RCAF Aviation History: Air Commodore R.H. Mulock, CBE, DSO and Bar

Air Commodore R.H. Mulock, CBE, DSO and Bar

(DND Photo, PMR71-405)

Air Commodore R.H. Mulock, CBE, DSO & Bar.

Redford Henry "Red" Mulock, CBE, DSO and Bar was born on 11 August 1886 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, to parents William Redford Mulock, K.C., and Lillian Lucia Cummins, both descendants of Irish stock.

After graduating from McGill University in Montreal in 1909 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, he worked as an electrical engineer. Red's first service in uniform was as a lieutenant in the militia, serving with the Canadian Field Artillery, in which he enlisted in 1911.

In 1914 he gave up his commission as an officer to enlist as a corporal in the first contingent of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, a move that would see him sent overseas to serve in the First World War. Following training with the Canadian Field Artillery at Valcartier, Quebec, he shipped out for England in October 1914.

At the age of 28, in January 1915 he transferred to the Royal Naval Air Service, which began as a naval wing of the Royal Flying Corps. Red soon qualified as a pilot, earning his pilot's certificate on March 9 of that year at the Royal Naval Flying School at Eastchurch, England. Mulock was commissioned again, this time as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant in the RNAS.

In July 1915,Red Mulock was posted to No. 1 Aeroplane Wing at St. Pol Airfield in Dunkirk. Flying Nieuport type 10 and 11 aircraft, he carried out fighter patrols, bombing missions, photo reconnaissance flights and directed naval gunfire. As well, he pioneered the use of parachute flares to spot for artillery at night. On September 6 he became the first Canadian to attack a submarine when he dropped five 20-pound bombs on a U-boat. Later that month he made a lone bombing raid through cloud and mist to attack zeppelin sheds nearBrussels.

By the end of 1915, Mulock had been Mentioned in Dispatches (MID) for gallantry or otherwise commendable service. He had scored his first victory, sending down an enemy aircraft on 30 Dec. In January 1916 he downed two more and by March was promoted to Flight Commander and received another MID. On 21 May, he scored a double victory and became both the first Canadian ace to destroy Five enemy aircraft, as well as the first RNAS pilot to achieve that distinction.

(SDASM Photo)

Sopwith Pup (Serial No. A7302)

For his outstanding performance, in June 1916 Red Mulock was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). Both his skill as a pilot and his leadership qualities were recognized. In 1917 Red was appointed Commanding Officer of No. 3 Naval Squadron and the Admiralty loaned the army five squadrons for Royal Flying Corps support on the Western Front at a time when German fighter squadrons ruled the air.

Mulock's No. 3 Squadron was equipped with now aging, but agile Sopwith Pup aircraft. Under Red's command his pilots, half of whom were Canadians, claimed 80 successful combats with the loss of nine Pups. Again Mulock earned the praise of his superiors for his knowledge and handling of men and machines.

The London Gazette of June 1916 reported, "Flight Lieutenant (Acting Flight Commander) Redford Henry Mulock. R.N.A.S. In recognition of his services as a pilot at Dunkirk. This Officer has been constantly employed at Dunkirk since July 1915, and has displayed indefatigable zeal and energy. He has on seven occasions engaged hostile aeroplanes and seaplanes, and attack submarines, and has carried out attacks on enemy air stations, and made long-distance reconnaissances."

In 1917 No. 3Squadron was returned to the Navy, and in September of that year Mulock left the squadron to become Senior Officer of the RNAS Depot at Dunkirk. While there, his bravery in rescuing a man from a blazing ammunition train and searching for others, his action was rewarded with another MID and the French government appointed him as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour. For service from 1915-18 the British government awarded a Bar to his DSO for "brilliant leadership and skill and bravery." On January 1 of 1918 he was promoted to Wing Commander.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4818421)

Independent Force's No. 27 Group, under the command of Col R.H. Mulock, 1918.

In 1918, with the joining of the RNAS and the RFC to form the new Royal Air Force, Mulock was called upon to form a new Bomber Wing. The objective of his 82nd Wing was to attack the industrial heartland of northwest Germany. In July, he was promoted to Colonel and given charge to establish and train No. 27 Group, a special force consisting of two wings of the huge four-engine Handley Page VI 500 bomber, designed to strike deep into Germany from bases in the British Midlands. ByNovember, Mulock had one of his squadrons ready to bomb Berlin, but the war ended and the mission was scrubbed.

(Library and Archives Canada Photo, MIKAN No. 4816405)

Colonel R.H. Mulock of Winnipeg (sitting) with Major J.W.K. Allsop, c1918.

In 1919, due to delays in demobilization after the war, unrest built among airmen anxious to return home. Strikes began happening at aerodromes in England and Col. Mulock was given authority to settle problems. He resolved those difficulties and for that action, together with outstanding wartime service, he was appointed a Commander of the British Empire (CBE), the only Canadian airman to receive that honour. In June 1919, Red returned to his home town of Winnipeg, bringing with him his first wife, Edythe Goodman, whom he married in England. Unfortunately, Edythe died in England in 1923 while she and Red Mulock were visiting her parents.

When Mulock left the air force he become involved in peacetime aircraft industry. Nevertheless, he entered the Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve and rose to the rank of Air Commodore, becoming an Honorary Aide de Camp to two Governors-General. By 1930, Red had joined the new Canadian Airways Limited in Quebec as assistant to the president and worked with founder James A. Richardson to coordinate mail service with a number of small companies.

Red was a skilled pilot and successful manager of military and civilian aviation organizations. He recognized the importance not only of those who flew, but the importance also of ground crew, support and policies that make a system work.

Red Mulock died in Montreal on 23 January 1961, survived by his second wife, Marion Blaiklock, whom he married in 1933.  Redford Henry Mulock was inducted as a Member of Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame on 10 June2010 at a ceremony held in Vancouver, B.C. (Canada’s Aviation Hall of Fame)

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