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  • Arthur William Murphy
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  • Air Commodore Arthur William Murphy DFC, AFC, FRAeS (17 November 1891 – 21 April 1963) was a senior engineer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He accompanied Captain Henry Wrigley on the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, a feat that earned both men the Air Force Cross. Murphy later played a leading role in military aircraft maintenance and production. A veteran of World War I, he served first as a mechanic and then as a pilot with the Australian Flying Corps. Based in the Middle East, he flew with No. 1 Squadron and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Murphy was the first airman on the RAAF's strength when it formed in 1921, and rose to the rank of temporary air commodore during World War II, commanding No. 1 Aircraft Depot and No. 4
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Unit
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serviceyears
  • 1914
Birth Date
  • 1891-11-17
Commands
death place
  • Essendon, Victoria
Nickname
  • "Spud"
Name
  • Arthur William Murphy
Caption
  • Murphy and Wrigley during their trans-Australia flight, 1919
Birth Place
  • Kew, Victoria
Awards
death date
  • 1963-04-21
Rank
Battles
  • World War I * Middle Eastern theatre * Sinai and Palestine Campaign World War II
abstract
  • Air Commodore Arthur William Murphy DFC, AFC, FRAeS (17 November 1891 – 21 April 1963) was a senior engineer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He accompanied Captain Henry Wrigley on the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, a feat that earned both men the Air Force Cross. Murphy later played a leading role in military aircraft maintenance and production. A veteran of World War I, he served first as a mechanic and then as a pilot with the Australian Flying Corps. Based in the Middle East, he flew with No. 1 Squadron and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Murphy was the first airman on the RAAF's strength when it formed in 1921, and rose to the rank of temporary air commodore during World War II, commanding No. 1 Aircraft Depot and No. 4 Maintenance Group. He was also the RAAF's first Inspector of Air Accidents. A fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Murphy retired from the military in 1946, and died in 1963 at the age of seventy-one.
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