High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Air Vice Marshal Francis Masson (Frank) Bladin CB, CBE (26 August 1898 – 2 February 1978) was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Born in rural Victoria, he graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1920. Bladin transferred to the RAAF in 1923, and held training appointments before taking command of No. 1 Squadron in 1934. Quiet but authoritative, he was nicknamed "Dad" in tribute to the concern he displayed for the welfare of his personnel. A staff officer at the outbreak of World War II, Bladin became Air Officer Commanding (AOC) North-Western Area in March 1942, following the first Japanese air raids on Darwin, Northern Territory. He personally led sorties against enemy territory, earning the United States Silver Star for gallantry. In July 1943, Bladin was posted to No. 38 Group RAF in Europe, where he was Mentioned in Despatches. He was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire the same year.

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