NAVAL CAREERS

CARRIER'S OFFICERS

EXPERIENCE IN SERVICE

In common with many of the higherranking" officers of the Royal Navy, Captain I. A. P. Macintyre, C.8.E., D.5.0., in command of H.M.S. Indefatigable, has a long* record of service in destroyers, having spent most of the 1914-18 war in them and submarines and being engaged in similar work from the commencement of the war just ended. Captain Macintyre, who is now 52. has been in the Service since he entered as a cadet in 1907.

He was Chief of Staff to ViceAdmiral Sir Max Horlon, who. from September. 1939, to January, 1940, was in command of the Northern Patrol of the Home Fleet, charged with keeping convoy routes clear and with watching for the appearance in northern waters of units of the German Fleet. This responsibility was intensified when France fell in 1940 and the Germans overran Norway, Denmark, and the Low Countries. Vice-Admiral Horton was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Western Approaches, with headquarters in Liverpool, and Captain Macintyre continued as his Chief of Staff. During the darkest days of the Battle of the Atlantic he pitted his brains as a destroyer expert, and a submariner against the worst the German U-boat campaigners could devise.

In 1942 Captain Macintyre returned to sea, was given command of H.M.S. Scylla, a cruiser famous for her work on Russian convoys and in the Mediterranean. For his services in that appointment he was awarded the D.S.O. He returned to Sir Max Horton's staff in November. 1943, and was given command of the Indefatigable a few weeks ago.

LONG SEA SERVICE

His executive officer is Commander John P. Whitfeld, D.S.C, R.N., who was at sea for nearly the whole of the war. In H.M.S. Shropshire he served from the South Atlantic, the Red Sea, and the Falkland Islands to Iceland from 1939 to 1941. Then he spent two years in H.M.S. Charybdis in the Mediterranean and the Bay of Biscay patrol; after which he transferred to combined operations and took part in the invasion of Normandy in June, 1944. For service in the Malta convoys of 1942, and the landings in North Africa, Commander Whitfeld received the D.S.C. He joined the Indefatigable later in 1944, and served in her from Norway to Tokio.

Commander Whitfeld is 42, and joined the service in 1917. His earlier days with the Royal Navy were spent in the Royal yacht Victoria and Albert, in H.M.S. Enterprise (East Indies and Persian Gulf), and in H.M.S. Falmouth (China Station, 1932-35, and Mediterranean, 1937-39).

In command of No. 7 Carrier Air Group embarked in the Indefatigable is Commander Nigel (Buster) Hallet, D.S.C. and Bar. R.N. The group comprises more than 60 Seafires. Fireflies, and Avengers. Since he became a fighter pilot in 1940 (he flies a Seafire). Commander Hallet has flown and fought with distinction from Norway to Tokio. Before given charge of No. 7 Group, he flew aircraft from other ■famous carriers—H.M. Ships Furious, Ark Royal and Victorious. At one period he was loaned for duty .with the R.A.F. and R.A.A.F.

Awarded the D.S.C. for services in the Mediterranean, when he helped provide air cover for Malta convoys, he took part in other successful undertakings, including the North African landings, and the invasion of France both from Normandy and from the south coast. From the Indefatigable, Commander Hallet flew against the Japanese on the Sakishima Gunto and took part in the last air strikes on the Japanese homeland in July and August. For this work, he received a Bar to his D.S.C.

MINELAYING IN SWORDFISH

The Commander (Flying) in the ship is Commander Robert Alexander Kilroy, D.S.C, R.N.. of London, Aged 41, lie began to specialise in flying in 1927, served in H.M. Ships Eagle, Hermes, Glorious, and Illustrious, before, and during the early clays of the war. Of these, the Eagle was sunk by torpedoes in the Mediterranean, the Hermes was bombed to the bottom by the Japanese off Ceylon, the Glorious was sunk by the Sc'harnhorst off Norway, and the Illustrious survived many hazardous operations in the .Mediterranean. Later, she helped open the British Pacific Fleet's offensive against the Japanese of! the Sakishima Gunto. When the war began in 1939, Commander Kilroy commanded the Fleet Air Arm's 778 Squadron, a service trials unit, and in 1940 was Commandin <>" Officer of 815 Squadron embarked inthe Illustrious. In that year he was promoted Commander, and in 1941 was appointed Commander (Flying) at Lee on Solent, Fleet Air Arm Headquarters in Southern England. He was sent to Colombo in 1942 as a member ot the Air Staff, and held that appointment until joining the Indefatigable. Commander Kilroy was awarded the D S C. for minelaying operations m a Swordfish ("Stringbag*') when in command of 815 Squadron.