Harry Broadhurst

See also Henry Broadhurst for the trade unionist and politician Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst, (28 October 1905 – 29 August 1995), commonly known as Broady, was a senior Royal Air Force commander and flying ace of the Second World War.

Early life Harry Broadhurst was born on 28 October 1905 in Frimley, Surrey, England. He was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and after completing his schooling commenced training as a surveyor. In 1925, he joined the British Army as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery and then, the following year, transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF).

Upon completion of his flight training, Broadhurst joined No. 11 Squadron in India in 1928, flying the Westland Wapiti and Hawker Hart over the North West frontier. He returned to the United Kingdom in 1931, joining No. 41 Squadron flying the Bristol Bulldog. In the combat he was Red 1 and claimed 1-1-0 Bf 109F at 09.50 over Gravelines area. In May 1942 he became Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), No. 11 Group, although he continued to fly operationally where possible. His final kill claims were made on 19 August 1942, bringing his total to 13 destroyed, seven probables and 10 damaged.

Broadhurst's enthusiastic backing of the Army and his frank opinions did not always go down well with his superiors in the RAF. He returned to the UK in 1944 to command No. 83 Group, On return to the UK, Broadhurst was to land at London Heathrow Airport, a civil airport, to complete the successful tour before the assembled aviation media. However, the weather at Heathrow was poor and RAF aircraft were not equipped to use the Instrument Landing System installed at Heathrow and other civil airports so a Ground-controlled approach (GCA) was carried out. XA897 struck the ground about 2,000 feet short of the runway just as power was applied.

The AAIB inquiry concluded that the inherent lag in the system of issuing of instructions by the ground controller combined with the Vulcan's normal higher than usual rate-of-descent in comparison with the types of aircraft normally handled by Heathrow's controllers, allowed the aircraft to descend below a safe height before corrective instructions could be issued and complied-with. Subsequently, the Vulcan later became one of the first aircraft qualified for full autoland.

Broadhurst was promoted to Air Chief Marshal in February 1957, In 1965, he became managing director of Hawker Siddeley Aviation Ltd., and in 1968 a Director of the Hawker Siddeley Group Limited, retiring in 1976. He died on 29 August 1995.