Donald Stevenson

Air Vice-Marshal Donald Stevenson was nicknamed ‘Butcher’ by the crews of No.2 Group of RAF Bomber Command. During his command of No.2 Group he ordered several low level operations which resulted in heavy casualties. The crews under Stevenson’s command felt their commander had no apparent interest in the risks and problems they faced on their operations.

Source: Imperial War Museum

First World War and interwar years

Donald Fasken Stevenson was born on 7 April 1895. After finishing his school he enlisted in the British army. He was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Nottinghamshire (Sherwood Foresters) Yeomanry in 1915. A year later he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps and flew as a Flying Officer with No.12 Squadron on the Western Front in France. In May 1917 he was put in command of the squadron. During the remainder of the war he also commanded No.4 and No.35 Squadron. He was awarded the Military Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Bar to the Military Cross for gallantry and devotion.

After the war Stevenson commanded No.5 Squadron which was stationed In Germany as part of the Army of Occupation. In September 1919 he returned to the United Kingdom. He became an instructor at the School of Army Co-operation and attended the RAF Staff College. In September 1924 he was attached to the Air Staff of HQ Iraq Command. A Year later he took over command of No.6 Squadron which was based at RAF Mosul. On return to Europe in 1927 he attended the Royal Navy Staff College and the Imperial Defence College. In January 1931 he became the commanding officer of No.12 Squadron.

On 1 December 1933 Stevenson was appointed Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ Transjordan and Palestine. He was awarded the OBE for services rendered in Palestine during the first phase of The Great Palestinian Revolt between April and October 1936. At the start of 1938 he returned to the United Kingdom and became Deputy Director of Operations (Home).

Second World War

At the outbreak of the Second Word War Stevenson held the rank of Group Captain. On 1 July 1940 he was promoted to Air Commodore. He combined his role as Deputy Director of Operations with being the ADC to the king. On 17 February 1941 he was promoted to Air Vice-Marshal and appointed as Air Officer Commanding No.2 Group of RAF Bomber Command where he succeeded Air Vice-Marshal James Robb. Robb had fallen out with Air Marshal Richard Peirse (Officer Commanding RAF Bomber Command at that time) about sending the Blenheims of No.2 Group on unescorted daylight missions which he regarded suicidal. Stevenson had less interest in the casualty rates and became infamous among the crews of No.2 Group for it. He kept sending his squadrons on high risk low level operations which targeted mainly enemy shipping. He claimed good results for these operations as he declared "a ship hit is a ship sunk". But the statistics he provided of his Group’s achievements turned out to be exaggerated.

In spring 1941 he ordered a daylight attack on the heavily defended Krupps works in Essen. Wing Commander Samuel Elworthy commanded No.82 Squadron and remonstrated with Stevenson. But Stevenson replied: "Oh well, if you feel that strongly about it, you needn’t feel you have to fly yourself." The operation was cancelled on higher authority. But Stevenson continued to send his crews on high risk operations. Wing Commander Percy Bandon was the Officer Commanding of RAF West Raynham where one of No.2 Groups squadrons was based. He tried to convince Stevenson that the morale of the crews was suffering severely from the high casualty rate. Stevenson reacted by seizing an inkwell and hurling it at the wall, shouting "Churchill wants it!". Churchill however was greatly disturbed by the losses of No.2 Group. After a disastrous raid on shipping in Rotterdam on 28 August 1941 (7 out of 17 Blenheims lost) he wrote a letter to the Chief of Air Staff Sir Charles Portal. He stated that such high casualties might be accepted in attacking a first-class target like the German cruisers Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Tirpitz but not to attacks on merchant shipping. In December 1941 Stevenson was removed from his command of No.2 Group. He was replaced by Air Vice-Marshal Alan Lees.

Stevenson was sent to India and Calcutta where he took over command of No.221 Group on 2 January 1942. He then commanded No.224 Group in April 1942 and AHQ Bengal from May 1942 to May 1943. On 13 February 1943 his son, Flight Lieutenant Peter Stevenson, went missing in action when his Spitfire was lost on operations over Boulogne. Flight Lieutenant Stevenson had been awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his coolness, courage and spirit during the Battle of Britain. Following the death of his son Air Vice-Marshal Stevenson returned to Europe where he was put in command of RAF in Northern Ireland. On 7 December 1943 Stevenson became the commander of No.9 (Training) Group. During the last months of the war he was the Head of British Military in Romania.

After the war

Stevenson retired shortly after the end of the war. He passed away on 10 July 1964 at the age of 69. He and his wife Janet (1893-1965) are buried in Greenwich Cemetery in London.