caption serviceyears laterwork branch commands death_date death_place birth_place allegiance unit awards battles birth_date alt rank image article_title name
group & nbsp ; 73 wing at goodenough island , new captain guinea , preparing to vote in the australian federal election ian , c. august 1943 mclachlan as officer commanding no . 1930 -- 68 consultant , northrop royal australian air force no. canberra -lrb- 1942 -rrb- raaf station laverton -lrb- 1942 -rrb- 3 no. 71 wing -lrb- 1943 -rrb- no. 73 wing -lrb- squadron 1943 -rrb- southern area command -lrb- 1944 -- 45 -rrb- -lrb- no. 81 wing -lrb- 1945 -rrb- north-eastern area command -lrb- 1939 1951 -- 53 -rrb- training command -lrb- 1957 -- 59 -- -rrb- supply & equipment branch -lrb- 1964 -- 68 -rrb- 41 -rrb- raaf 14 july 1991 sydney melbourne australia no. bcair -lrb- 1946 -- 48 -rrb- 9 operational group -lrb- 1943 -- 44 -rrb- companion the order of the british empire distinguished flying cross mentioned of in despatches the order of the bath commander of world war ii 23 july 1911 man a desk beside a box marked `` raaf ballot box in '' military uniform with peaked cap seated at air vice-marshal og0043mclachlan73wing1943.jpg ian dougald mclachlan
 ian dougald mclachlan
ian dougald mclachlan

air vice marshal ian dougald mclachlan , cb , cbe , dfc -lrb- 23 july 1911 -- 14 july 1991 -rrb- was a senior commander in the royal australian air force -lrb- raaf -rrb- .
born in melbourne , he was a cadet at the royal military college , duntroon , before joining the air force in december 1930 .
after serving in instructional and general flying roles , he took command of no. 3 squadron in december 1939 , leading it into action in the middle east less than a year later .
awarded the distinguished flying cross , he returned to australia in 1942 to command air bases in canberra and melbourne .
the following year he was posted to the south west pacific , where he led successively nos. 71 and 73 wings .
having been promoted to group captain , he took charge of southern area command in 1944 , and no. 81 wing in the dutch east indies the following year .
raised to acting air commodore in 1946 , mclachlan served as senior air staff officer for the british commonwealth air group in japan until 1948 .
after leading north-eastern area command in 1951 -- 53 , he was appointed a commander of the order of the british empire and posted to britain , where he attended the imperial defence college .
promoted air vice marshal , he returned to australia in 1957 as air officer commanding training command ; in this role he carried out two major reviews focussing on the raaf 's educational and command systems .
he was deputy chief of the air staff from 1959 to 1961 , and then head of the australian joint services staff in washington , dc , until 1963 .
appointed a companion of the order of the bath in 1966 , mclachlan 's final post before retiring in 1968 was as air member for supply and equipment .
he was a consultant to northrop after leaving the raaf , and lived in darling point , sydney , until his death in 1991 .
