Keith Mossman, diligent RAF Cold Warrior whose signal stations helped intercept Soviet bombers – obituary

Group Captain Keith Mossman, who has died aged 96, served in a wide variety of air defence posts as a pilot, controller, and commander at the height of the Cold War.

The son of a First World War veteran, George Keith Mossman was born on October 10 1927 and educated at Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School, Sutton Coldfield. He trained as a pilot at the RAF College Cranwell in the first post-war entry in 1947, winning the Groves Memorial Trophy for the best pilot on his course. He also won Victor Ludorum, establishing record times for sprinting and excelling at rugby, which he went on to play for the RAF.

He converted to the Meteor day fighter before joining 63 Squadron at a time when there were 45 fighter squadrons in Fighter Command. On one occasion he ferried a Meteor F8 from Chivenor to Singapore, where it was to enter service with the Royal Australian Air Force, in a 16-leg journey staged across RAF occupied bases in the Mediterranean, Middle East, India and the Far East, over 21 hours.

After training at the Central Flying School (CFS), Mossman returned to Cranwell as a flying instructor on the Harvard. Within 18 months, he was back at CFS to join the staff and train future instructors on the Vampire.

Following a tour at the MoD in London managing the careers and appointments of junior pilots, Mossman returned to the air defence world when he completed the guided weapons course. He served at HQ Fighter Command as the plans officer for the development of the Bloodhound surface-to-air missile to be deployed to protect the V-bomber bases.

In 1959, Mossman returned to flying and, after completing the all-weather conversion course, he joined 25 Squadron at Waterbeach, near Cambridge as a flight commander to fly the Javelin. At the time, deployments to Cyprus were a regular activity for the squadron before it moved to Leuchars where it maintained a quick reaction alert (QRA) capability to scramble in minutes if the Soviets threatened to enter UK airspace, an activity that became very familiar to all fighter aircrew during the Cold War.

He was then posted to the Central Fighter Establishment to command the All-Weather Fighter Combat School at West Raynham, Norfolk.

His career took a very different turn in 1962 when he sailed for Malaya on a three-year secondment to the Royal Malayan Air Force based at Kuala Lumpur. The young air force was equipped with the piston-engine Provost, the Pioneer and the Twin Pioneer; Mossman converted to all three, allowing him to fly into jungle outposts and landing grounds.

With the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in September 1963 tensions with Indonesia increased and there was an uprising in Brunei. Mossman made frequent visits to Borneo flying a newly acquired de Havilland Dove aircraft.

He developed a keen interest in butterflies and, in the jungle, discovered a new species which was named after Ypthima doherty mossmani in his honour.

In 1965 he returned to the UK and was posted to the master radar air defence station at Patrington, near Hull. This was followed two years later with promotion to wing commander and a posting to take command of No 260 Signals Unit in Cyprus.

The main control room was based at Cape Gata near Akrotiri with a long-range early warning radar mounted on Troodos mountain at 6,400 feet, which extended the range of the radar considerably. The air defence of Cyprus was provided by a Lightning squadron and a Bloodhound guided missile squadron.

Lightnings were scrambled frequently to intercept both Soviet and Egyptian Air Force Tupolev 104 long-range bombers, which often tried to enter Cypriot air space. At the time, there was considerable air traffic from the Soviet Union to Egypt and 280 SU provided the necessary control for 56 Squadron’s Lightnings which were scrambled to intercept.

At the end of his tour, Mossman was appointed OBE.

After attending the Air Warfare Course at Manby, Mossman remained on the staff for 18 months before he took command of RAF Buchan in Aberdeenshire. This large air defence early warning radar station provided the crucial cover for the airspace north of Scotland and into the Norwegian Sea.

Outlying radar stations were based in the Shetlands and the Western Isles. The interception of Soviet bombers of the Northern Fleet by Phantoms and Lighnings were a common occurrence and QRA was kept busy.

Mossman maintained close liaison with adjoining air defence regions and made regular visits to Norway and Denmark to co-ordinate operations. In addition to airborne interceptions, there were numerous large-scale NATO maritime exercises.

On one memorable New Year’s Eve party in the officers’ mess, he dressed up as an oil-rig worker in a long wig and a clack lace shirt. No-one recognised him and he maintained that he learnt a lot about his station that night. For his services at Buchan, Mossman was advanced to CBE.

Mossman’s final appointment in the RAF was in MoD where he was the Deputy Director of Air Defence responsible for the many aspects of air defence of the UK including fighters, missiles, airborne early warning, and the early warning radar units. He was also responsible for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. He chaired a NATO tri-service group on air defence, requiring regular visits to Brussels.

After three years, Mossman decided to retire from the RAF and took up an appointment with the Sultan of Oman’s Air Force, overseeing the installation and commissioning of an Integrated Air Defence System, which had been purchased from British Aerospace.

On retirement, he became head of the Emergency Planning Office for Cumbria County Council.

He had a wide variety of interests as a fisherman, clock maker and repairer, and beekeeper. He and his wife travelled widely, including a special visit to Hawaii where he attended a family reunion with the Hawaiian descendants of James Mossman, a sea captain who had settled there seven generations before.

Keith Mossman married Vivian Talamo in 1952. She and their four children survive him.

Keith Mossman, born October 10 1927, died February 14 2024