Ian Dougald McLachlan

Who was Ian Dougald McLachlan?

Air Vice Marshal Ian Dougald McLachlan CB, CBE, DFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force. Born in Melbourne, he was a cadet at the Royal Military College, Duntroon, before joining the Air Force in December 1930. After serving in instructional and general flying roles, he took command of No. 3 Squadron in December 1939, leading it into action in the Middle East less than a year later. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, he returned to Australia in 1942 to command air bases in Canberra and Melbourne. The following year he was posted to the South West Pacific, where he led Nos. 71 and 73 Wings. Having been promoted to group captain, he took charge of RAAF Southern Area in 1944, and No. 81 Wing in the Dutch East Indies the following year.

Raised to acting air commodore in 1946, McLachlan served as senior air staff officer for the British Commonwealth Air Group in Japan until 1948. After leading RAAF North-Eastern Area in 1951–53, he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and posted to Britain, where he attended the Imperial Defence College. Promoted air vice marshal, he returned to Australia in 1957 as Air Officer Commanding Training Command; in this role he carried out two major reviews focussing on the RAAF's educational and command systems. He was Deputy Chief of the Air Staff from 1959 to 1961, and then Head of the Australian Joint Services Staff in Washington, DC, until 1963. Appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1966, McLachlan's final post before retiring in 1968 was as Air Member for Supply and Equipment. He was a consultant to Northrop after leaving the RAAF, and lived in Darling Point, Sydney, until his death in 1991.