Air Marshal Sir Peter Bairsto
Cold War fighter pilot who rose to become Deputy Commander-in-chief of Strike Command
AIR MARSHAL SIR PETER BAIRSTO, who has died aged 91, was a skilful Cold War fighter pilot and formation leader. The aggressive disciplines he mastered in those demanding roles prepared him for a series of senior appointments where he made a significant impact on the operational efficiency of the RAF.
Bairsto was an experienced jet pilot instructor when he joined No 43 Squadron in 1954 to fly Hunter fighters based at Leuchars in Fife. Appointed as a flight commander, he was involved in developing fighter tactics, for which he was awarded a Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. He led the squadron’s aerobatic formation team – the Fighting Cocks – at many displays, including the Farnborough Air Show.
In October 1956, No 43 deployed to Cyprus for the Suez crisis, an event that scarred his attitude to politicians for the remainder of his career. At the end of his tour of duty he was awarded the AFC.
In 1957 he assumed command of No 66 Squadron, also flying Hunters; he found the unit in low morale following a number of losses. He gripped the squadron with an iron fist and drove his pilots and ground crew hard, expecting them to perform in a highly disciplined and totally professional manner.
His strong leadership and demanding standards paid dividends. By the end of his tour, the squadron was judged to be the most efficient in Fighter Command and he was awarded a second Queen’s Commendation.
Peter Edward Bairsto was born on August 3 1926 in Liverpool. He was educated at Rhyl Grammar School and aged 18 volunteered for flying duties with the Fleet Air Arm. He started his training in Canada, but before he could complete the course the war ended.
With no further demand for pilots in the immediate postwar period, he transferred to the RAF and was commissioned into the RAF Regiment. Initially he served in Aden before being transferred to Palestine at the height of the Jewish uprising. Operating in armoured cars, he commanded a troop of Arab Levies. On one occasion he was injured when a Molotov cocktail was thrown into his car, resulting in the death of his driver and gunner.
Bairsto’s ambition to be a pilot was finally realised in 1952. On graduation he was selected to be a flying instructor and for two years he instructed pilots on the Meteor jet.
After his time with No 66 Squadron, he was later promoted to be the wing commander flying at RAF Nicosia, a flying environment far removed from his previous experience; but he mastered the Belvedere helicopter and the four-engine Hastings transport aircraft. His tour came to a sudden end on December 21 1963 when violence erupted between the Greek and Turkish communities, and he and his family witnessed a gun battle close to their married quarters.
After a tour in the MOD in the operational requirements branch, where he was responsible for staffing the new Harrier aircraft, he joined the directing staff of the RAF Staff College. In 1971 he headed for RAF Honington in Suffolk, the home of three Buccaneer squadrons, including one of the Fleet Air Arm. His fierce reputation had preceded him and he was given the apt nickname of “The Bear”, which was to remain with him for the rest of his life.
The maritime strike/attack role had only recently been reintroduced as an operational capability in the RAF and it was new to Bairsto. He immediately immersed himself in understanding its demands and in the development of the operational efficiency of his squadrons. He flew the Buccaneer regularly and tackled the most challenging sorties; and the best of his crews quickly embraced his operational philosophy and attitude. He noted that others found it more difficult.
He created a specialist course for selected aircrew, which was modelled on his earlier experiences as a fighter pilot attack instructor, and the Buccaneer force benefited greatly from this innovation.
His forceful opinions did not always sit easily with his masters or those in supporting staff appointments; some of whom, he thought, had failed to grasp the full capabilities of the new generation of combat aircraft. On one occasion while briefing the commander-in-chief and his operational staff, he concluded his presentation by pointedly reminding them that the Buccaneer was “not a mini V-bomber but a maxi Hunter fighter”. His audience did not greet this provocative statement with universal enthusiasm.
Bairsto’s combative methods produced an excellent fighting force, and when he left Honington after two years he was promoted to air commodore and appointed CBE.
He then returned to the MOD operational requirements branch, this time to play an important role in the development into service of the Tornado aircraft.
In 1977 he became Air Officer Training at RAF Support Command. This appointment enabled him to fly many aircraft types, but he also turned his attention to the need to gear up his stations, not in the front line and without operational commitments, to the reality of the Cold War. He changed his annual inspections from a traditional parade and a good lunch into a mêlée of impromptu emergency and response situations. The whole attitude of the Command and its stations was altered to anticipate and prepare for contingency operations, an initiative that was to pay dividends in the years ahead.
In 1979 Bairsto became the Air Commander of the Northern Maritime Region based near Edinburgh, an appointment in which he enjoyed close cooperation with the Royal Navy. Expecting to retire, he suddenly found himself promoted to be the Deputy Commander-in-chief of Strike Command. During the Falklands War he was responsible for providing the right RAF forces for the operational commander. He retired from the service in April 1984, having been appointed CB in 1980, advanced to KBE in 1981.
Bairsto was a demanding commander with a brusque and dominating manner which did not appeal to everyone. He quickly identified those he could trust, invariably the younger element, and drove them hard and nurtured their skills. Those who stood up to him and could meet his demands were well rewarded and he remained loyal to them in their later careers. Those who failed to match his drive and professional standards fared less well.
Bairsto became an adviser to the managing director of Ferranti and moved to Fife. For 10 years he worked part-time for the Lord Chancellor’s Office on public and planning enquiries. Many of the motorway sections of the A1 are the result of his diligent attention to detail.
He fished the Spey into his late eighties, was a keen shot, an avid gardener and a devoted family man. He and his wife Kathie, a WAAF whom he had met in Palestine and who was an immense support throughout his RAF service, moved to St Andrews. There he became the dynamic chairman of the St Andrews Links Management Trust, which instigated numerous reforms to the golf club.
Sir Peter Bairsto married Kathie Clarbour in 1947; she died in 2008. He later married Pamela Braid, who survives him with two sons and a daughter from his first marriage. His two sons joined the RAF and both reached the rank of air vice-marshal.
Sir Peter Bairsto, born August 3 1926, died October 24 2017