Clifford Mackay McEwen

Before Clifford MacKay McEwen commanded an entire Canadian bomber group, he had already fought one of the most dangerous wars imaginable from the cockpit of a Sopwith Camel. Few Canadian airmen bridged the age of First World War fighter combat and the vast bomber offensives of the Second World War as completely as McEwen. Born on 2 July 1896 at Griswold, Manitoba, and raised in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Clifford MacKay McEwen was studying in Saskatchewan when the First World War changed the course of his life. On 24 March 1916 he enlisted in the 196th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After reaching England, he was commissioned and transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, eventually joining No. 28 Squadron. Flying the Sopwith Camel on the Italian Front, McEwen developed into a formidable fighter pilot and patrol leader. Publications.gc.ca His record in the air brought a remarkable succession of gallantry awards. The Military Cross recognized his gallantry and leadership after he had destroyed six enemy aircraft. His Distinguished Flying Cross followed for a period in which he destroyed five enemy aircraft in only three weeks. The award of a Bar to the Distinguished Flying Cross marked further combat success and leadership, with the official citation describing him as a "brilliant and courageous pilot" and crediting him at that stage with twenty enemy machines destroyed. These awards were published through the London Gazette in 1918. CEFRG.ca Italy also recognized McEwen's combat service. The London Gazette of 2 November 1918 records Lieutenant Clifford McEwen, MC, DFC, among those awarded the Italian Bronze Medal for Military Valour, with official permission granted for the decoration to be worn. His First World War record therefore rested not on the DSO sometimes incorrectly attributed to him, but on the MC, DFC and Bar, and an important foreign award for valour. The Gazette McEwen did not leave aviation behind when the war ended. He served with Canada's early postwar aviation organizations and, when the Royal Canadian Air Force was established in 1924, became one of its officers. His interwar career included flying instruction, aerial survey work, command appointments, and professional study at the RAF Staff College. By the outbreak of the Second World War he was a Group Captain and an experienced officer at the centre of Canada's rapidly expanding air force. Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame - The Second World War transformed McEwen from an experienced airman into one of the RCAF's most important operational commanders. As an Air Commodore he commanded No. 1 Group in Newfoundland, where Canadian forces were deeply involved in North Atlantic operations and anti-submarine warfare. He later went to Britain and commanded No. 62 Operational Base. His work there earned a Mention in Despatches, whose citation praised his leadership in bringing the base to a very high standard of operational efficiency. Publications.gc.ca In February 1944 McEwen was promoted Air Vice-Marshal and became Air Officer Commanding No. 6 Group, Royal Canadian Air Force, RAF Bomber Command. This became the defining command of his career. McEwen emphasized demanding training, discipline, operational efficiency, and close attention to the men flying the missions. Under his leadership, No. 6 Group's performance improved dramatically, and official Canadian military history records that during the final year of the European war its performance ranked among the strongest in Bomber Command while its combat loss rate fell to the lowest among the heavy bomber groups. Publications.gc.ca His leadership was recognized at the highest level. In the 1945 New Year Honours, King George VI appointed McEwen a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and the appointment was formally published in the London Gazette on 1 January 1945. The decoration was subsequently presented to him at Buckingham Palace. France appointed him an Officer of the Legion of Honour, and RCAF honours records also document the French Croix de Guerre with Bronze Palm. The United States appointed him a Commander of the Legion of Merit, recognizing his contribution to cooperation between the RCAF, the United States Army Air Forces, and the British air services. The Gazette With victory in Europe secured, McEwen was selected to command the RCAF bomber component intended for Tiger Force, which was being organized for operations against Japan. The Pacific deployment became unnecessary before it could be completed. McEwen retired from the RCAF in 1946 after a military aviation career spanning thirty years and two world wars. He later remained connected with Canadian aviation and veterans' organizations, including service as a director of Trans-Canada Air Lines and work with the Last Post Fund. Canada's Aviation Hall of Fame - Clifford MacKay McEwen's legacy was larger than the aircraft he flew or the decorations he wore. He began as a young Canadian soldier in 1916, became a decorated fighter pilot over Italy, helped build the interwar RCAF, fought the U-boat threat in the Atlantic, and ultimately commanded Canada's bomber force in Britain. By the time of his death on 6 August 1967, McEwen had helped carry Canadian military aviation from the fragile fighters of the First World War into the era of modern air power. In 2003, the airfield at 15 Wing Moose Jaw was named Air Vice-Marshal C. M. McEwen Airfield in recognition of that legacy.