John Dowling (RAF officer)

John Dowling
John Dowling
Nickname(s)	"Mr Helicopter"
Born	5 July 1923; Manchester, England
Died	July 2000
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Air Force
Years of service	1941–1978
Rank	Wing Commander
Commands held	No. 72 Squadron (1961–62)
Battles/wars	Second World War; Berlin Airlift; Malayan Emergency; Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
Awards	Member of the Order of the British Empire; Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar; Air Force Cross; Mentioned in Despatches

Wing Commander John Reginald Dowling, MBE, DFC & Bar, AFC^[2] (5 July 1923 – July 2000) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and helicopter pilot famous for placing the spire of the rebuilt Coventry Cathedral on 22 April 1962.^[1] He was a Lancaster bomber pilot during the Second World War, and the author of RAF Helicopters: The First Twenty Years, a comprehensive overview of the RAF's early helicopters and their uses.^[1]

Dowling was born in Withington Manchester, the son of Dr Stephen Dowling and Mrs Kathleen Dowling (née Gilmore). One of four children, he was educated at Ampleforth College and practised Catholicism all of his life.

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Wing Commander John Dowling". The Telegraph. London. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
^ "No. 41589". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1958. p. 9.

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[Telegraph-1] "Wing Commander John Dowling". The Telegraph. London. 28 July 2000. Retrieved 31 March 2012.

[MBE-2] "No. 41589". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1958. p. 9.

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