Air Vice-marshal George Chesworth
Maritime air specialist who served in Korea and coordinated RAF support in the Falklands War
AIR VICE-MARSHAL GEORGE CHESWORTH, who has died aged 86, specialised in maritime air patrol and anti-submarine operations and was one of the RAF’S most experienced officers in this role, first as a pilot and then as a senior commander.
His first tour as a junior pilot involved flying operations during the Korean War and in his last appointment he had a key role in the Falklands air campaign. In the intervening years, he tracked the Soviet Navy’s surface and submarine fleets and was involved in the “Cod Wars” with Iceland.
As the chief of staff at HQ No 18 Group located at Northwood, the Joint Force Headquarters for Operation Corporate, Chesworth was responsible for coordinating the flying in support of the Task Force in the South Atlantic. Following the decision to re-take the islands, his Nimrod squadrons were soon in action flying surveillance operations and in support of the fleet before it was decided that the opening shot of the war would be a bombing attack on the runway at Stanley airfield on East Falkland.
The Air Commander (Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss) immediately sent Chesworth to Ascension Island where he arrived on April 29 1982 to oversee the operation (Black Buck). The following day he received the message to mount the ambitious plan and then watched two Vulcan bombers (one a reserve) and the fleet of fifteen Victor tankers take off. All that he could do was wait anxiously for their return. After 14 hours the final Victor returned very short of fuel. Two hours later the Vulcan (XM 607) and a Nimrod, which had provided rescue cover, finally landed after a successful mission, which was then the longest ever bombing raid.
Fuel margins for the three aircraft were critical and Chesworth had anticipated the possible loss of all of them. He drafted a signal ready to send to Curtiss should the aircraft fail to return, but as the Vulcan of Flight Lieutenant Martin Withers landed he was able to telephone his chief with the news that the attack had been a success. Almost immediately he was asked to prepare for a similar operation the following day but he insisted that an in-depth analysis of the raid had to be completed before a further one could be contemplated.
Chesworth returned to Northwood to continue with his role at headquarters. In the post-war honours list he was appointed CB.
George Arthur Chesworth was born at Beckenham, Kent, on June 4 1930 and educated at Wimbledon Technical College. He was called up for National Service in July 1948 and served in the RAF, training as a pilot. He was commissioned and decided to remain in the service.
After converting to the Sunderland flying boat he was posted to Singapore to join No 205 Squadron, one of three that formed the Far East Flying Boat Wing. Over the next two and a half years he flew operations during the Malayan Emergency but much of his time was spent on detachments to Japan, flying anti-submarine patrols and weather reconnaissance flights during the Korean War. He flew 53 operational sorties, some in extreme weather and sea conditions, and was awarded the DFC for “gallant and distinguished service in Korea”.
After tours as a flying instructor and at the Second Tactical Air Force in Germany, he returned to the maritime role and converted to the Shackleton before serving as the flight commander of No 201 Squadron based in Cornwall when his squadron was placed on standby during the Cuban missile crisis. After attending the RN Staff College, he served as a wing commander in the operational requirements branch at MOD where he wrote the air staff requirement for the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, the Shackleton replacement.
This appointment marked the beginning of his long association with the Nimrod. He took command of No 201 Squadron at Kinloss in Morayshire, initially flying the Shackleton, but in early 1970 the squadron converted to the Nimrod, the first in the RAF to do so. At the time, the Soviet Navy was expanding into a formidable force and making regular forays into the North Atlantic, the Norwegian Sea and transiting to Cuba. His Nimrods tracked them and gathered valuable intelligence. For his services in command of No 201 he was appointed OBE.
After a short tour as a staff officer with the US Navy in San Diego he returned to command RAF Kinloss in August 1972, by which time there were three resident Nimrod squadrons and a Shackleton airborne early warning squadron. The Nimrods provided support for the Royal Navy’s submarines tasked with maintaining the British strategic nuclear deterrent. His squadrons also flew surveillance patrols during the fishing disputes with Iceland in addition to monitoring Soviet Navy movements; they also provided an immediate air-sea rescue capability.
On promotion to air commodore, Chesworth took charge of the Central Trials and Tactics Organisation. In April 1979 he became Chief of Staff at HQ 18 Group until he retired in 1984.
Chesworth settled in Morayshire where he was active in local affairs and with RAF charities in Scotland. From 1985 to 1988 he was chief executive of the Glasgow Garden Festival. He was appointed a JP in 1992 and served as Lord Lieutenant of Morayshire (19942005). He was vice-president of the charity Houses for Heroes.
He was a great supporter of reserve military units in Scotland. These included being Honorary Air Commodore of No 2622 (Highland) Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force, RAF Regiment; Honorary Colonel of No 76 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers), and chairman of the Air Training Corps Council for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Chesworth remained devoted to the RAF and was deeply upset at the cancellation of the Nimrod MRA 4 aircraft. One of his staff described him as a “wise leader and perfect gentleman”.
George Chesworth’s wife Betty, to whom he was married for 65 years, died in 2016. Their two daughters survive him. Their son was killed while serving with the Army in Germany.
Air Vice-marshal George Chesworth, born June 4 1930, died May 24 2017