page_title: Alister Murdoch
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Alister Murdoch / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: 1941-06-12. RAAF EMBARKATION. WING-COMMANDER MURDOCH, WHO ACCOMPANIED THE CONTINGENTS.
context_page_description: Air Marshal Sir Alister Murray Murdoch, KBE, CB was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of the Air Staff 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 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 program 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.
context_section_description: 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 Wellingtons 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 operational responsibility 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 was also praised for his staff work during Operation Oboe Two, the Battle of Balikpapan, in July.
caption: Murdoch preparing to embark overseas, June 1941
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