by Lex McAulay
In April 1945 Rawlinson was posted as Director, Air Staff Policy, at RAAF HQ, and then was appointed to command 78 (Fighter) Wing, at Tarakan, with promotion to Acting Group Captain, on 24 July 1945. Five years earlier, Rawlinson had been an inexperienced Flying Officer.
He returned to Australia in 1946, still with the substantive rank of Flying Officer.
Alan Rawlinson had flown against four enemies – Italians, Vichy French, German and Japanese and had emerged as a fighter leader with operational, staff and training experience beyond squadron level.
Post-war
The peace-time RAAF was not to his liking and Rawlinson transferred to the RAF in the rank of Acting Group Captain, first at RAF Fighter Command headquarters. Then he was appointed to command a jet fighter squadron in 1949, 54 Squadron at Odiham, flying De Havilland Vampires. He became Wing Commander Flying at that base. He commanded RAF Filton, with a Wing of two auxiliary air force squadrons, 501 and 614.
In 1953 he formed the first RAF Guided Weapons Trials Unit, with missiles for the night-fighter Meteor NF11, first in Wales, then in Australia at Woomera. Back in the UK, in 1958 he was Master Controller at Patrington, and in 1960 he commanded Buchan Sector in Scotland. He retired in 1961 and returned to South Australia to live. He had been awarded an AFC and an OBE in RAF service.
Alan Rawlinson was one of the most widely experienced Australians to fly fighters in World War Two and post-war. He died on 28 August 2007.
Appendix
Claims by Alan Rawlinson
– all with 3 Squadron RAAF
Date Enemy Location Aircraft
19 Nov 1940
CR42 dam 7m E Rabia Gladiator II
26 Dec
CR42 prob NE Sollum Bay Gladiator II N5782
25 Jan 41
2 G50 dam Mechili Gladiator I K7963
3 Apr
3 Ju87 Sceledeina Hurricane I
Ju87 dam V7772
19 Jun
2 Martin 167 Jezzine Tomahawk
dam AK388
28 Jun
3 Martin 167 Palmyra Tomahawk AK446
22 Nov
Bf109F Bir el Gobi Tomahawk
dam AN408
Bf109F SE El Adem Tomahawk AN365
Bf109F prob “
2 Bf109F dam “
30 Nov
MC200 El Adem Tomahawk AN408
Totals:
Eight destroyed, two probables,
eight damaged.
Note 1: For 3 April 1941, Rawlinson’s
log-book has two Ju87 destroyed,
one probably destroyed and one
damaged.
Note 2: For 22 November, his
log-book has two Bf109
destroyed and two damaged.
Note 3: One of the Bf109s
‘damaged’ on 22 November
was that of Hpt Ernst Dullberg,
but Rawlinson did not claim.
Sources
Air War Against Germany & Italy
1939-43,
official history, 1954
Desert Warriors,
by Russell Brown,
Banner Books, 2000.
Fighters Over the Desert,
by Chris Shores & Hans Ring,
Arco, USA 1969
No.2 O.T.U. RAAF Mildura
by John Lever,
Sunnyland Press, VIC, 1999
3 Squadron A50 unit
history sheets in National
Australia Archives A9186
