John Dowling (RAF officer)

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]

John Dowling
Nickname(s)"Mr Helicopter"[1]
Born(1923-07-05)5 July 1923
Manchester, England
DiedJuly 2000
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1941–1978
RankWing Commander
Commands heldNo. 72 Squadron (1961–62)
Battles/warsSecond World War
Berlin Airlift
Malayan Emergency
Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation
AwardsMember of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Flying Cross & Bar
Air Force Cross
Mentioned in Despatches
A Belvedere helicopter lifts the spire over Coventry Cathedral
Dowling used a Bristol Belvedere helicopter to place the spire at Coventry Cathedral

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

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


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