Air Marshal William Ross MacBrien, OBE, CD, RCAF (1913–1986), commonly known as Bill MacBrien or Iron Bill, was a senior Royal Canadian Air Force officer during World War II and a senior commander in the 1950s and 60s.

William Ross MacBrien
Air Vice-Marshal MacBrien
Born1913
Died1986
Allegiance Canada
Service/branch Royal Canadian Air Force
Years of service1935 to 1969
RankAir Marshal

MacBrien was born in 1913[1] in the United Kingdom. He joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1935 and during World War II he commanded a Canadian fighter sector in continental Europe. In the early 1950s, he was a senior staff officer at the Headquarters of Canada's Air Defence Command in Saint-Hubert, Quebec before being appointed to further staff duties at No. 4 ATAF at Lansberg in Germany.[2]

In September 1958 MacBrien took over as Air Officer Commanding Air Defence Command.[3] Deputy commander in chief at the SHAPE HQ in Belgium in 1967. From August 1967 to January 1969 MacBrien was the Deputy Commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).[4]

MacBrien died in 1986.

References edit

  1. ^ "Beechwood Cemetery, Ottawa, Ontario".
  2. ^ "squadron | air station | air force | 1953 | 0530 | Flight Archive". www.flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03.
  3. ^ "flying wing | sea vixen | 1958 | 1- - 0285 | Flight Archive". www.flightglobal.com. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03.
  4. ^ Veale, Thomas F. (2008). Guarding What You Value Most: North American Aerospace Defense Command, Celebrating 50 Years. Government Printing Office. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-16-080436-6.
Military offices
Preceded by Deputy Commander of NORAD
1967 – 1969
Succeeded by