John Nicholls (RAF officer)

Air Marshal Sir John Moreton Nicholls, KCB, CBE, DFC, AFC (5 July 1926 – 17 May 2007) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. He had been a pilot at the end of the Second World War and also served with the United States Air Force in the Korean War.

Sir John Nicholls
Born(1926-07-05)5 July 1926
Moreton, Cheshire
Died17 May 2007(2007-05-17) (aged 80)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Air Force
Years of service1945–80
RankAir Chief Marshal
Commands heldVice-Chief of the Air Staff (1979–80)
Air Member for Supply and Organisation (1977–78)
RAF Leuchars (1967–70)
Air Fighting Development Squadron (1962–64)
Battles/warsSecond World War
Korean War
AwardsKnight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Flying Cross
Air Force Cross
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)

Early life

Nicholls was educated at the Liverpool Collegiate School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford.[1]

Career

Nicholls joined the Royal Air Force in June 1945 and served as a pilot during the later stages of the Second World War.[2] During the Korean War he was seconded to the United States Air Force where he saw active service as a pilot and shot down a MiG 15.[1] In 1959 he was seconded to English Electric to test fly the new supersonic Lightning.[1] He was appointed Officer Commanding the Air Fighting Development Squadron in 1962, deputy director of Air Staff Briefing in 1965 and Station Commander at RAF Leuchars in 1967.[2]

Nicholls went on to be Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters No. 11 Group in 1971, Personal Staff Officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff in November 1971 and Senior Air Staff Officer at Headquarters RAF Strike Command in 1973.[2] He was then made Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operational Requirements) in 1976, Air Member for Supply and Organisation in 1977 and Vice Chief of the Air Staff in 1979 before retiring in 1980.[2]

Family

In 1946, Nicholls married Enid Rose; they had two daughters.[1] Following the death of his first wife, he married Sheelagh Hall in 1977.[1]

References
  1. Obituary: Air Marshal Sir John Nicholls Daily Telegraph, 21 May 2007
  2. Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Marshal Sir John Nicholls
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