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Air Vice Marshal Ellis Charles Wackett, CB, CBE (13 April 1901 – 3 August 1984) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Its chief engineer from 1935 to 1959, he served on the RAAF's controlling body, the Air Board, for a record 17 years, and has been credited with infusing operations with new standards of airworthiness. Commencing his service career as a Royal Australian Navy cadet during World War I, Wackett transferred to the Air Force in 1923 while on an engineering course in Britain. He qualified as a pilot before completing his studies and returning to Australia, where he inaugurated parachute instruction within the RAAF and made the country's first freefall descent from a military aircraft in 1926. The following year, he led a three-month survey flight to Papua New Guinea. Wackett became the RAAF's senior engineer with his appointment as Director of Technical Services in 1935. A wing commander at the outbreak of World War II, he rose to air commodore by 1942 and assumed the role of Air Member for Engineering and Maintenance. He established the Technical Branch as a separate department of the RAAF in 1948, and was promoted to air vice marshal the same year. Wackett served as Air Member for Technical Services until leaving the military in 1959, having been appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire and Companion of the Order of the Bath. From 1960 to 1968, he was a member of the Australian National Airlines Commission, parent of Trans Australia Airlines. Generally known as "Wack", or "EC" (to distinguish him from his elder brother, aircraft designer Lawrence James Wackett or "LJ"), his prominent chin and nose also earned him the nickname "Punch".〔Stephens and Isaacs, ''High Fliers'', pp. 97–99〕 He died in 1984 at the age of 83. ==Early career== Born in Townsville, Queensland, Ellis Wackett was the third and youngest child of James, an English-born storekeeper, and Alice Wackett (née Lawrence). Following initial schooling in Townsville, he entered the Royal Australian Naval College at Jervis Bay, New South Wales in 1914, aged 13.〔 Graduating in 1918, he served as a midshipman aboard the Royal Navy battleship HMS ''Monarch'' and battlecruiser , and later the RAN light cruiser HMAS ''Brisbane'' and battlecruiser HMAS ''Australia''.〔(Personnel file: Wackett, Ellis Charles ) at National Archives of Australia. Retrieved on 28 August 2009.〕 He was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in January 1921, and posted to England for study in July.〔〔Coulthard-Clark, ''The Third Brother'', pp. 337–338〕 Wackett was at the Royal Naval Engineering College, Keyham, when he applied to join the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1922.〔Coulthard-Clark, ''The Third Brother'', pp. 90–91〕 Accepted by the Air Force the following year, he finished at Keyham in August and trained as a pilot on Salisbury Plain.〔〔(Wackett, Ellis Charles ) at World War 2 Nominal Roll. Retrieved on 4 August 2009.〕 He then took a one-year post-graduate course in aeronautics at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London, before returning to Australia to take up his service as a flying officer with the RAAF.〔 Wackett's first role was to establish parachute instruction within the Air Force. His trip home from England had been postponed at the last minute to enable him to be trained; he began instructing volunteers in 1926 at RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales, and made Australia's first freefall descent from a military aircraft—an Airco DH.9—on 26 May. The Chief of the Air Staff, Group Captain Richard Williams, himself made a successful jump on 5 August, to set "a good example" prior to making the wearing of parachutes compulsory for all aircrew. On 21 August, Wackett piloted the DH.9 from which Flying Officer Frederick Scherger made the first public display of parachuting in Australia, at Essendon, Victoria.〔 By August 1927, Wackett had been promoted flight lieutenant and given command of the Papuan Survey Flight formed at RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria. Consisting of two Supermarine Seagull III single-engined amphibious biplanes and six aircrew, the flight was to examine and photograph the Papuan and New Guinean coasts as far north as Aitape and, if possible, Bougainville. Stripped of all equipment considered non-essential—including radio sets—to increase range, the aircraft departed on 27 September and journeyed some , covering almost of country and taking 350 photos. Wackett's machine (serial A9-5) returned to Melbourne on 26 December and the other (A9–6) on 19 January 1928.〔Coulthard-Clark, ''The Third Brother'', pp. 412–413〕 Inclement weather prevented the expedition from reaching Bougainville, and thick jungle cover limited the usefulness of its photographic record. Nevertheless, the Air Force learned valuable lessons concerning the Seagull's capabilities in a potential wartime role, as it was found to be unsuited to operations in the tropics.〔Wilson, (''The Eagle and the Albatross'', pp. 26–27 )〕 On 14 August 1928, Wackett married Doreen Dove; the couple would have two sons and a daughter.〔Legge, ''Who's Who in Australia 1977'', p. 1058〕 In 1933, Wackett was posted to England to attend RAF Staff College, Andover.〔 Returning to Australia, he was promoted squadron leader and became Director of Technical Services, an organisation within the RAAF's Supply Branch, in May 1935; the appointment made Wackett the Air Force's senior engineer.〔〔Gillison, (''Royal Australian Air Force'', p. 70 )〕 The same year, he took charge of the Resources Committee for Electrical Equipment, Scientific and Optical Instruments, one of several subcommittees on the federal government's Defence Resources Board set up to investigate and report on the readiness of Australian industry to provide munitions for defence in the event of international conflict.〔Mellor, (''The Role of Science and Industry'', p. 28 )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ellis Wackett」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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