Frederick Scherger

Infobox Military Person
name= Frederick Rudolph William Scherger
lived= 18 May 1904 – death date and age|1984|1|17|1904|5|18|df=yes
placeofbirth=
placeofdeath=


caption= Air Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger
nickname= "Scherg"
allegiance= flagicon|Australia Commonwealth of Australia
serviceyears= 1921–1966
rank= Air Chief Marshal
branch= air force|Australia
commands= No. 10 Group (1943–1944)
First Tactical Air Force (1945)
Air HQ Malaya (1953–1955)
Chief of the Air Staff (1957–1961) Chairman COSC (1961–1966)
unit=
battles= World War II
Malayan Emergency
Vietnam War
awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Companion of the Order of the Bath
Distinguished Service Order
Air Force Cross
laterwork= Chairman Australian National Airlines Commission {1966–1975}

Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Rudolph William Scherger KBE, CB, DSO, AFC (18 May 1904 – 17 January 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. To date, he is one of only three officers to hold the rank of Air Chief Marshal in the RAAF.cite web| last=Clark|first=Dr Chris| title=Air Force Defence Chiefs of the Past| date= May 19, 2005 | url=http://www.defence.gov.au/news/raafnews/editions/4708/history/story02.htm |work=Air Force News, Volume 47, No.08 | accessdate=2007-10-12] [To date, only three Air Chief Marshal's have been appointed to serve in the position currently known as Chief of the Defence Force: ACM Sir Frederick Rudolph William Scherger KBE, CB, DSO, AFC (1961-1966); ACM Sir Neville McNamara KBE, AO, AFC, AE (1982-1984); and the current CDF, ACM Angus Houston AC, AFC (2005-2011).] Following operational commands in World War II, Scherger served as Chief of the Air Staff from 1957 to 1961, then as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, forerunner of the position of Chief of the Defence Force, until retiring from the military in 1966. He was Chairman of the Australian National Airlines Commission from 1966 to 1975.

Early career

Born in Ararat, Victoria, the son of German migrants, Frederick Scherger entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1921.Rayner, "The Commanders", pp.298-315] He graduated as a Lieutenant in 1924, winning the King's Medal. [Stephens, "The Royal Australian Air Force", p.38] Prior to graduation, Scherger had been selected for an Air Force secondment, later made permanent. He commenced his pilot training as a temporary Flying Officer in 1925 at RAAF Point Cook.Personnel file at National Archives] His ancestry and surname made him the object of some suspicion in the early years of his military career.

In the late 1920s Scherger gained a reputation as a skilful if occasionally reckless pilot, once being berated in front of fellow officers by his flight commander for what was described as "inverted and very low flying". By the 1930s, however, as a flying instructor and test pilot, he was considered "perhaps the RAAF's outstanding aviator". [Stephens, "Going Solo", p.254] He graduated from RAF Staff College, Andover in December 1935.

World War II

Scherger held training posts in the late 1930s and early war years, including Director of Training in 1938-40, and command of No. 2 Service Flying Training School, Wagga, in 1940-41. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in June 1940,LondonGazette|issue=34893|supp=yes|startpage=4269|date=9 July 1940|accessdate=2008-02-28] and promoted Group Captain in September the same year.

In October 1941, Scherger took command of RAAF Station Darwin and began preparing the base and its surrounds for possible attack. The following January he was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer, North Western Area, covering Darwin and its satellite airfields. Praised for his "great courage and energy", he was one of the few senior Air Force officers in the region to emerge from the inquiry into the bombing of Darwin on 19 February 1942 with his career undamaged. [Stephens, "The Royal Australian Air Force", pp.136,138] In April he was made Director of Defence, Allied Air Forces Headquarters, South West Pacific Area. [Gillison, [http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/26/chapters/24.pdf "Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942", p.473] ]

Scherger was named Air Officer Commanding (AOC) No. 10 Operational Group RAAF (10OG) in November 1943. Promoted to Air Commodore, he led US and Australian air units in Operation Reckless, the assault on Aitape, New Guinea, in April 1944. This was followed by the attack on Noemfoor. For these actions he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order,LondonGazette|issue=36713|supp=yes|startpage=4393|date=19 September 1944|accessdate=2008-02-28] the citation praising his personal courage in placing himself "in the forefront of the landing of the ground troops ... an inspiration to all personnel".

A jeep accident in August 1944 saw Scherger relinquish command of 10OG to Air Commodore Harry Cobby; two months later the group was renamed the Australian First Tactical Air Force (1TAF). [Odgers, [http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/27/chapters/15.pdf "Air War Against Japan", p.241] ] In May 1945 Scherger took over 1TAF following Cobby's dismissal in the wake of the "Morotai Mutiny", commanding its operations during Operation Oboe One, the Battle of Tarakan, and Operation Oboe Six, the invasion of Labuan. [Stephens, "The Royal Australian Air Force", pp. 123–24] [Odgers, [http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/27/chapters/27.pdf "Air War Against Japan", pp.459-461] ] [Odgers, [http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/histories/27/chapters/28.pdf "Air War Against Japan", pp.470-471] ]

Post-war career

After the war Scherger attended the Imperial Defence College, London. From 1947 to 1951 he was Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS), gaining promotion to Air Vice-Marshal in 1950. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1950 King's Birthday Honours.LondonGazette|issue=38930|supp=yes|startpage=2810|date=2 June 1950|accessdate=2008-02-28] Following his tour as DCAS he was posted to Washington, D.C. as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff.

Quote_box
width=28%
align=right
quote="You always got a staight answer from Scherger, even when you didn't like it. He was very pro-Australian, and why not?"
source=Major General Sir William Oliver, Chief of Staff to General Sir Gerald Templer, Malaya 1952-54 |In January 1953 Scherger became AOC Air Headquarters Malaya, responsible for all Commonwealth air forces in the region, and was made a Companion of the Bath in 1954. [ [http://www.awm.gov.au/honours/honours/person.asp?p=O38 Honours and awards (gazetted): Frederick Rudolph Scherger] at Australian War Memorial. Retrieved on 28 October 2007.] LondonGazette|issue=40163|supp=yes|startpage=2617|date=30 April 1954|accessdate=2008-02-28] As Air Member for Personnel from March 1955, he influenced the decision to award degrees to cadets at RAAF College, in line with institutions in the other armed services. [Stephens, "The Royal Australian Air Force", p.188]

Promoted Air Marshal, Scherger served as Chief of the Air Staff from March 1957 to May 1961. As CAS he investigated the feasibility of nuclear weaponry for the Air Force, and overturned a publicly-announced decision to purchase the F-104 Starfighter as a replacement for the CAC Sabre, in favour of the Dassault Mirage III.Stephens, "The Royal Australian Air Force", pp.221-225] He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in the 1958 Birthday Honours.LondonGazette|issue=41405|supp=yes|startpage=3550|date=3 June 1958|accessdate=2008-02-28]

Scherger became Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC), the senior Australian military position at that time, in May 1961. The latter part of his tour coincided with the beginning of large-scale Australian involvement in the Vietnam War, including deployment of 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and units of the RAAF and RAN. [Cite web|author=VVAA Museum Sub-Branch| date= | title=Vietnam - Australia's Longest War: A Calendar of Military and Political Events| url=http://www.vvaa.org.au/calendar.htm| publisher=Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia| accessdate=2007-10-12] He was promoted Air Chief Marshal in 1965, the first RAAF officer to attain the rank, and remained as Chairman until his retirement on 18 May 1966.

After retiring from the military, Scherger took up the position of Chairman of the Australian National Airlines Commission, the controlling body of Trans Australia Airlines, serving until 1975. [Cite web|last=Black| first=David|coauthors=Wallace, Leslie | date=| title=Guide to Archives of Australia's Prime Ministers: John Curtin| url=http://www.naa.gov.au/naaresources/publications/research_guides/pdf/curtin/curtin.pdf| publisher=National Archives of Australia| accessdate=2007-10-12] He died on 17 January 1984. [Cite book|last=Ballantyne| first=David|coauthors=Goode, John |editor=D. Brian Kennedy (Australasia ed.) |year=1985 |title=The World Book Year Book|chapter=Australasia on File|publisher=World Book, Inc|location=Chicago| isbn=071660485X]

Legacy

As Chairman of COSC, Scherger played a leading role in the commitment of Australian forces to Vietnam. [Edwards, "Crises and Commitments", pp.358-360] [cite web| last=Woodward|first=Gary| title=Asian alternatives: Going to war in the 1960s| url=http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:OLcK6eFkDgYJ:www.naa.gov.au/about_us/FrederickWatson/Woodard.pdf+%22Asian+alternatives:+Going+to+war+in+the+1960s%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=au| date=May 30 2003 | work=Frederick Watson Fellowship Papers| publisher=National Archives of Australia|accessdate=2007-10-12] In an address at the Australian War Memorial in 2005, journalist Paul Kelly referred to him as "Australia's most prominent military hawk" at the time, who "exceeded his brief" by promising a battalion to the Americans before a formal request had been made. [cite web|last= Kelly| first=Paul |title=Vietnam – 30 years on| url=http://www.awm.gov.au/events/talks/oration2005.asp| date=11 November 2005| work=Talks and Speeches| publisher=Australian War Memorial|accessdate=2007-10-12] Historians Peter Edwards and Gregory Pemberton have written that "no official could have done more to press Australia into a military commitment in Vietnam than its most highly ranked serviceman, Air Chief Marshal Scherger". [Edwards, "Crises and Commitments", p.383] Reflecting later on Australia's involvement in the war Scherger said, "If you want allies, you've got to support allies... It was never conceivable to us that America would lose."

Described by Air Force historian Dr Alan Stephens as "among the RAAF's better chiefs", Scherger was an early advocate for "one Australian Defence Force" comprising three branches, under one Minister of Defence, rather than three competing services under five ministers. [Andrews, "The Department of Defence", p.183] He is also credited with developing the concept of a series of front-line air bases in Northern Australia, beginning with plans for RAAF Tindal in 1959. [Stephens, "The Royal Australian Air Force", p.283] The newest of these, near Weipa in Cape York, was opened in 1998 and named RAAF Scherger in his honour. [Cite web|last=Blenkin| first=Max| date=6 August 2005| title=Qld: RAAF gets Scherger base up and running| url=http://www.rummage.com.au/AAPView.aspx?id=155372| work=rummage.com.au| publisher=AAP |accessdate=2007-10-28]

Honours and awards

Notes

References

*cite book|last=Andrews| first=Eric|year=2001| title=Australian Centenary History of Defence. Volume V: The Department of Defence|location=London| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195541138
*Cite web|author=Department of Defence| date= | title=Scherger, Frederick Rudolph William – Personnel File| url=http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=5230008&I=1&SE=1| publisher=National Archives of Australia
*cite book|last=Edwards| first=Peter|coauthors=with Pemberton, Gregory | year=1992| title=Crises and Commitments: Official History of Australia's Involvement in Southeast Asian Conflicts 1948-1975 |location=North Sydney| publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=1863731849
*cite book|last=Gillison | first=Douglas |year=1962| title=Australia in the War of 1939-1945: Series Three (Air) Volume I – Royal Australian Air Force 1939–1942 | location=Canberra| publisher=Australian War Memorial| url=http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=26|isbn=
*Cite web|last=Horner| first=David| authorlink=David Horner|year=2002| title=The Evolution of Australian Higher Command Arrangements| url=http://www.defence.gov.au/adc/cdclms/Command%20evolution.doc| work=Command Papers| publisher=Centre for Defence Leadership Studies, Australian Defence College
*cite book|last=Odgers | first=George |origyear=1957| year=1968| title=Australia in the War of 1939-1945: Series Three (Air) Volume II – Air War Against Japan 1943-45 | location=Canberra| publisher=Australian War Memorial| url=http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=27| isbn=
*cite book|author=RAAF Historical Section|year=1995|title=Units of the Royal Australian Air Force: A Concise History. Volume 1: Introduction, Bases, Supporting Organisations |chapter=RAAF Base Darwin|location=Canberra| publisher=Aust. Govt. Pub. Service|oclc=35296038| isbn=0644427922
*Cite book|last=Rayner| first=Harry|editor=David Horner (ed.) |origyear=1984|year=1992 |title=The Commanders: Australian Military Leadership in the Twentieth Century|chapter=Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=Sydney| isbn=1863731903
*cite book|last=Stephens| first=Alan| year=1995| title=Going Solo: The Royal Australian Air Force 1946-1971|location=Canberra|publisher=Aust. Govt. Pub. Service|isbn=0644428031
*cite book|last=Stephens| first=Alan|origyear=2001|year=2006| title=The Royal Australian Air Force: A History|location=London| publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0195555414

Further reading

*cite book|last=Rayner| first=Harry| year=1984|title=Scherger: A Biography of Air Chief Marshal Sir Frederick Scherger| location=Canberra| publisher=Australian War Memorial|isbn=0642878544
succession box
title=Chief of the Air Staff
before=Air Marshal Sir John McCauley
after=Air Marshal Sir Valston Hancock
years=1957–1961succession box| title=Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee| before=Vice Admiral Sir Roy Dowling| after=General Sir John Wilton
years=1961–1966