John Balmer

John Raeburn Balmer, (3 July 1910 – 11 May 1944) was a senior officer and bomber pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The son of lawyer Sydney Balmer and his wife Catherine ("Kittie"), John Balmer was born in Bendigo, Victoria, on 3 July 1910.

He attended Scotch College before studying law at the University of Melbourne, where he was a resident of Trinity College, and rowed in the Second Eight.

Born in Bendigo, Victoria, he studied law before joining the RAAF as an air cadet in 1932.

In December 1932, he enlisted as an air cadet in the RAAF active reserve, known as the Citizen Air Force (CAF).

Nicknamed "Sam", Balmer undertook flying instruction on the 1933 "B" (reservists) course conducted at RAAF Station Point Cook, Victoria, where his classmates included future group captain John Lerew.

Balmer qualified as a pilot and was commissioned in April 1933.

His first posting was to No. 1 Squadron, flying Westland Wapitis; he transferred from the CAF to the Permanent Air Force in November.

An instructor at Point Cook from 1935 to 1937, he achieved renown in Air Force circles when he reportedly parachuted from a training aircraft to motivate his pupil to land single-handedly.

He also became known to the general public as a cross-country motorist, setting records for trans-Australia and round-Australia trips before World War II.

Promoted to flight lieutenant, from July 1935 to November 1937 Balmer was assigned to No. 1 Flying Training School, Point Cook, as an instructor.

He gained a reputation as a hard taskmaster, and on one occasion—according to RAAF folklore—parachuted from a training aircraft to give his student the proper motivation to make a solo landing, though at least one newspaper at the time reported that he had in fact fallen out.

Partnered by a fellow officer, he set a cross-country record of 65 hours and 10 minutes travelling from Perth, Western Australia, to Melbourne in December 1936.

On 15 August 1938, Balmer was forced to crash land an Avro Anson near Whitfield, Victoria, after its wings iced up—one of a series of accidents that befell the type following its introduction to Australian service.

He and another driver followed this up with a record-breaking round-Australia journey in October–November 1938, completing their run in 23½ days, almost halving the previous best time.

By mid-1939 he was instructing on Hawker Demon biplane fighters with No. 3 Squadron at RAAF Station Richmond, New South Wales.

Parallel to his Air Force career, in the years leading up to the outbreak of World War II Balmer gained national attention as a long-distance motorist.

When Australia declared war in September 1939, Flight Lieutenant Balmer was a member of No. 22 Squadron, which conducted coastal surveillance out of Richmond with Ansons and, later, CAC Wirraways.

A flight lieutenant when war broke out, Balmer was promoted to squadron leader in June 1940, becoming the inaugural commanding officer of No. 13 Squadron, which operated Lockheed Hudsons out of Darwin, Northern Territory.

Promoted to squadron leader, he was posted to RAAF Station Darwin, Northern Territory, on 1 June 1940, becoming the inaugural commander of No. 13 Squadron, which had been "cannibalised" from the base's resident unit, No. 12 Squadron.

Retaining its Wirraway flight, No. 12 Squadron gave up its two flights of Ansons to the new formation; these were replaced later that month by more capable Lockheed Hudsons.

From August 1940 until February 1941, No. 13 Squadron was responsible for patrolling the sea lanes off Australia's north coast.

On occasion, Balmer detected Japanese luggers that were illegally fishing in Australian waters and, according to Mark Johnston, overflew them at such a low altitude that "his Hudson's slipstream rocked the boats violently" and the crew "shook their fists" at him.

He was promoted to temporary wing commander in April.

The following month, No. 13 Squadron conducted familiarisation flights over the Dutch East Indies.

Balmer handed over command of the unit in August, and transferred to a liaison post at Headquarters RAAF Station Darwin.

He was raised to temporary wing commander in April 1941, and within a year had taken charge of the RAAF's first Bristol Beaufort unit, No. 100 Squadron.

Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in June 1942, he led the Beauforts on bombing and torpedo missions against Japanese targets in the New Guinea campaign.

In January 1942, Balmer briefly took charge of No. 7 Squadron, flying Hudsons on maritime patrol and convoy escort duties from RAAF Station Laverton, Victoria.

Two months later he assumed command of the first RAAF unit to operate Australian-built Bristol Beauforts, No. 100 Squadron.

It was formed at Richmond using the number of a Royal Air Force (RAF) squadron that had been decimated in the Malayan Campaign.

In tribute to its original incarnation, Balmer adopted the RAF unit's crest, which featured a skull-and-crossbones emblem and the motto Sarang Tebuan Jangan Dijolok (Malay for "Do not stir up a hornet's nest").

No. 100 Squadron transferred to Mareeba in Far North Queensland on 22 May, after Balmer decided that a proposed base at Cairns was unsuitable owing to periodic flooding.

While his crews at Mareeba gained experience on maritime patrols, he travelled to Port Moresby, New Guinea, on 26 May to test the Beaufort in operational conditions; as he came in to land he was fired upon by US anti-aircraft batteries, whose gunners had "never seen a Goddamn aircraft like that before", but escaped damage.

Posted to England in June 1943, Balmer took command of No. 467 Squadron RAAF, flying Avro Lancasters in the air war over Europe.

He led his unit through the Battle of Berlin from November 1943 to March 1944.

In April he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the following month promoted to temporary group captain.

Days later, on the night of 11/12 May, the last scheduled operation of his tour as No. 467 Squadron's commanding officer, Balmer failed to return from a mission over Belgium.

Initially posted as missing, his plane was later confirmed to have been shot down, and all of the crew killed.

Balmer was buried outside Brussels.