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Wikipedia:WikiProject Military history/Assessment/Joe Hewitt (RAAF officer)

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The following discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Promoted. EyeSerenetalk 14:16, 24 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Joe Hewitt (RAAF officer)

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Nominator(s): Ian Rose (talk)
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Yet another RAAF senior commander, this one never achieving the top spot but still gaining a place as one of the most influential and, as one RAAF historian put it, interesting officers of his generation. Any and all comments welcome. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 13:17, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support A great article which meets all the criteria. My suggestions for further development are:
    • A few straightforward claims are given multiple citations (for instance, "the RAAF's premier mobile strike force, 9OG initially comprised seven Australian combat squadrons and came under the control of the US Fifth Air Force"). Without knowing what the content of these references is, this seems unnecessary at face-value.
      • Generally I try to use single citations for straightforward stuff unless I've combined snippets of info from two sources to create one sentence (where using two sentences with one citation each would be choppy) but I'll check through.
        • Yep, in this case it's Stephens emphasising the mobile strike role, and Odgers the actual composition of the formation. Could split the citations to make it clearer... Where I have two citations for Assistant CAS, that's because there's also one that says Deputy CAS, a different position, which I believe is a furphy. The other multiples I think are justified because they're more complex but pls point out any you think still need review. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 01:16, 15 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
    • Some of the first sentences in paras were very long and should probably be split (eg, the one which starts with "By April 1943, however, Hewitt had been dragged..." should be split so that the description of Bostock's job is in a separate sentance)
    • I don't think that 'Air Board' needs to be italicised
      • Just used in one or two articles where I'm introducing a new concept but I agree it's probably not necessary.
    • It's not explained why Jones thought that he could improve his control over the RAAF by replacing Bostock with Hewitt - was he hoping that Anyone But Bostock would be easier to deal with, or was there another reason?
      • The former is implied, that he thought Hewitt would just be easier to control, though that seems a bit dubious! If I can find anything making that explicit, will insert.
    • Did Hewitt's post-war support of having women in the Air Force represent a reversal of his previous stance against the WAAAF, or was this just posturing while he instead disbanded the WAAAF? (though all the womens services were disbanded at this time, so his personal views may not have been all that important in the scheme of things)
      • Stephens implies posturing. Also, the WRAAF was established while Hewitt was still in the air force but a) well after he'd finished as Air Member for Personnel and b) as a separate service - might look at expanding this a little if I can do it succinctly.
    • It would be interesting to know what Hewitt's views on his dismissal from 9OG were - presumably these are discussed in his books
      • Apart from believing he was victim of a smear campaign, nothing in the secondary sources except Stephens/Isaacs saying he ended the war "somewhat embittered" - which I thought was probably an understatement but I could use it if you think it helps. Of course I could probably get hold of his books but I prefer not to use the subject's words unless quoted by a third party.
    • On a different topic not related to this ACR, have you considered working on an article devoted solely to Royal Australian Air Force command problems of World War II or similar? You've assembled a lot of material on this in the biographies, and lots has been written on the topic... Nick-D (talk) 23:35, 14 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
      • Yep, have considered that! Came to me when I wanted to explain the Jones-Bostock feud in the last section of Morotai Mutiny and ended up linking to the relevant section in the George Jones article. Like RAAF Command, will get to it some day...! Tks for your support and suggestions as usual, Nick. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 00:09, 15 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Comments No issues reported with disambig or external links. Well done! TomStar81 (Talk) 07:14, 15 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
  • Support

Some comments as usual...

  • "Although Hewitt was performing an "excellent job" according to Fifth Air Force commander Lieutenant General Ennis Whitehead, he was controversially removed from his post in November 1943" Whitehead became commander of the Fifth Air Force in June 1944. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in June 1945.
    • Right, I agree Whitehead was in fact a Maj Gen at this time (two of my sources say that but one also incorrectly calls him Lt Gen at one point, and that's what I used of course), however both George Odgers and Alan Stephens describe him as 5AF commander in 1943 (granted, Stephens says officially deputy commander AAF but 'effectively in command' of 5AF).
  • I don't know why the links still work, but "Bismarck Sea" has a C in it.
  • Shouldn't the RAN also be listed as his service in the info box?
    • S'pose it could be, just never listed other services like RFC in my other RAAF bios. If it was included, what's considered the correct ordering, last service first or last? Are there any A/FA examples you can point me to?
  • Didn't he also get an OBE in 1940?
    • Yep, that's mentioned under World War II.

Hawkeye7 (talk) 11:58, 17 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]

  • Support - Comprehensive and well written article that meets the criteria. My only comment is why is Hewitt credited as serving in the Korean War in the infobox, but nothing is mentioned on the subject in the prose? Cheers, Abraham, B.S. (talk) 11:11, 24 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
    • Tks Bryce, I think you raise a valid point - clearly he visited the place as Air Member for Supply & Equipment but he never held a post in country, or one at home that was particularly involved with policy there, so removed. Cheers, Ian Rose (talk) 12:32, 24 February 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The above discussion is preserved as an archive. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page, such as the current discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
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