Force officer and pilot who served during the Second World War. He was later trustee of the Shuttleworth Trust, a collection of vintage cars and aircraft.[1]

Early life

Wheeler was born on 27 September 1903 in the village of Bitterley near Ludlow, Shropshire. He was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge and then commissioned as a Pilot Officer in the Royal Air Force in 1925 where he trained as an engineer and pilot.[1]

Royal Air Force

Between 1941 and 1943 he commanded the Performance Testing Squadron at RAF Boscombe Down and the Experimental Flying Department at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, (RAE), Farnborough.[1] He took the opportunity to fly a number of captured Germany aircraft including the Focke-Wulf 190 and while at the RAF was one of the few pilots to fly the first British jet aircraft the Gloster E.28/39.[1]

Following his duties in experimental and test flying he became involved in developing support for airborne forces, he commanded RAF Fairford during the Normandy landings and the operations at Arnhem.[1] Promoted to Air Commodore, Wheeler was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer in South-east Asia.[1] Between 1950 and 1951 he commanded the RAF in Cyprus before returning to the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (A&AEE) at Boscombe Down between 1952 and 1955 when he retired.[1]

Later life

Wheeler became involved in the flying and restoration of historic aircraft and became a trustee of the Shuttleworth Trust collection of vintage cars and aircraft.[1]

In 1965 he was technical advisor and a pilot involved in the film, Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines.[2]

Wheeler died in Berkshire on 1 January 1984.[1]

Promotions

17 January 1925: Pilot Officer (seniority 17 January 1924);

17 July 1925: Flying Officer;

14 May 1930: Flight Lieutenant;

1 April 1937: Squadron Leader;

12 March 1940: Wing Commander;

1 March 1942: temporary Group Captain;

Acting Air Commodore

Air Commodore[3]

Author

Wheeler authored the following books:

  • ...that nothing failed them (1963)
  • Building aeroplanes for 'those magnificent men' (1965)
  • Flying between the Wars (1972)

Honours and awards

This officer is Station Commander at Fairford. He was faced with a very difficult task in the preparation for the landings in Normandy on D Day. He took over a new and unfinished station in February and had to weld into an efficient fighting machine a depleted squadron transferred from Bomber Command and a squadron just commencing to form. Group Captain Wheeler not only brought both squadrons up to a high state of efficiency but also organized the station to deal with the despatch of a large number of gliders in a minimum period of time. Throughout his service in the Group, he has displayed drive, initiative and leadership which he has used to the greatest advantage. He has set an excellent example by himself participating in operations.

Views of other aviators

Dennis Neville who formed "Captain Neville's FLying Circus" lists as one of his most memorable aviation moments as:-

Performing a 'falling leaf' in an Avro 504 at Farnborough, 30 years after seeing Alan [sic] Wheeler perform the same.[6]

In his book Wings on My Sleeve (page 157 et seq), Capt. Eric "Winkle" Brown records his admiration of a number of erstwhile colleagues who deserve recognition:-

"I was fortunate to have such fine C.O.s as Alan Hards, Dick Ubee, Silyn Roberts, and Alan [sic] Wheeler"

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Air Commodore Allen Wheeler." Times [London, England] 5 January 1984: 12. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 1 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 hours 11 minutes (1965)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "TracesOfWar.com – WHEELER, Allen Henry". TracesOfWar.com. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "No. 36866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1945. p. 18.
  5. ↑ "No. 40366". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1954. p. 9.
  6. ↑ "Captain Neville's Flying Circus – Dennis Neville". Captainnevillesflyingcircus.org.uk. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 27 November 2013.

Other sources

  • The London Gazette Issue 33015, dated 27 January 1925
  • The London Gazette Issue 33076, dated 18 August 1925
  • The London Gazette Issue 33605, dated 13 May 1930
  • The London Gazette Issue 34385, dated 2 April 1937
  • The London Gazette Issue 34810, dated 12 March 1940
  • Supplement to The London Gazette of 31 December 1940, Issue 35029, dated 1 January 1941
  • The London Gazette Issue 35503, dated 27 March 1942
  • Ninth Supplement to The London Gazette of 28 December 1945, Issue 37415, dated 1 January 1946
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