Arthur Travers Harris

Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet (April 13, 1892 - April 5, 1984), commonly known as "Bomber" Harris, and often within the RAF as "Butcher" Harris{{ref|butcher}}, was commander of RAF Bomber Command and later a Marshal of the Royal Air Force during the latter half of World War II. In 1942 the Cabinet agreed to the aerial bombing of German cities by carpet bombing. Harris implemented the policy vigorously and encouraged the development of tactics and technology to perform the task more effectively.

Pre-World War II

Harris was born during a visit by his parents to England, while his father was on leave from the Indian Civil Service. He was educated at All Hallows School in Dorset, his brothers were educated at Sherborne and Eaton. Not considered academically gifted by his parents and at the age of 16 he was given the choice of "either army or the colonies". He chose the colonies and went to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe and Zambia), where over the next few years he flourished earning his living "gold mining, driving coaches general farming". In 1914 at the outbreak of World War I, Harris joined the 1st Rhodesian Regiment, and served with them in South Africa and in the German colony of South-West Africa (now Namibia). In 1915 he returned to England and joined the Royal Flying Corps, serving with distinction on the home front and in France as a commander of a fighter squadron.

Related Topics:
All Hallows School - Dorset - Rhodesia - Zimbabwe - Zambia - World War I - 1st Rhodesian Regiment - South Africa - South-West Africa - Namibia - Royal Flying Corps - Home front

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After the war he chose to remain in the newly formed Royal Air Force. In the RAF he served in different functions in India, Mesopotamia (now Iraq and Syria), and Persia (now Iran). He said of his service in India that he first got involved in bombing in the usual annual North West Frontier tribesmen trouble. In Mesopotamia he commanded a Vickers Vernon squadron. "We cut a hole in the nose and rigged up our own bomb racks and I turned those machines into the heaviest and best bombers in the command". Harris also contributed at this time to the development of bombing using delay-action bombs, which were then applied to keep down uprisings of the Mesopotamian tribes fighting against British occupation. Despite the many civilian victims of these air raids, Harris is recorded as having remarked "the only thing the Arab understands is the heavy hand."

Related Topics:
Royal Air Force - India - Mesopotamia - Iraq - Syria - Iran - North West Frontier - Vickers Vernon - Delay-action bombs

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In 1924 Harris was posted to England to command the first post-war heavy bomber squadron. His commander in Iraq had been the future Chief of the Air Staff Sir John Salmond, who was also one of his commanders back in England. Together they developed "night training for night operations".

Related Topics:
Chief of the Air Staff - John Salmond

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From 1927 to 1929 he attended the Army Staff College at Camberley where he discovered that at the college the army kept 200 horses for the officers' fox hunting. At a time when all services were very short of equipment, the army high command - which was still dominated by cavalry officers - clearly had a different set of priorities from technocrats like Harris, who quipped that the army commanders would only be happy with the tank if it could learn to eat hay and shit like a horse. He also had a low opinion of the Navy, he commented that there were three things which should never be allowed on a well run yacht "a wheel-barrow, an umbrella and a naval officer". Bernard Montgomery was one of the few army officers he met at while at the college whom he liked; possibly because they shared certain underlying personality characteristics in common.

Related Topics:
Staff College - Camberley - Fox hunting - Navy - Bernard Montgomery

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His next command was of a flying-boat squadron where he continued to develop night flying techniques. He was posted to the Middle East Command in Egypt, as a senior Air Staff Officer. In 1937 he was promoted to Air Commodore and in 1938 he was a put in command of No. 4 (bomber) Group. After a purchasing mission to the USA, he was posted to Palestine and Trans-Jordan and as an Air Vice Marshal he was Officer Commanding the RAF contingent in that area. He returned to England in September 1939 to take command of No. 5 Group.

Related Topics:
Middle East Command - Air Commodore - No. 4 (bomber) Group - USA - Palestine - Trans-Jordan - Air Vice Marshal - 1939 - No. 5 Group

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