Garnet Francis Malley, MC, AFC (2 November 1892 – 20 May 1961) was an Australian fighter ace of World War I, credited with six aerial victories.

After a spell in civilian life following the war, Malley joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1925, serving with No.

[11][12] On 16 March, he achieved his first aerial victory, sending a fighter belonging to Manfred von Richthofen's Red Circus out of control above Annoeullin, near Douai.

[18][19] The official history of Australia in the war credits Malley with the destruction of a Pfalz over Wytschaete on 10 May, though it does not appear in other accounts of his final tally.

On 30 May, Malley and Cobby led their flights on a bombing mission in the Lys region, after which they each destroyed a German observation balloon over Estaires.

[27] Malley's rotation to home establishment was in accordance with Royal Air Force policy requiring pilots to be rested and serve as instructors after nine to twelve months in combat.

[28] Known for flying a white Camel trainer, he received the Air Force Cross for his instructional work; the award was promulgated on 3 June 1919.

[31] Along with many other Australian Flying Corps personnel, including Colonel Watt, Major King, and Captain Les Holden, Malley returned to Australia aboard the troopship Kaisar-i-Hind, disembarking in Sydney on 19 June.

[1] On 24 August, while travelling from Melbourne to Sydney to commence his series of demonstration flights around New South Wales, Malley crashed his Avro 504K during takeoff from Benalla, Victoria.

[33][34] Resuming his aerial program, he was reported on 17 September as having "thrilled" lunch-time crowds in Sydney the previous day with "three daring spiral dives" over Hyde Park.

[1][41] That year, he gave up his position with Malley's to become an aviation consultant to Australian National Airways (ANA), as well as a director of the company.

[40] By 1931, ANA was in financial difficulties and Malley travelled to China to take up a position as an aviation adviser to Chiang Kai-shek's government in Kwangtung.

[47] On 1 February 1937, through the influence of the British Foreign Office, Malley's status was enhanced when he was made an honorary wing commander in the RAAF Reserve.

He was by now serving as adviser to Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Soong Mei-ling, in her capacity as secretary-general of the aeronautical commission that directed China's air force; May-Ling extended to Malley her "warmest congratulations" for his "well deserved" promotion.

Malley found that the air ministry was being defrauded by foreign agents and Chinese officials colluding to charge inflated prices for military equipment.

[49] Malley's stay increasingly involved him in the fighting in China; his wife would relate three years of night-time air raids to her friends upon the couple's return to Australia in 1940.

[50] Williams and other members of the RAAF may have perceived Malley as exaggerating the importance of his role in China, particularly given his apparent delight in its ceremonial aspects.

"[52] At any rate, Malley's reports of Japanese air tactics, and the value his observations might have held for Australia in the event of war in the Pacific, were largely discounted by his home government.

[54] Drawing on his knowledge of Japanese raids on Chinese airfields in the 1930s, Malley visited several RAAF stations in northern Australia to advise on protective measures; it became evident in the wake of the attack on Darwin in February 1942 that none of his recommendations had been implemented.

[1] Malley was raised to acting group captain on 1 July 1942, but ill health forced him to relinquish his post on 3 October.

[1] The former aviator went on to work as officer-in-charge of the Chinese section at the Commonwealth Security Service in Canberra from January 1944 to March 1947 as an honorary group captain.

[1][58] ... in attempting to evaluate his role and importance – both within the Australian aviation scene but more particularly the decade he spent in China ... it is plainly inappropriate to dismiss or discount his contribution; yet equally it is not possible to verify all that he claimed, and therefore to attach the same weight or significance as he did in assessing his impact and influence.

[1] The commander-in-chief of the Taiwanese air force sent condolences, paying tribute to the "invaluable" contribution Malley had made during his decade in China, which would "be long remembered".