Lieutenant-Commander Denis Stanley - Telegraph Lieutenant-Commander Denis Stanley, who has died aged 88, flew night patrols as an observer over the English Channel in pursuit of German E-boats; later his helicopter squadron provided crucial support to the troops fighting communist terrorists during the Malayan Campaign of the 1950s. Published: 5:46PM BST 27 Jul 2009 In September 1942 Stanley's Fleet Air Arm squadron, 823, operated its Albacore aircraft under the control of Fighter Command to seek out and attack German fast patrol boats. This unusual arrangement allowed the Albacores to be directed by the Command's coastal radar sites in much the same way as night fighters were directed towards enemy aircraft. Operating from the RAF airfields at Tangmere, Sussex, and Manston in Kent, Stanley and his fellow crews took off to attack E-boats as they were detected leaving their French and Belgian ports to harass Allied convoys. Following the directions given by the radar controllers, the Albacores, with their load of 100 and 250lb bombs and flares, headed toward the targets until the aircraft's own anti-surface vessel (ASV) radar detected them; then the observer took over control of the attack. On February 17 1943 an important convoy left the Thames, and 823 was scrambled when a large force of E-boats was detected heading towards the ships. Stanley and his pilot were the first to pick up seven contacts sailing in line astern, and they set up an attack despite heavy anti-aircraft fire which damaged their aircraft. They pressed on and bombed the rear contacts. Stanley called in the remainder of the formation as he set up a second attack, and observed that three of the radar contacts had disappeared. This very successful operation resulted in the sinking of some of the E-boats, and the convoy remained unmolested. It was the prelude to a very busy period. Operating from Tangmere, Stanley attacked numerous targets, including German blockade runners hugging the French coast under cover of darkness as they made for Cherbourg and Le Havre. By the time the squadron was withdrawn in June, it had been credited with destroying or severely damaging 36 E-boats. Stanley was awarded a DFC. Denis Theodore John Stanley was born at Eltham on April 7 1921 and educated at Eltham School before joining the Woolwich Arsenal as an apprentice in 1937. He volunteered for military service at the outbreak of war but was considered to be in a reserved occupation. He joined High Duty Alloys, where he met his future wife, and eventually managed to gain his release to join the Fleet Air Arm in May 1941. On completion of his observer training he was commissioned into the RNVR and joined 823 squadron, which had recently re-formed with Albacores and was working up as a torpedo/bomber squadron in Scotland. After a brief spell in the aircraft carrier Furious, the squadron moved to the south coast. In June 1943, 823 re-equipped with the ungainly Barracuda and left for the Far East the following March; but the squadron was held in India and saw no action. Stanley returned to Scotland to spend the rest of the war as an instructor. He later volunteered for pilot training, then flew Fireflies and Firebrand strike aircraft before going to Boscombe Down in 1950 to serve as a flight trials officer in the navigation division. After two years he transferred to helicopters, and in October 1952 sailed in Campania for Australia, where he flew Dragonfly helicopters during the British atom bomb tests off Monte Bello, which included obtaining samples of seawater taken from close to the explosion. He later embarked in Eagle, flying the carrier's air-sea rescue helicopter. On March 25 1953 he was on "plane guard" duty when he was scrambled to pick up a pilot who had ditched. Using the Sproule net, he scooped the pilot to safety. He repeated the feat on July 15 when a jet crashed off the deck near Iceland. In the spring of 1955 Stanley was appointed to command 848 squadron to operate American-built Sikorsky S55 helicopters from Kuala Lumpur. Working alongside an RAF helicopter squadron, he provided support and casualty evacuation for the ground forces. This pioneering work gave the Army a great deal of flexibility in fighting the communist terrorists and was also a great morale-booster for the soldiers. Stanley recalled that his helicopters were very popular with the troops because a 30-minute flight to a remote area avoided a two-day forced march through primary jungle. Stanley was appointed MBE. In 1958, unhappy at the prospect of a staff appointment, he left the Navy to join the National Research and Development Corporation at Calshot, where he worked with Professor William Hawthorn in developing the Dracone Towed Sea-Going Vehicle. This "Dracone Barge" was a large, flexible watertight tube intended to carry liquid cargo whilst being towed partially submerged. Today it is used worldwide, often for cleaning up oil spills. Stanley worked for various consulting engineers until he retired in 1986. In 1993 he decided to build a microlight from a kit, a task which took him seven years. He was determined to fly it, and after five hours' dual training he flew solo at the age of 77. He continued to fly regularly, and in 2001 he was due to take part in the Kemble Air Day; he was deeply disappointed when his engine failed to start. In October 2003 Stanley joined two of his former Fleet Air Arm colleagues (both of them almost 80) taking part in an air rally to the Scilly Isles. Just short of their destination, the engine of their Cessna failed and they ditched alongside a trawler. They were winched to safety by a Royal Navy helicopter, and Stanley was discharged from hospital in time to get to the dinner organised for all the members of the rally, an evening that cost him a small fortune in champagne. A devoted member of the Fleet Air Arm Officers' Association and the Fleet Air Arm Squadron, Stanley was also very active in his local church choir and in the affairs of his village, Chedworth in Gloucestershire. Denis Stanley died on June 23. He married, in 1944, Dorothy Lovegrove; she died in 1993, and he is survived by their daughter.
