Air Vice-marshal David Emmerson
Highly respected commander of a deployment of enhanced Nimrods during the Falklands War
AIR VICE-MARSHAL DAVID EMMERSON, who has died aged 78, was the commanding officer of a Nimrod detachment deployed to Ascension Island for operations in the Falklands War (Operation Corporate); he flew on 10 operational sorties in support of the Task Force, the majority at extreme range into a high threat area.
Emmerson was commanding No 206 Squadron based at RAF Kinloss in Morayshire, the first squadron equipped with the updated and more capable Nimrod Mark 2. On April 20 1982 he was summoned to the Joint Force Headquarters at Northwood to be briefed to command a deployment of these aircraft on Ascension Island, replacing a small force of less capable Nimrod Mark 1 aircraft.
Emmerson left immediately for Ascension to prepare for the enhanced Nimrods – now modified to conduct in-flight refuelling and carry air defence missiles – to conduct surveillance operations as the Task Force deployed towards the Falklands.
Once his crews and aircraft were established he implemented a programme to train them for operations close to the Argentine coast and within range of hostile fighters. Not only did he prepare his crews but he decided that he would fly on each of the sorties that broke new ground as the additional equipment, capabilities and techniques were introduced. He never tasked a crew to fly an operation which he himself had not already flown.
He was the navigator of the Nimrod that supported the first Vulcan attack on Port Stanley Airfield on May 1. He then flew on the first operation to within air defence radar and fighter range of the Argentine bases of Puerto Belgrano and Comodoro Rivadavia, the latter conducted in daylight and at real risk to aircraft and crew.
Another of his operational sorties was to provide surface surveillance overnight on May 20/21 in support of the amphibious landings on East Falkland, a flight of almost 20 hours that covered 7,200 miles and required three in-flight refuellings.
For his services during the conflict, Emmerson was awarded the AFC. The citation stated that he “displayed exceptional leadership and a great sense of courage … which were a magnificent example to others”.
David Emmerson was born at Mildenhall, Suffolk, on September 6 1939 and educated at Colchester Royal Grammar School. During his teenage years he was a tabletennis champion. He joined the RAF and trained as a navigator.
In February 1959 he began his career in the maritime patrol and anti-submarine role when he joined No 203 Squadron at Ballykelly in Northern Ireland. The squadron was equipped with the fourengine Shackleton, a derivative of the wartime Avro Lancaster bomber. His talent was quickly recognised and by the time he was 22 he was an aircraft captain, an unusual appointment, not least because he was a navigator.
After three years he left to be an instructor at the Maritime Operational Training Unit, based initially at Kinloss where crews for the numerous Shackleton squadrons based worldwide were trained. He was then selected to complete the one-year Specialist Navigation Course.
In January 1967 he began his long association with the Nimrod (an aircraft based on the de Havilland Comet), joining the team responsible for developing and proving the aircraft and its systems and introducing a mission and aircraft simulator. When the first squadron, No 201, was formed in December 1969, Emmerson was posted to be its navigation leader. Operating from Kinloss, the squadron patrolled the North Atlantic tracking Soviet surface fleets and submarines, often when they were in transit to and from Cuba.
Although the youngest of the squadron executives, Emmerson was in the forefront of developing the tactical use of the new aircraft and played a major part in the squadron’s victory in the Fincastle Trophy anti-submarine competition held annually between Commonwealth maritime air forces.
After attending the Canadian Forces Staff College in 1973, he remained in Canada on the staff of the British Air Advisor in Ottawa. He returned to North America in December 1977 to join the British defence staff in Washington. It was at this time that he ran his first marathon, completing the course in just over three hours. In May 1981 he assumed command of No 206 Squadron, where his natural leadership style and knowledge soon won the respect and affection of his crews.
Emmerson left the squadron after two years on promotion to group captain when he joined the staff of No 18 (Maritime) Group, responsible for operations. Within 18 months he was heading back to Kinloss, this time as the station commander with three squadrons under his command.
He continued to fly whenever possible, was active in most sport events on the base, and competed in some marathons to raise money for charity. At the end of his time in command, Kinloss was awarded the Wilkinson Sword as the most efficient operational station in the RAF.
After a year at the Royal College of Defence Studies, Emmerson was appointed to be the personal staff officer to the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, a man he admired greatly and with whom he established a close working relationship. During this period he accompanied his chief, who had been the Task Force Commander during Operation Corporate, to the Falkland Islands, his only visit to the scene of the conflict.
Promoted to air vice-marshal in November 1989, he became the Chief of Staff at HQ No 18 Group but 18 months later he decided to take early retirement. He was appointed CBE in 1989 and was honoured to be the president of No 206 Squadron Association.
In May 1991 he was appointed Chief Executive of Elizabeth Fitzroy Homes. He arrived at a very difficult time but his tireless efforts and compassion eventually resolved the many problems and the charity moved forward to success.
Emmerson took on many other commitments including being a school governor, advising a museum and helping maintain the fabric of his local church. For four years he was a non-executive director of North Hampshire NHS Trust. He bought a boat and took up classic car rallying with a friend.
In 2005 he was diagnosed with cancer but refused to let this prevent him from his charitable work and helping others. In 2012 he became chairman of a new charity to raise money for a cancer centre in Basingstoke. When his illness returned he decided not to have a pioneering operation with only a small chance of success. Instead he enjoyed holidays with his wife and developing a garden in their new house.
Emmerson was very disturbed when the new Nimrod MRA 4 was cancelled in 2010 following a defence review, thus leaving the United Kingdom without a maritime air capability. He joined other senior RAF colleagues in expressing his dismay.
Emmerson is survived by his wife, Marie, whom he married in 1961.
Air Vice-marshal David Emmerson, born September 6 1939, died October 28 2017