Otto Becher

Rear Admiral Otto Humphrey Becher, & Bar (13 September 1908 – 15 June 1977) was a senior officer in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Born in Harvey, Western Australia, Becher entered the Royal Australian Naval College in 1922. After graduating in 1926, he was posted to a series of staff and training positions prior to specialising in gunnery.

A lieutenant commander at the outbreak of the Second World War, Becher assisted in the extraction of Allied troops from the Namsos region of Norway while aboard the heavy cruiser , and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross. Following service in the Mediterranean theatre, he returned to Australia in 1942 as officer-in-charge of the gunnery school at . He spent two years at Cerberus before being given command of the Q class destroyer in March 1944. While commanding Quickmatch in operations against Japanese forces in the Pacific, Becher earned a Bar to his Distinguished Service Cross.

At the war's end Becher was posted to the Navy Office and later to the aircraft carrier ; in 1951 he was given command of the destroyer . Warramunga formed part of Australia's contribution to the United Nations forces engaged in the Korean War; Becher was promoted to captain and awarded the Distinguished Service Order while carrying out operations in Korean waters. On returning to Australia, he filled several staff positions and commanded the aircraft carriers and . Promoted to rear admiral in 1959, he served as Flag Officer Commanding Australian Fleet from 1964 to 1965, before taking up the post of Flag Officer-in-Charge East Australia Area. Becher retired from the RAN in 1966, and died in 1977 at the age of 68.

Early life and career Otto Becher was born in Harvey, Western Australia, on 13 September 1908, to Francis Joseph Becher, an orchardist, and Antonia Amalie (née Vetter). On 1 January 1922, at the age of thirteen, he enrolled in the Royal Australian Naval College at Jervis Bay, where he performed well both academically and at sport, receiving colours for hockey and tennis. Graduating in 1926, he served as a midshipman aboard and later , before being posted to the United Kingdom in September of that year for further sea-training and professional development with the Royal Navy.

Becher was promoted to acting sub-lieutenant in September 1928; the rank was made substantive the following March. He returned to Australia in January 1930 and was raised to lieutenant, gaining further seafaring experience over the next two years on and . Deciding to specialise in gunnery, he attended an advanced course at the Royal Navy's gunnery school at in England from September 1932 until April 1934. Returning to Australia in May 1934, Becher was posted to the gunnery school at the shore establishment HMAS Cerberus in Victoria until June 1935. The notification for the decoration was published in a supplement to the London Gazette on 19 July 1940, and the investiture ceremony was held by King George VI at Buckingham Palace on 11 March 1941. With her working-up complete, Napier was initially posted to convoy duties in the North Atlantic, before setting sail in April 1941 with for the Mediterranean Sea. Arriving in May, she formed up as part of the Mediterranean Fleet.

Napier assisted in the evacuation of British and Commonwealth troops from the island of Crete in late May, following the successful Axis invasion. On one such occasion the vessel embarked 296 soldiers, three women, one Greek and one Chinese civilian, ten sailors, two children and a dog. Returning to Alexandria, the destroyer came under attack but arrived unscathed. Two days later Napier was less fortunate; having taken 705 soldiers on board, she was targeted on her return journey by a formation of twelve German dive-bombers. The ship was struck twice by bombs and suffered damage to the stern, the engine room and boiler room. One of the aircraft was shot down and a further three damaged. Although no allied casualties were sustained and the destroyer arrived safely in Alexandria, she spent the next two-and-a-half months in Port Said under repair.

alt=A side on photograph of a ship with camouflage style painting in a body of water. The characters "G92" can be seen on the side.

Becher returned to Australia in early 1942, and from 17 May was appointed officer-in-charge of the gunnery school at HMAS Cerberus. He remained at this post for almost two years until, on 12 March 1944, he was given command of the destroyer —formed up as part of the Eastern Fleet. On 22 July, Quickmatch was among a 23-vessel strong task force that set out from Trincomalee to assault the Japanese naval base off northern Sumatra at Sabang Island. The formation approached Sabang on the night of 24/25 July, launching fighter strikes on airfields in the area at first light. At 06:55, the fleet bombarded the harbour installations, coastal defence batteries and the military barracks. As the formation's two battleships maintained their fire, Quickmatch joined three other ships that entered the harbour to carry out close-range bombardment. After completing their task, Quickmatch and her fellows withdrew under the cover of fire from two cruisers. Becher was awarded a Bar to his Distinguished Service Cross, announced in a supplement to the London Gazette on 31 October 1944.

In October 1944, Quickmatch was transferred to Australian waters and underwent her annual refit at Sydney from November to December. Once the refit was completed she operated mainly off the Australian coast. During the early hours of 25 December 1944, the Navy Office in Melbourne received an SOS from the SS Robert J. Walker, reporting that she had been torpedoed by a submarine while travelling from Fremantle, Western Australia, to Sydney. Aircraft were dispatched to provide aerial cover, and HMA Ships Quickmatch, Kiama and Yandra were directed to Robert J. Walkers position. Quickmatch and Yandra were to operate against the submarine, while Kiama was to take the Robert J. Walker under tow. Arriving at the reported location at approximately 23:30 that evening, Quickmatch, under the command of Becher, and Kiama patrolled the vicinity in search of the submarine and Robert J. Walkers crew. Sixty-seven men were discovered in lifeboats at 05:45 the following morning and were taken aboard Quickmatch; Robert J. Walker had sunk two hours earlier with the loss of two crew.

Becher was promoted to commander on 31 December 1944, On 28 February, the British Pacific Fleet, including Quickmatch, sailed from Sydney Harbour for Manus Island to prepare for its role in support of the planned United States invasion of Okinawa. The fleet engaged in eleven days of exercises at Manus before departing for Ulithi, and on 23 March was attached to the United States Fifth Fleet with the designation "Task Force 57". Setting sail for Okinawa two days later, the fleet launched air strikes against airfield targets in the Sakishima Islands on 26 and 27 March. During these operations Quickmatch formed part of the escort for the fleet's aircraft carriers. In August, he transferred to HMAS Cerberus for duties with the Navy Office.

alt=Photograph of a war ship in a body of water. Large cannons can be seen on the deck, along with sailors.

Warramunga arrived in Korean waters in late August 1950. After some initial escort work, the destroyer joined as part of the carrier 's protective screen while the latter contributed air cover to the Allied landing at Inchon on 15 September. For the next three months, Warramunga engaged in patrol and screening duties, in addition to transporting food for famine relief.

On 4 December, Warramunga and Bataan supported the emergency withdrawal of Allied troops from Chinnampo. Becher decided to sail up a channel of the Taedong River known as Short Cut, which according to his charts should have allowed him five to ten feet of clearance. The chart proved inaccurate, and Warramunga ran aground at 23:15; Becher's only option was to wait for the rising tide to float the destroyer off. Warramunga came free at 23:50 without having sustained damage, and was able to resume her mission, escorting troop transports south. Later, Becher brought Warramunga alongside Bataan and entreated the latter's commander, via megaphone, to keep quiet about the incident. With Becher's promotion to captain due, he was concerned that if the Naval Board became aware of the grounding his promotion would be delayed until an investigation had taken place. His "well-earned" rise in rank came through as scheduled on 31 December. On the journey south, Warramungas crew developed a new way of signalling between ships that was considerably quicker than using international code flags. Known to the crew as the "Murphy Method", it involved wrapping messages around potatoes and throwing them from one ship to the other. For the remainder of her tour in Korea, Warramunga took part in patrols and shore bombardments, earning special praise from Vice Admiral C. Turner Joy, Commander US Naval Forces Far East, for the accuracy of her gunnery.

On 17 July 1951, it was announced that Becher had been appointed as an honorary aide-de-camp to the Governor-General of Australia for a period of three years. Noting his "courage, skill and determination", a recommendation for Becher to be awarded the Distinguished Service Order was approved by the Australian Government on 17 August 1951, For his "meritorious service ... as C.O. of HMAS Warramunga", Becher was also decorated by the United States with the Legion of Merit.

Senior command Becher retained command of Warramunga until October 1951, when he was posted to the shore base for service with the Navy Office as Deputy Chief of Naval Personnel and Director of Personal Services. In September that year he was additionally appointed trustee of the Services Canteens Trust Fund; a position he held until October 1952 and for which he received a letter of appreciation from the Minister for Defence. The same month he assumed the position of Deputy Chief of Naval Staff. On 25 August 1954, Becher was given command of the aircraft carrier HMAS Vengeance,

In 1956, Becher embarked for the United Kingdom to attend the Imperial Defence College. A month after his December graduation, he travelled back to Australia and assumed command of . Becher remained with Melbourne until December 1958, at which time he returned to the Navy Office at HMAS Lonsdale to resume his role as Deputy Chief of Naval Staff. He was promoted to acting rear admiral on 3 January 1959, the rank being made substantive twelve months later.

Relinquishing his position with the Navy Office in 1962, Becher was sent to the United Kingdom as Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in London. In January 1964 he returned to Australia, and was made Flag Officer Commanding HM Australian Fleet. During his time in this role Becher became embroiled in the controversy that followed the collision of HMA Ships Voyager and Melbourne, which took place in February that year. Before giving evidence before the Royal Commission that had been established to investigate the incident, Becher had discussed events with Melbournes Commanding Officer, Commander Ronald Robertson. The discussion became public knowledge, and led to suggestions of conspiracy. Becher stated to the commission that Melbourne should have questioned Voyagers final movements; his evidence is alleged to have influenced the Royal Commissioner, Sir John Spicer, to place a degree of blame on Robertson. In 1965, Becher assumed his final command as Flag Officer-in-Charge East Australia Area, He also held the post of chairman of the Council of the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of New South Wales. On 15 June 1977, aged 68, Becher died from a myocardial infarction at Sydney Hospital. Survived by his wife and their three sons, he was cremated.