Donald Hardman Air Chief Marshal Sir James Donald Innes Hardman GBE , KCB , DFC ( 21 December 1899 – 2 March 1982 ) was a senior Royal Air Force commander . He began his flying career as a fighter pilot in World War I , achieving nine victories to become an ace . During World War II , Hardman held staff and operational posts . He was Chief of the Air Staff of the Royal Australian Air Force from 1952 to 1954 , after which he served as a member of the British Air Council until his retirement in 1958 . World War I . Born in Oldham , Lancashire , Hardman was educated at Malvern College and Hertford College , Oxford . He began his military career in the Artists ' Rifles in 1916 , and joined the Royal Flying Corps early in 1917 . Hardman gained his commission in May but was prevented from seeing combat immediately because of his age . He was eventually posted to No . 19 Squadron in February 1918 , flying Sopwith Dolphin s on the Western Front . Hardman scored two kills in one sortie on 30 October 1918 , an action that earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross . He finished the war a flight commander and temporary Captain in the recently formed Royal Air Force ( RAF ) , with a total of nine victories . Inter - war years . When the war ended , Hardman left the military for further study at Oxford , but rejoined the RAF in 1921 . He was granted a short service commission as a Flying Officer and posted to No . 31 Squadron in India . Gaining his permanent commission in 1925 , he was promoted to Flight Lieutenant in 1927 . Hardman served as both pilot and armament officer with various units in the late 1920s and early 1930s , and completed courses at both Army and Air Force staff colleges . He married Dorothy Thompson in 1930 ; the couple had two sons and a daughter . A member of No . 216 Squadron from 1931 to 1935 , Hardman was promoted Squadron Leader in February 1936 , and Wing Commander in January 1939 . World War II . On the outbreak of World War II Hardman was sent to France with the Air Component of the British Expeditionary Force , preparing airfields on the Western Front for the arrival of RAF units . He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in July 1940 , and Mentioned in Despatches in January 1941 . In March , he was promoted temporary Group Captain . Hardman served as Director of Military Cooperation at the Air Ministry in 1944 , before being posted to Air Command South East Asia ( ACSEA ) as Commander , Combat Cargo Task Force , at the end of the year . In mid - 1945 he became Air Officer Commanding No . 232 ( Transport ) Group , and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath ( CB ) . He finished the war with the temporary rank of Air Commodore , and a substantive Group Captain . Post - war career . Hardman was promoted to acting Air Vice Marshal on 1 October 1945 . He remained in South - East Asia following the end of World War II , taking over as Air Officer in Charge of Administration for ACSEA in January 1946 . He served in a number of senior posts in the RAF after his return to Britain including Assistant Chief of Air Staff ( Operations ) in 1947 – 1949 , Commandant of RAF Staff College , Bracknell , in 1949 – 1951 and Air Officer Commanding - in - Chief of Home Command in 1951 – 1952 . Hardman ' s wartime rank of Air Commodore became substantive in October 1946 , followed by substantive promotion to Air Vice Marshal in July 1948 , and acting Air Marshal in October 1951 . In January 1952 , Hardman was appointed Chief of the Air Staff ( CAS ) of the Royal Australian Air Force , succeeding Air Marshal George Jones , whose ten years in the position was the longest continuous term of any RAAF chief . The decision by Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies to appoint an RAF officer caused resentment in the Air Force , compounded when he stated his reason as being that there was " no RAAF officer of sufficient age , or operation experience , to take the post of Chief of the Air Staff " , ignoring the wartime records of such figures as John McCauley and Frederick Scherger . " The Daily Mirror " in Sydney was one of a number of media outlets to voice a " stern protest " over the matter . RAF CAS Sir John Slessor , responsible for fulfilling the Australian Government ' s request for a suitable officer , considered Hardman the " outstanding candidate " for the Australian post , trying to avoid what he called " the follies of some years ago " , referring to Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett ' s controversial tenure as CAS on secondment from Britain in the early years of World War II . Hardman changed the structure of the Air Force from one based on geographical area to one based on function , creating Home ( operational ) , Maintenance ( support ) , and Training Commands . The functional system of command has been described by historian Alan Stephens as Hardman ' s " major legacy to the RAAF " . While doing away with Jones ' area command system , Hardman carried on his predecessor ' s support for the local aircraft industry . He also formed a policy agreement with Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Sir John Collins , covering joint responsibility and cooperation for maritime warfare . Under Hardman ' s tenure , No . 78 Fighter Wing was reformed and deployed to Malta on garrison duty . He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in the Queen ' s Birthday Honours of June 1952 , and raised to substantive Air Marshal the following month . Towards the end of his term , he gave an interview in which he criticised Army and Navy operations against a background of continuing interservice rivalry for the defence budget . In contrast to the initial disquiet at his appointment , however , upon his departure from Australia Hardman was described by " The Age " as " the outstanding CAS in the RAAF ' s history " and a " brilliant organiser " . Hardman served on the British Air Council as Air Member for Supply and Organisation from 1954 to 1958 , gaining promotion to Air Chief Marshal on 1 April 1955 . On 11 July 1956 , he presented a Squadron Standard to his old unit , No . 19 Squadron . That October , he presided over the inquiry into the fatal crash of Avro Vulcan " XA897 " at Heathrow Airport after its maiden round - the - world flight , the only survivors being the pilot and Air Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst . Hardman was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire on 1 January 1958 , and retired from the RAF later that month . He died in 1982 while taking an overseas holiday .