The Air Board, also known as the Administrative Air Board,Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 11 or the Air Board of Administration, was the controlling body of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) from 1921 to 1976. It was composed of senior RAAF officers as well as some civilian members, and chaired by the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS). The CAS was the operational head of the Air Force, and the other board members were responsible for specific areas of the service such as personnel, supply, engineering, and finance. Originally based in Melbourne, the board relocated to Canberra in 1961.
Formed in November 1920, the Air Board's first task was to establish the air force that it was to administer; this took place in March 1921. The board was initially responsible to the Australian Air Council, which included the chiefs of the Army and Navy; after the council's dissolution in 1929 the Air Board had equal status with the other service boards, reporting directly to the Minister for Defence. In 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II, the Department of Defence was split and the Air Board came under the purview of the newly created Department of Air, headed by the Minister for Air. In 1973 the service departments merged into a new Department of Defence and the board again reported to the Minister for Defence.
The Air Board's composition changed several times over the years; the only constant, from October 1922, was the position of CAS. According to Air Force regulations, the board was collectively responsible for administering the RAAF, not the CAS alone. In February 1976, along with the other service boards, the Air Board was dissolved; the CAS was invested with the individual responsibility for commanding the RAAF. The Air Board was succeeded by the Chief of the Air Staff Advisory Committee, but the CAS was not bound by its advice.
Organisation and responsibilities The Air Board was responsible for control and administration of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), including operations, training, maintenance, and acquisitions.Lax, Taking the Lead, pp. 123, 126 On its establishment in 1920 the board comprised the Director of Intelligence and Organisation, Director of Personnel and Training, Director of Equipment, and Finance Member. Its purview included the Air Force's organisation and dispersal, allocation of aircraft to meet Army and Navy requirements, selection of air bases and buildings, development of training programs and schools, and recruitment. The agency's composition evolved until, in 1954, it included the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Member for Personnel (AMP), Air Member for Technical Services (AMTS), Air Member for Supply and Equipment (AMSE), and Secretary of the Department of Air. The board essentially retained this form until its dissolution in 1976.Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 76, 463
The CAS was responsible for the operational side of the RAAF, from policy and plans to overall combat command. As chairman of the Air Board, he controlled the agency's meetings, agenda, and minutes. According to Air Force regulations, the Air Board as a body was charged with running the RAAF; this power was not invested in the CAS alone. In practice, the CAS's operational and administrative responsibilities allowed him to exert a significant influence. Generally though, decisions were arrived at through collective discussion and consensus; each board member had the right to table a dissenting report, but such instances were rare. Despite the efforts of some government ministers and at least one CAS, Air Marshal John McCauley, to prevent members serving more than three to five years consecutively on the board, no arbitrary term limits were enforced. Ellis Wackett, the RAAF's senior engineering officer from 1942, maintained his place on the board for seventeen years, the longest tenure of any member; his experience and intellect made him, according to the official history of the post-war RAAF, "singularly adept at bringing a committee around to his point of view".Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 80–81 The arguably disproportionate sway held by technical services continued with Wackett's successor, Air Vice-Marshal Ernie Hey, who served on the board for twelve years.Stephens, Going Solo, p. 81
As well as being members of the board, AMP, AMTS, and AMSE were the heads of their respective branches within the Air Force and had delegated authority to administer those branches. Other officers such as the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff might attend meetings, but were not members of the board.Stephens, Going Solo, p. 76 The departmental secretary was a senior public servant, the permanent head of the Department of Air from 1939 to 1973 and afterwards a deputy secretary of the Department of Defence, responsible to the board for finance, administration, and direction of civilian support staff. The minister of the department could choose to chair meetings and was expected to sign off on all decisions made by the board. This sometimes involved the minister in mundane matters, such as the acquisition of furniture and foodstuffs. Historian Alan Stephens observed that the board itself, despite consisting of an air marshal, three air vice-marshals, and a high-level government official, could devote "an inordinate amount of meeting time" to administrative minutiae, rather than concentrating on higher policy, major purchases, or operational aspects.Stephens, Power Plus Attitude, p. 114 Stephens contrasted this situation with the board's achievements in more substantial matters, such as the "educational revolution" it oversaw between 1945 and 1953, when programs such as RAAF College, RAAF Staff College, and the RAAF apprentice scheme were introduced.Stephens, Going Solo, pp. 118, 120, 142
History Early years Establishing the new service The remnants of the wartime Australian Flying Corps (AFC) were disbanded in December 1919 and succeeded the next month by the Australian Air Corps (AAC), which was, like the AFC, part of the Australian Army. The AAC was an interim organisation intended to remain in place until the establishment of a permanent Australian air service.Sutherland, Command and Leadership, pp. 32–34Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 17–21 Since 1905, a Military Board and a Naval Board had controlled the armed services in Australia. The Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Sir Percy Grant, objected to the AAC being under Army control, and argued that an air board should be formed to oversee the AAC and any permanent Australian air force. The Navy further proposed that the new air service include army and naval support wings, each controlled by their respective boards, leaving the air board in direct charge of training only. The Army rejected this notion on the grounds that it recreated the divisions in Britain's wartime air services that were only resolved with the creation of the Royal Air Force (RAF).Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 8–10 A temporary air board first met on 29 January 1920, the Army being represented by Brigadier General Thomas Blamey and Lieutenant Colonel Richard Williams, and the Royal Australian Navy by Captain Wilfred Nunn and Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Goble, a former member of Britain's Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) then seconded to the Navy Office.Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 27–28 Williams was given responsibility for administering the AAC on behalf of the board.
The permanent Air Board was instituted on 9 November 1920 to oversee the day-to-day running of the proposed Australian Air Force that would succeed the extant AAC.Odgers, The Royal Australian Air Force, pp. 47–51 The board's members consisted of Williams as Director of Intelligence and Organisation, Goble as Director of Personnel and Training, Captain (later Squadron Leader) Percy McBain as Director of Equipment, and Albert Joyce as Finance Member (FM).Stephens, The Royal Australian Air Force, p. 29Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 466–468 The selection of Williams and Goble was a compromise between the competing interests of the Army and Navy for control of Australia's air arm: Williams, formerly of the AFC and Australia's senior airman, was the Army's choice, and Goble, the RNAS veteran, was the Navy's.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 26 A superior policy-making and budgetary control body, the Air Council, was formed the same day as the Air Board and consisted of the Minister for Defence, the Chief of the General Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff, the Controller of Civil Aviation, and two members of the Air Board (Williams and Goble).Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 12Lax, Taking the Lead, pp. 122–123 This arrangement ensured that the new Air Force would be, according to historian Chris Coulthard-Clark, "anything but an independent and co-equal third service". Part of the rationale was the youth of the Air Board's officers—Williams, Goble and McBain were all aged thirty or under—and their relative lack of administrative experience; it also gave the Army and Navy a greater say in how the new service should run.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 354–355 The Air Board and Air Council were made responsible for administering the AAC from 22 November.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 10–12
The Air Board's first official meeting, which took place on 22 December 1920, prepared the groundwork for the new air service. Williams proposed among other things an organisation consisting of seven squadrons—two for air defence, two for army cooperation, and three for naval cooperation—as well as a flying training school, a recruit depot, a stores depot, a liaison office in London, an overarching headquarters, and two wing headquarters. The Air Council approved these plans in principle the next day.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 32 Public servant and former Army officer Major Patrick Coleman was appointed Secretary to the Air Board—an administrative position—on 1 January 1921.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 370, 466 By 15 February, the Air Board had chosen a date for the formation of the Australian Air Force (AAF): 31 March that year.Gillison, Royal Australian Air Force, p. 16 Williams carefully selected this date rather than 1 April, the birthday of the RAF, "to prevent nasty people referring to us as 'April Fools'".Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 31 In accordance with a proposal by Goble at the first board meeting, held over at the time but subsequently approved, upon its formation the Air Force adopted the RAF's rank structure.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, pp. 82–84 The board's three officers, along with their staff of ten, were based at the newly raised Air Force Headquarters co-located with the Department of Defence at Victoria Barracks, Melbourne.Coulthard-Clark, The Third Brother, p. 41