Patrick Huskinson
| Patrick Huskinson | |
|---|---|
| Born |
17 March 1897 Farndon, Nottinghamshire, England |
| Died | 24 November 1966 (aged 69) London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Rank | Air Commodore |
| Unit |
No. 2 Squadron RFC No. 19 Squadron RAF |
| Commands held |
No. 204 Squadron RAF No. 70 Squadron RAF No. 41 Squadron RAF RAF North Coates Fittes RAF Leconfield |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
| Awards |
CBE Military Cross with Bar Officer of the Legion of Merit (United States) |
| Other work | Developed 12,000 and 22,000 pound blockbuster bombs |
Air Commodore Patrick Huskinson CBE, MC* (17 March 1897 – 24 November 1966) was an officer of the British Royal Air Force, who served during the First and Second World Wars. He began his military career in the Royal Flying Corps as a fighter ace, but later switched to bombers. He became well enough versed in armaments that he was appointed Director of Armament Production by Winston Churchill at the start of the Second World War. After being invalided out of the RAF for blindness, he continued to serve as President of the Air Armaments Board and was responsible for designing ever larger bombs for the bombardment of Germany. Eventually, he designed Blockbuster bombs as large as ten tons.
Patrick Huskinson was born the son of Colonel C. J. Huskinson, who commanded the local Territorial Army Regiment. The younger Huskinson attended Harrow School before entering the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, as a Gentleman Cadet. Upon graduation, he was commissioned into the Sherwood Foresters.
After his commissioning as a Second Lieutenant on 20 October 1915, Huskinson was seconded from the Sherwood Foresters to aviation training, which included a Ground Gunnery School. Upon completion of training, he was appointed Flying Officer in the Royal Flying Corps on 21 March 1916. The following month, he began piloting a Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2c for No. 2 Squadron. Shortly thereafter, he won the Military Cross for his determined prosecution of a hazardous bombing mission during the Battle of the Somme; it was gazetted on 27 July 1916. On 19 December 1916, he was appointed a Flight Commander and promoted to Temporary Captain.
On 1 January 1917, he was promoted to Lieutenant. In early 1917, he was withdrawn from combat duty to attend the School of Special Flying at Gosport. He returned to the Western Front as a Spad VII pilot in 19 Squadron. Beginning on 24 October 1917, and running until 29 December, he ran off a string of seven aerial victories. He then upgraded to a Sopwith Dolphin, and ran off four more wins between 8 and 17 March 1918. The end result was three German planes destroyed and eight driven down out of control.
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