Charles Read (RAAF Officer) - Post-war Career

Post-war Career

Read married Betty Bradshaw on 1 June 1946; the couple had three sons. He was the inaugural Commanding Officer (CO) of the re-formed No. 1 Flying Training School at RAAF Station Point Cook from November 1947 to September 1949. During this time he was offered a permanent commission in the post-war Air Force, with the provisional rank of squadron leader. Read was then promoted to substantive wing commander, and posted to England where he led No. 24 (Commonwealth) Squadron RAF from March to December 1950. Returning from England in 1952, he was made CO of Central Flying School at RAAF Base East Sale, Victoria, and went on to hold staff appointments at Headquarters Training Command from 1953 to 1957.

As group captain, Read commanded No. 82 Wing at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, from February 1957 to July 1960, flying Canberra jet bombers. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in the 1960 New Year Honours. Read then served as Director of Operational Requirements at the Department of Air in Canberra. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1964 New Year Honours for his work introducing aircraft and weapons systems into the Air Force, including two overseas missions for aircraft and equipment selection. In December 1964 he was promoted to air commodore, and the following year attended the Imperial Defence College in London. Read was made Officer Commanding RAAF Base Point Cook in January 1966, simultaneously holding the appointment of Commandant of RAAF Academy. He then served as Air Officer Commanding RAAF Base Richmond from March 1968 to July 1969.

Read was promoted air vice marshal and made Deputy Chief of the Air Staff (DCAS) in January 1970. In 1962, while Director of Operational Requirements, he had recommended the CH-47 Chinook helicopter for Australian service. As DCAS, after plans to acquire such a heavy-lift capability had languished for eight years, Read was able to finally give the go-ahead for their purchase. He led a team to the United States in May 1970 to review a proposal to lease two squadrons of F-4E Phantoms to provide an interim strike force for the RAAF, pending delivery of the long-delayed General Dynamics F-111C. Read's decision to take up the F-4E offer, over competing Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer and A-6 Intruder options, "delighted RAAF senior officers and aircrews".

In March 1972, Air Marshal Sir Colin Hannah resigned as CAS one year short of his planned three-year term, to become Governor of Queensland. Read had not been consulted by Hannah prior to the latter's departure, and was reputed to be somewhat reluctant to take over the CAS role. Nevertheless he was promoted to air marshal and served a full three-year tour as the Air Force's senior officer. Read was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in the 1972 Queen's Birthday Honours. A highlight of his tenure as CAS was the belated entry into RAAF service of the F-111C bomber in June 1973; as well as being an advocate for building up Australia's offensive strike capability, Read had been a member of the 1963 mission led by Air Marshal Val Hancock to examine replacements for the Canberra, which led to the F-111's acquisition. Towards the end of his term, however, Read felt that "the nature of the office of CAS changed for the worse", as a plethora of committees sprang up in the wake of the "Tange report" on the Australian defence force. In the words of RAAF historian Alan Stephens, "The seemingly interminable round of committee meetings which followed the Tange reorganisation made management very difficult, to the extent that Air Marshal Read often felt he was fighting against the system rather than working with it".