Alister Murdoch
Encyclopedia
Air Marshal
Sir Alister Murray Murdoch KBE, CB (9 December 1912 – 29 November 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1965 to 1969. Joining the Air Force in 1930, Murdoch trained as a seaplane pilot, and participated in an Antarctic
rescue mission for lost explorers in 1935. During World War II, he commanded No. 221 Squadron RAF in Europe and the Middle East, and later occupied senior positions on the staff of RAAF formations in the South West Pacific. His post-war appointments included Commandant of RAAF College
from 1952 to 1953, Air Officer Commanding
(AOC) Training Command from 1953 to 1955, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
from 1958 to 1959, and AOC Operational Command
from 1962 to 1965.
As AOC Training Command in 1954, Murdoch headed a programme to determine aircraft purchases for the RAAF; his recommendations included the C-130 Hercules transport, considered one of the most important acquisitions in the Air Force's history. His term as CAS coincided with increased commitment to the Vietnam War
, and he came into conflict with Australian Army
commanders over the employment of helicopters in battle. He was also involved in assessing the readiness of the General Dynamics F-111C
for RAAF service. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1960, and Knighted in 1966, Murdoch was the fourth in a series of CASs who had been cadets at the Royal Military College, Duntroon
. He retired from the Air Force in December 1969, and died in 1984.
, Victoria, the son of engineer Thomas Murdoch and his wife Kathleen. A lieutenant
in the Commonwealth Military Forces
at the time of Alister's birth, the elder Murdoch later served in both World Wars and rose to the rank of brigadier
. Educated at Caulfield Grammar School
, Alister entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon
, in 1929, following his elder brother Ian (later a major general
). Alister was one of four cadets sponsored that year by the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF), which did not at that stage have its own officer training college. Budgetary constraints imposed during the Great Depression
necessitated the transfer of these cadets out of Duntroon midway through their four-year course. Although offered positions in the Australian Public Service
or nominations for short-term commissions with the Royal Air Force
, all were determined to serve with the RAAF and were more than pleased with the prospect of entering their chosen service early.
Enlisting in the Air Force on 10 December 1930, Murdoch completed his pilot training the following year. He was commissioned in 1932 and later qualified as a flying instructor and seaplane pilot, undertaking navy cooperation
and maritime patrol
operations. In December 1935, Flying Officer
Murdoch was selected to join an RAAF rescue mission for explorer Lincoln Ellsworth
and his pilot, Herbert Hollick-Kenyon
, who were presumed lost while journeying across the Antarctic. Flying a de Havilland Gipsy Moth
, Murdoch located Hollick-Kenyon near the Bay of Whales
. Hollick-Kenyon led the search party to Ellsworth, who protested that he was not lost and did not need rescuing. Murdoch was posted to England in 1936–37 to undertake a course in long navigation
at RAF Manston
and serve on attachment with No. 114 Squadron
. Returning to Australia, he married Florence Miller on 27 December 1937; the couple had a daughter. Murdoch spent the next two years on the staff of the Directorate of Operations and Intelligence at Air Force Headquarters, Melbourne
. In June 1938, he helped inaugurate RAAF instruction in long navigation, with a nine-month course in the discipline.
Ranked squadron leader
at the outbreak of World War II, Murdoch took charge of No. 1 Air Observer School at Cootamundra
, New South Wales, from April 1940 until mid-1941. Following this posting he was promoted to wing commander
and sent to the European Theatre
. In August 1941, he became Commanding Officer
of No. 221 Squadron RAF, a Coastal Command
unit flying Vickers Wellington
s on reconnaissance and anti-submarine
patrols out of Iceland
during the Battle of the Atlantic. The next year, Murdoch accompanied the squadron to the Middle East
, where it carried out anti-submarine and maritime strike operations. He also served as Staff Officer Operations with No. 235 Wing RAF. Back in London in July 1942, Murdoch was assigned to Combined Operations Headquarters, where he assisted in planning the Dieppe Raid
before returning to Australia in 1943.
Promoted to group captain
, Murdoch was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Eastern Area Command, Sydney
, in July 1943. In January 1944, he became SASO at North Western Area Command, which controlled thirteen Australian, British, Dutch, and American squadrons from its headquarters in Darwin
, Northern Territory. Murdoch planned many of the command's bombing and mining operations in the South West Pacific Theatre
, and was mentioned in despatches for his "distinguished service" in the role. He was posted as SASO to the Australian First Tactical Air Force
(No. 1 TAF) in April 1945, replacing Group Captain William Gibson after the latter's dismissal in the wake of the "Morotai Mutiny
", when the threatened resignations of eight of the RAAF's leading fighter aces
caused a crisis in the formation's leadership. Delegated responsibility for operational aspects by No. 1 TAF's new Air Officer Commanding
, Air Commodore Frederick Scherger
, Murdoch received much of the credit for the "excellent" planning of the RAAF's role in Operation Oboe Six, the invasion of Labuan
. He accompanied Scherger ashore on the afternoon of the landings on 10 June 1945. Murdoch also earned praise for his staff work during Operation Oboe Two, the Battle of Balikpapan
, in July.
, London, in 1948. Returning to Australia, he served as Director of Air Staff Policy and Plans at Air Force Headquarters between 1949 and 1952. In February 1951, he led a team to the Middle East, where the possibility of Australia contributing a garrison force to the region was first raised. Two years later, No. 78 Wing
was deployed to Malta to fulfil this role, operating leased RAF de Havilland Vampire
jet fighters. Murdoch became Commandant of RAAF College
in June 1952, gaining promotion to air commodore
. In December 1953, he was raised to acting air vice marshal and appointed Air Officer Commanding
(AOC) Southern Area, shortly to be re-formed as Training Command.
In 1954, Murdoch led a mission to examine potential new fighter, bomber, transport and training aircraft for the RAAF, following a shift in defence funding towards the Air Force. He advocated the F-104 Starfighter as a replacement for the CAC Sabre
, two years before the Sabre entered squadron service with the RAAF, as well as nuclear-capable
British V bomber strike aircraft to augment Australia's Canberra
jet bombers, and C-130 Hercules transports to replace the C-47 Dakota. While his proposals for V bombers and the F-104 were not taken up, the Australian government acquired the C-130 in 1958. Described as second only to the General Dynamics F-111
as the "most significant" purchase by the RAAF, the Hercules gave the Air Force its first strategic airlift capability, which in years to come would provide a "lifeline" for Australian forces deployed to Malaya
, Vietnam
, and other parts of the South East Asia. Murdoch also recommended the locally built Vampire as a jet trainer for No. 1 Applied Flying Training School
; sixty-nine were later delivered as T35s by the de Havilland
factory in Bankstown
, New South Wales.
Murdoch was seconded to the Department of Defence
in January 1956 as Deputy Secretary (Military). By February 1958, he had been made a substantive air vice marshal and was appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
. In October 1959, Murdoch was posted to London as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1960 New Year Honours
. He returned to Australia in June 1962, when he became AOC Operational Command
. His tenure in the position coincided with the deployment of the first RAAF aircraft to South Vietnam
, seven DHC-4 Caribou
s, commencing in August 1964. Murdoch was promoted air marshal
and appointed Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) on 1 June 1965, succeeding Air Marshal Sir Valston Hancock
. He was the last of a quartet of army-trained CASs; from 1954 to 1969 inclusive, every RAAF chief—John McCauley
, Scherger, Hancock, and Murdoch—had been a cadet at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, prior to serving with the Air Force. With this pedigree, Murdoch was described by Air Chief Marshal Scherger as "the last of the professionals". The new CAS was raised to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours
.
beginning in the mid-1960s. He clashed with the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Lieutenant General Sir John Wilton, over the latter's recommendation in mid-1965 to deploy two UH-1 Iroquois helicopters to Vietnam. Wilton believed that both services would benefit from gaining familiarisation with air/ground operations in the region before large-scale commitment of Australian forces. Murdoch dismissed the idea on resourcing grounds, despite the fact that two-thirds of the RAAF's UH-1 complement had been purchased for the express purpose of army cooperation.
He further contended that helicopter operations in Malaysia had afforded the RAAF sufficient experience in the type of conditions they might face in Vietnam, though Australia's senior UH-1 pilot at the time considered that the former theatre offered "little if any hostile opposition, and there was none of the insertion and extraction of SAS patrols which was to become such an important part of the RAAF's Vietnam operations". Air Commodore Brian Eaton
, as Director-General of Operational Requirements, advised Murdoch that if the Air Force did not more fully satisfy the ground support requirements of the Army, then the Army itself would seek to take control of this sphere of operations, undermining the RAAF's position as the main provider of Australia's air power. Murdoch's reluctance to deploy the helicopters was eventually overridden by the Australian government, and No. 9 Squadron
's UH-1s were in action in Vietnam less than a year later. When Murdoch visited the combat zone himself in August 1966, he was informed by Brigadier O.D. Jackson that the squadron was not performing the role the Army expected of it.
Wilton's successor as CGS, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Daly, urged Murdoch to procure specialised helicopter gunship
s such as the AH-1 HueyCobra for Vietnam, to support the more vulnerable troop-carrying "slicks". Murdoch largely ignored the suggestion, telling his staff to treat the Army's recommendation with a lesser priority than "anything we now have on our 'shopping list. His preference was for V/STOL fixed-wing aircraft like the Harrier Jump Jet
, which he thought would open a "new era in close support
aircraft". In the event, the Federal government earmarked eleven AH-1G HueyCobras for purchase in 1971, though the deal never went ahead due to Australia’s withdrawal from South East Asia. Murdoch's failure to appreciate the need for cooperation with land forces has been blamed for fostering long-running enmity between the services, which twenty years later would contribute to the government's decision to transfer the RAAF's battlefield helicopters to the Army. Air Force historian Alan Stephens contended that despite Murdoch's "competence" and "good mind", his "comprehension of air power in its fullest sense and handling of inter-service politics were respectively inadequate and disastrous ... A generation of lieutenant-colonels and majors had come to believe that the RAAF did not care about army support, and they were to carry that belief into the 1970s and beyond". Murdoch also opposed sending Canberra jet bombers to Vietnam on what were later described in the official post-war history of the RAAF as "misleading" grounds that the type was unsuitable for low-level strike and close support; however their deployment went ahead in April 1967.
In 1963, Australia had selected the F-111 swing-wing bomber as a replacement for the Canberra. Murdoch attended the much-anticipated official hand-over ceremony for the aircraft on 4 September 1968 at Fort Worth
, Texas, with Defence Minister Sir Allen Fairhall
, various US dignitaries, and RAAF F-111 crews. Within eight days a US Navy
F-111B crashed, followed by a USAF
F-111A twelve days later, creating a "public relations disaster", and contributing to the type's entry into RAAF service being delayed until 1973. In late 1969, Murdoch accompanied Secretary of Defence Sir Henry Bland to the United States to gain assurance of an adequate "safe life" for the F-111's swing-wing mechanism, amid the Australian government giving serious consideration to abandoning the programme.
, whom Murdoch had earlier recommended for the position of Commander Australian Forces Vietnam (the role went to an Army officer, as had been previous practice). In 1971, Murdoch joined the board of directors of Meggitt Limited, an oilseed-crushing
firm that was chaired by World War II fighter ace Nicky Barr
. Murdoch continued to exercise his interest in Australia's defence after he left the Air Force, joining in 1975 a group of pundits, including retired Air Vice Marshal Ian McLachlan
, who promoted the addition of nuclear weapon
ry to the country's arsenal. He followed a number of sports, including horse racing. A resident of Church Point
, New South Wales, Sir Alister Murdoch died on 29 November 1984.
Air Marshal (Australia)
Air marshal is the second highest active rank of the Royal Australian Air Force and was created as a direct equivalent of the British Royal Air Force rank of air marshal, it is also considered a three-star rank...
Sir Alister Murray Murdoch KBE, CB (9 December 1912 – 29 November 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1965 to 1969. Joining the Air Force in 1930, Murdoch trained as a seaplane pilot, and participated in an Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
rescue mission for lost explorers in 1935. During World War II, he commanded No. 221 Squadron RAF in Europe and the Middle East, and later occupied senior positions on the staff of RAAF formations in the South West Pacific. His post-war appointments included Commandant of RAAF College
RAAF College
The Royal Australian Air Force College is the Royal Australian Air Force training and education academy which is responsible for all the Air Force's initial, career development, promotion and leadership training...
from 1952 to 1953, Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
(AOC) Training Command from 1953 to 1955, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
Deputy Chief of Air Force (Australia)
Deputy Chief of Air Force is the second most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Air Force, responsible to the Chief of Air Force . The rank associated with the position is Air Vice Marshal . DCAF acts as the manager of the Air Force Headquarters , which provides oversight of activities in...
from 1958 to 1959, and AOC Operational Command
RAAF Air Command
Air Command is the operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force . It is headed by the Air Commander Australia, whose role is to manage and command the RAAF's Force Element Groups , which contain the operational capability of the Air Force...
from 1962 to 1965.
As AOC Training Command in 1954, Murdoch headed a programme to determine aircraft purchases for the RAAF; his recommendations included the C-130 Hercules transport, considered one of the most important acquisitions in the Air Force's history. His term as CAS coincided with increased commitment to the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and he came into conflict with Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
commanders over the employment of helicopters in battle. He was also involved in assessing the readiness of the General Dynamics F-111C
General Dynamics F-111C
The General Dynamics F-111C is a variant of the F-111 Aardvark medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft, developed by General Dynamics to meet Australian requirements. The design was based on the F-111A model but included longer wings and strengthened undercarriage...
for RAAF service. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1960, and Knighted in 1966, Murdoch was the fourth in a series of CASs who had been cadets at the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
. He retired from the Air Force in December 1969, and died in 1984.
Early career
Alister Murdoch was born on 9 December 1912 in ElsternwickElsternwick, Victoria
Elsternwick is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Glen Eira...
, Victoria, the son of engineer Thomas Murdoch and his wife Kathleen. A lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Commonwealth Military Forces
Australian Military Forces
The Australian Military Forces was the official name of the Army of Australia from 1916 to 1980. This encompassed both the "regular army", and the forces, variously known during this period as the Militia, the Citizen Military Forces and the Australian Citizen Military Force .Initially this...
at the time of Alister's birth, the elder Murdoch later served in both World Wars and rose to the rank of brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
. Educated at Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School
Caulfield Grammar School is an independent, co-educational, Anglican, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later...
, Alister entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
, in 1929, following his elder brother Ian (later a major general
Major General (Australia)
Major General is a senior rank of the Australian Army, and was created as a direct equivalent of the British military rank of Major General. It is the third-highest active rank of the Australian Army, and is considered to be equivalent to a two-star rank...
). Alister was one of four cadets sponsored that year by the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
(RAAF), which did not at that stage have its own officer training college. Budgetary constraints imposed during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
necessitated the transfer of these cadets out of Duntroon midway through their four-year course. Although offered positions in the Australian Public Service
Australian Public Service
The Australian Public Service is the Australian federal civil service, the group of people employed by federal departments, agencies and courts under the Government of Australia, to administer the working of the public administration of the Commonwealth of Australia...
or nominations for short-term commissions with the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, all were determined to serve with the RAAF and were more than pleased with the prospect of entering their chosen service early.
Enlisting in the Air Force on 10 December 1930, Murdoch completed his pilot training the following year. He was commissioned in 1932 and later qualified as a flying instructor and seaplane pilot, undertaking navy cooperation
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
and maritime patrol
Maritime patrol
Maritime patrol is the task of monitoring areas of water. Generally conducted by military and law enforcement agencies, maritime patrol is usually aimed at identifying human activities....
operations. In December 1935, Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
Murdoch was selected to join an RAAF rescue mission for explorer Lincoln Ellsworth
Lincoln Ellsworth
Lincoln Ellsworth was an arctic explorer from the United States.-Birth:He was born on May 12, 1880 to James Ellsworth and Eva Frances Butler in Chicago, Illinois...
and his pilot, Herbert Hollick-Kenyon
Herbert Hollick-Kenyon
Herbert Hollick-Kenyon was an aircraft pilot who made significant contributions towards aviation in Antarctica.-Early life:...
, who were presumed lost while journeying across the Antarctic. Flying a de Havilland Gipsy Moth
De Havilland DH.60 Moth
The de Havilland DH 60 Moth was a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:The DH 60 was developed from the larger DH 51 biplane...
, Murdoch located Hollick-Kenyon near the Bay of Whales
Bay of Whales
The Bay of Whales is a natural ice harbor, or iceport, indenting the front of Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island. It is the southernmost point of open ocean not only of the Ross Sea, but worldwide...
. Hollick-Kenyon led the search party to Ellsworth, who protested that he was not lost and did not need rescuing. Murdoch was posted to England in 1936–37 to undertake a course in long navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
at RAF Manston
RAF Manston
RAF Manston was an RAF station in the north-east of Kent, at on the Isle of Thanet from 1916 until 1996. The site is now split between a commercial airport Kent International Airport and a continuing military use by the Defence Fire Training and Development Centre , following on from a long...
and serve on attachment with No. 114 Squadron
No. 114 Squadron RAF
-Formation and World War I:No. 114 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed In Lahore, India on 27 Sep 1917. It was equipped with the B.E.2 and Bristol F2B and operated on the North-West Frontier...
. Returning to Australia, he married Florence Miller on 27 December 1937; the couple had a daughter. Murdoch spent the next two years on the staff of the Directorate of Operations and Intelligence at Air Force Headquarters, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. In June 1938, he helped inaugurate RAAF instruction in long navigation, with a nine-month course in the discipline.
World War II
Squadron Leader
Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...
at the outbreak of World War II, Murdoch took charge of No. 1 Air Observer School at Cootamundra
Cootamundra, New South Wales
Cootamundra is a town and Local Government Area in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. At the 2006 census, Cootamundra had a population of 5,566. It is located on the Olympic Highway at the point where it crosses the Muttama Creek, between Junee and...
, New South Wales, from April 1940 until mid-1941. Following this posting he was promoted to wing commander
Wing Commander (rank)
Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries...
and sent to the European Theatre
European Theatre of World War II
The European Theatre of World War II was a huge area of heavy fighting across Europe from Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 until the end of the war with the German unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945...
. In August 1941, he became Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
of No. 221 Squadron RAF, a Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force . Founded in 1936, it was the RAF's premier maritime arm, after the Royal Navy's secondment of the Fleet Air Arm in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive...
unit flying Vickers Wellington
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
s on reconnaissance and anti-submarine
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
patrols out of Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
during the Battle of the Atlantic. The next year, Murdoch accompanied the squadron to the Middle East
Middle East Theatre of World War II
The Middle East Theatre of World War II is defined largely by reference to the British Middle East Command, which controlled Allied forces in both Southwest Asia and eastern North Africa...
, where it carried out anti-submarine and maritime strike operations. He also served as Staff Officer Operations with No. 235 Wing RAF. Back in London in July 1942, Murdoch was assigned to Combined Operations Headquarters, where he assisted in planning the Dieppe Raid
Dieppe Raid
The Dieppe Raid, also known as the Battle of Dieppe, Operation Rutter or later on Operation Jubilee, during the Second World War, was an Allied attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe on the northern coast of France on 19 August 1942. The assault began at 5:00 AM and by 10:50 AM the Allied...
before returning to Australia in 1943.
Promoted to group captain
Group Captain
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore...
, Murdoch was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at Eastern Area Command, Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, in July 1943. In January 1944, he became SASO at North Western Area Command, which controlled thirteen Australian, British, Dutch, and American squadrons from its headquarters in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, Northern Territory. Murdoch planned many of the command's bombing and mining operations in the South West Pacific Theatre
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
, and was mentioned in despatches for his "distinguished service" in the role. He was posted as SASO to the Australian First Tactical Air Force
Australian First Tactical Air Force
The Australian First Tactical Air Force was formed on 25 October 1944 by the Royal Australian Air Force . Its purpose was to provide a mobile force of fighter and ground attack aircraft that could support Allied army and naval units fighting the Empire of Japan in the South West Pacific Area...
(No. 1 TAF) in April 1945, replacing Group Captain William Gibson after the latter's dismissal in the wake of the "Morotai Mutiny
Morotai Mutiny
The "Morotai Mutiny" was an incident in April 1945 involving members of the Australian First Tactical Air Force based on the island of Morotai, in the Dutch East Indies...
", when the threatened resignations of eight of the RAAF's leading fighter aces
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
caused a crisis in the formation's leadership. Delegated responsibility for operational aspects by No. 1 TAF's new Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
, Air Commodore Frederick Scherger
Frederick Scherger
Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rudolph William Scherger KBE, CB, DSO, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force...
, Murdoch received much of the credit for the "excellent" planning of the RAAF's role in Operation Oboe Six, the invasion of Labuan
Battle of North Borneo
The Battle of North Borneo took place during the Second World War between Allied and Japanese forces. Part of the wider Borneo campaign of the Pacific War, it was fought between 10 June and 15 August 1945 in North Borneo...
. He accompanied Scherger ashore on the afternoon of the landings on 10 June 1945. Murdoch also earned praise for his staff work during Operation Oboe Two, the Battle of Balikpapan
Battle of Balikpapan (1945)
The Battle of Balikpapan was the concluding stage of the Borneo campaign . The landings took place on 1 July 1945. The Australian 7th Division, composed of the 18th, 21st and 25th Infantry Brigades, with support troops, made an amphibious landing, codenamed Operation Oboe Two a few miles north of...
, in July.
Rise to Chief of the Air Staff
Murdoch was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) on 25 June 1946 for "conspicuous service in operations against the Japanese" during World War II. One of a small coterie of officers earmarked for top positions in the post-war Air Force, he was Director of Personnel Services during 1946–47 before attending the Imperial Defence CollegeRoyal College of Defence Studies
The Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom...
, London, in 1948. Returning to Australia, he served as Director of Air Staff Policy and Plans at Air Force Headquarters between 1949 and 1952. In February 1951, he led a team to the Middle East, where the possibility of Australia contributing a garrison force to the region was first raised. Two years later, No. 78 Wing
No. 78 Wing RAAF
No. 78 Wing is the Royal Australian Air Force's operational training wing. It is headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, and operates the BAE Hawk 127 lead-in fighter. The wing was formed in 1943 and operated P-40 Kittyhawk fighters in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II...
was deployed to Malta to fulfil this role, operating leased RAF de Havilland Vampire
De Havilland Vampire
The de Havilland DH.100 Vampire was a British jet-engine fighter commissioned by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Following the Gloster Meteor, it was the second jet fighter to enter service with the RAF. Although it arrived too late to see combat during the war, the Vampire served...
jet fighters. Murdoch became Commandant of RAAF College
RAAF College
The Royal Australian Air Force College is the Royal Australian Air Force training and education academy which is responsible for all the Air Force's initial, career development, promotion and leadership training...
in June 1952, gaining promotion to air commodore
Air Commodore
Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
. In December 1953, he was raised to acting air vice marshal and appointed Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding
Air Officer Commanding is a title given in the air forces of Commonwealth nations to an air officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, an air vice marshal might be the AOC 38 Group...
(AOC) Southern Area, shortly to be re-formed as Training Command.
CAC Sabre
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Allward, Maurice. F-86 Sabre. London: Ian Allen, 1978. ISBN 0-71100-860-4.* Curtis, Duncan. North American F-86 Sabre. Ramsbury, UK: Crowood, 2000. ISBN 1-86126-358-9....
, two years before the Sabre entered squadron service with the RAAF, as well as nuclear-capable
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
British V bomber strike aircraft to augment Australia's Canberra
English Electric Canberra
The English Electric Canberra is a first-generation jet-powered light bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s. The Canberra could fly at a higher altitude than any other bomber through the 1950s and set a world altitude record of 70,310 ft in 1957...
jet bombers, and C-130 Hercules transports to replace the C-47 Dakota. While his proposals for V bombers and the F-104 were not taken up, the Australian government acquired the C-130 in 1958. Described as second only to the General Dynamics F-111
General Dynamics F-111
The General Dynamics F-111 "Aardvark" was a medium-range interdictor and tactical strike aircraft that also filled the roles of strategic bomber, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare in its various versions. Developed in the 1960s by General Dynamics, it first entered service in 1967 with the...
as the "most significant" purchase by the RAAF, the Hercules gave the Air Force its first strategic airlift capability, which in years to come would provide a "lifeline" for Australian forces deployed to Malaya
Malayan Emergency
The Malayan Emergency was a guerrilla war fought between Commonwealth armed forces and the Malayan National Liberation Army , the military arm of the Malayan Communist Party, from 1948 to 1960....
, Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and other parts of the South East Asia. Murdoch also recommended the locally built Vampire as a jet trainer for No. 1 Applied Flying Training School
No. 1 Flying Training School RAAF
No. 1 Flying Training School was a flying training school of the Royal Australian Air Force . It was one of the Air Force's original units, dating back to the service's formation in 1921, when it was based at RAAF Point Cook, Victoria. The school underwent a number of reorganisations during its...
; sixty-nine were later delivered as T35s by the de Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
factory in Bankstown
Bankstown, New South Wales
Bankstown is a suburb of south-western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Bankstown is located 20 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of the City of Bankstown.-History:Prior to European...
, New South Wales.
Murdoch was seconded to the Department of Defence
Department of Defence (Australia)
The Australian Department of Defence is a Federal Government Department. It forms part of the Australian Defence Organisation along with the Australian Defence Force . The Defence mission is to defend Australia and its national interests...
in January 1956 as Deputy Secretary (Military). By February 1958, he had been made a substantive air vice marshal and was appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff
Deputy Chief of Air Force (Australia)
Deputy Chief of Air Force is the second most senior appointment in the Royal Australian Air Force, responsible to the Chief of Air Force . The rank associated with the position is Air Vice Marshal . DCAF acts as the manager of the Air Force Headquarters , which provides oversight of activities in...
. In October 1959, Murdoch was posted to London as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff, and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in the 1960 New Year Honours
New Year Honours
The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the New Year annually in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen Elizabeth II...
. He returned to Australia in June 1962, when he became AOC Operational Command
RAAF Air Command
Air Command is the operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force . It is headed by the Air Commander Australia, whose role is to manage and command the RAAF's Force Element Groups , which contain the operational capability of the Air Force...
. His tenure in the position coincided with the deployment of the first RAAF aircraft to South Vietnam
South Vietnam
South Vietnam was a state which governed southern Vietnam until 1975. It received international recognition in 1950 as the "State of Vietnam" and later as the "Republic of Vietnam" . Its capital was Saigon...
, seven DHC-4 Caribou
De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou
The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou is a Canadian-designed and produced specialized cargo aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability...
s, commencing in August 1964. Murdoch was promoted air marshal
Air Marshal
Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
and appointed Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) on 1 June 1965, succeeding Air Marshal Sir Valston Hancock
Valston Hancock
Air Marshal Sir Valston Eldridge Hancock, KBE, CB, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1961 to 1965. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Duntroon, Hancock transferred to the RAAF in 1929 and qualified as a pilot...
. He was the last of a quartet of army-trained CASs; from 1954 to 1969 inclusive, every RAAF chief—John McCauley
John McCauley (RAAF officer)
Air Marshal Sir John Patrick Joseph McCauley, KBE, CB was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . He served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1954 to 1957. A Duntroon graduate, McCauley spent four years in the Australian Military Forces before transferring to the RAAF in 1924...
, Scherger, Hancock, and Murdoch—had been a cadet at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, prior to serving with the Air Force. With this pedigree, Murdoch was described by Air Chief Marshal Scherger as "the last of the professionals". The new CAS was raised to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1966 Queen's Birthday Honours
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Queen's Birthday Honours is a part of the British honours system, being a civic occasion on the celebration of the Queen's Official Birthday in which new members of most Commonwealth Realms honours are named. The awards are presented by the reigning monarch or head of state, currently Queen...
.
Chief of the Air Staff and Vietnam
Air Marshal Murdoch led the RAAF through the build-up of Australia's commitment to the Vietnam WarMilitary history of Australia during the Vietnam War
Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War began as a small commitment of 30 men in 1962, and increased over the following decade to a peak of 7,672 Australians deployed in South Vietnam or in support of Australian forces there. The Vietnam War was the longest and most controversial war Australia...
beginning in the mid-1960s. He clashed with the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), Lieutenant General Sir John Wilton, over the latter's recommendation in mid-1965 to deploy two UH-1 Iroquois helicopters to Vietnam. Wilton believed that both services would benefit from gaining familiarisation with air/ground operations in the region before large-scale commitment of Australian forces. Murdoch dismissed the idea on resourcing grounds, despite the fact that two-thirds of the RAAF's UH-1 complement had been purchased for the express purpose of army cooperation.
He further contended that helicopter operations in Malaysia had afforded the RAAF sufficient experience in the type of conditions they might face in Vietnam, though Australia's senior UH-1 pilot at the time considered that the former theatre offered "little if any hostile opposition, and there was none of the insertion and extraction of SAS patrols which was to become such an important part of the RAAF's Vietnam operations". Air Commodore Brian Eaton
Brian Eaton
Air Vice Marshal Brian Alexander Eaton CB, CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in Tasmania and raised in Victoria, he joined the RAAF in 1936 and was promoted to Flight Lieutenant on the outbreak of World War II...
, as Director-General of Operational Requirements, advised Murdoch that if the Air Force did not more fully satisfy the ground support requirements of the Army, then the Army itself would seek to take control of this sphere of operations, undermining the RAAF's position as the main provider of Australia's air power. Murdoch's reluctance to deploy the helicopters was eventually overridden by the Australian government, and No. 9 Squadron
No. 9 Squadron RAAF
No. 9 Squadron was a unit of the Royal Australian Air Force. The Squadron saw active service in World War II and the Vietnam War before being disbanded in 1989.-Fleet co-operation:...
's UH-1s were in action in Vietnam less than a year later. When Murdoch visited the combat zone himself in August 1966, he was informed by Brigadier O.D. Jackson that the squadron was not performing the role the Army expected of it.
Wilton's successor as CGS, Lieutenant General Sir Thomas Daly, urged Murdoch to procure specialised helicopter gunship
Attack helicopter
An attack helicopter is a military helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the capability of engaging targets on the ground, such as enemy infantry and armored vehicles...
s such as the AH-1 HueyCobra for Vietnam, to support the more vulnerable troop-carrying "slicks". Murdoch largely ignored the suggestion, telling his staff to treat the Army's recommendation with a lesser priority than "anything we now have on our 'shopping list. His preference was for V/STOL fixed-wing aircraft like the Harrier Jump Jet
Harrier Jump Jet
The Harrier, informally referred to as the Jump Jet, is a family of British-designed military jet aircraft capable of vertical/short takeoff and landing operations...
, which he thought would open a "new era in close support
Close air support
In military tactics, close air support is defined as air action by fixed or rotary winged aircraft against hostile targets that are close to friendly forces, and which requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of these forces.The determining factor for CAS is...
aircraft". In the event, the Federal government earmarked eleven AH-1G HueyCobras for purchase in 1971, though the deal never went ahead due to Australia’s withdrawal from South East Asia. Murdoch's failure to appreciate the need for cooperation with land forces has been blamed for fostering long-running enmity between the services, which twenty years later would contribute to the government's decision to transfer the RAAF's battlefield helicopters to the Army. Air Force historian Alan Stephens contended that despite Murdoch's "competence" and "good mind", his "comprehension of air power in its fullest sense and handling of inter-service politics were respectively inadequate and disastrous ... A generation of lieutenant-colonels and majors had come to believe that the RAAF did not care about army support, and they were to carry that belief into the 1970s and beyond". Murdoch also opposed sending Canberra jet bombers to Vietnam on what were later described in the official post-war history of the RAAF as "misleading" grounds that the type was unsuitable for low-level strike and close support; however their deployment went ahead in April 1967.
In 1963, Australia had selected the F-111 swing-wing bomber as a replacement for the Canberra. Murdoch attended the much-anticipated official hand-over ceremony for the aircraft on 4 September 1968 at Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
, Texas, with Defence Minister Sir Allen Fairhall
Allen Fairhall
Sir Allen Fairhall KBE was an Australian politician and Member of the Parliament of Australia for the Division of Paterson from 1949 to 1969. During that period he held a number of ministerial portfolios, most notably Supply and Defence.Fairhall was born at Morpeth and attended East Maitland...
, various US dignitaries, and RAAF F-111 crews. Within eight days a US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
F-111B crashed, followed by a USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
F-111A twelve days later, creating a "public relations disaster", and contributing to the type's entry into RAAF service being delayed until 1973. In late 1969, Murdoch accompanied Secretary of Defence Sir Henry Bland to the United States to gain assurance of an adequate "safe life" for the F-111's swing-wing mechanism, amid the Australian government giving serious consideration to abandoning the programme.
Later life
Murdoch retired from the military on 31 December 1969 after completing his term as CAS, which the government had extended for an additional twelve months beyond its original three years. He was succeeded by Air Marshal Colin HannahColin Hannah
Air Marshal Sir Colin Thomas Hannah KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force and a Governor of Queensland. Born in Western Australia, he was a member of the Militia before joining the RAAF in 1935. After graduating as a pilot, Hannah served in Nos. 22 and...
, whom Murdoch had earlier recommended for the position of Commander Australian Forces Vietnam (the role went to an Army officer, as had been previous practice). In 1971, Murdoch joined the board of directors of Meggitt Limited, an oilseed-crushing
Vegetable fats and oils
Vegetable fats and oils are lipid materials derived from plants. Physically, oils are liquid at room temperature, and fats are solid. Chemically, both fats and oils are composed of triglycerides, as contrasted with waxes which lack glycerin in their structure...
firm that was chaired by World War II fighter ace Nicky Barr
Nicky Barr
Andrew William "Nicky" Barr, OBE, MC, DFC & Bar was a member of the Australian national rugby union team who became a fighter ace in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. He was credited with twelve aerial victories, all scored flying the Curtiss P-40...
. Murdoch continued to exercise his interest in Australia's defence after he left the Air Force, joining in 1975 a group of pundits, including retired Air Vice Marshal Ian McLachlan
Ian Dougald McLachlan
Air Vice Marshal Ian Dougald McLachlan CB, CBE, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force . Born in Melbourne, he was a cadet at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, before joining the Air Force in December 1930...
, who promoted the addition of nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
ry to the country's arsenal. He followed a number of sports, including horse racing. A resident of Church Point
Church Point, New South Wales
Church Point is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Church Point is located 32 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Pittwater Council and is part of the Northern Beaches region.-History:Thomas Langford was the...
, New South Wales, Sir Alister Murdoch died on 29 November 1984.