Alec Coryton

Sir William Alec Coryton
Sir William Alec Coryton
Born	16 February 1895
Died	20 October 1981 (aged 86)
Place of birth	Pentillie, Cornwall
Place of death	Langton Matravers, Dorset
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	British Army; Royal Air Force
Years of service	1914 - 1951
Rank	Air Chief Marshal
Commands held	Third Tactical Air Force; No. 5 Group; No. 16 Squadron RAF
Battles/wars	World War I; World War II
Awards	Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath; Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire; Member of the Royal Victorian Order; Distinguished Flying Cross

Air Chief Marshal Sir William Alec Coryton KCB, KBE, MVO, DFC, RAF (16 February 1895 – 20 October 1981), commonly known as Alec Coryton, was a senior RAF commander in World War II.

Life[]

Originally commissioned as an officer in the British Army's Rifle Brigade (Special Reserve), he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps as a Lieutenant in 1918. When the RFC became the Royal Air Force he resigned his Army commission and became a Royal Air Force officer.

From 1925 to 1928, he was Officer Commanding 16 Squadron based at Old Sarum. operating the Bristol F.2 Fighter in the tactical reconnaissance role.

1942 25 April AOC, No. 5 Group RAF Bomber Command. It has been claimed that the then Air Commodore Coryton was sacked by Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris for refusing to send a small force of Lancasters from his group on a sneak raid to Berlin in poor weather conditions.

In February 1943 Coryton moved to the Air Staff at the Air Ministry and was appointed Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Operations) in 1944.

On 25 August 1944 he became Commander, RAF Third Tactical Air Force.

1944 4 December Commander, RAF in Bengal & Burma.
1944 14 December – May 1945 Assistant Air Commander, Eastern Air Command.
1945 27 February Air Marshal Commanding, HQ RAF Burma

Honours and awards[]

Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath - 2 January 1950 (CB - 1 January 1942)
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire - 5 July 1945
Member of the Royal Victorian Order - 8 August 1919
Distinguished Flying Cross - 21 November 1922
Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France) - 1917
Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) - 15 March 1946

Notes[]

References[]

Air Chief Marshal Coryton at Air of Authority - A History of RAF Organisation

External links[]

http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/group.html

Military offices
Preceded by J C Slessor	Air Officer Commanding No. 5 Group 1942–1943	Succeeded by The Hon R A Cochrane
Preceded by J E A Baldwin	Air Officer Commanding Third Tactical Air Force Post downgraded to AOC HQ RAF Bengal and Burma on 4 December 1944 Post renamed AOC HQ RAF Burma on 1 June 1945 1944–1947	Post disestablished

Probert,Henry, Bomber Harris His Life and Times,Stoddart,2001 p207

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