Air Chief Marshal Sir Harry Broadhurst, GCB, KBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, AFC (28 October 1905 – 29 August 1995), commonly known as Broady, was a senior Royal Air Force commander and flying ace of the Second World War.

11 Squadron RAF in India in 1928,[2] flying the Westland Wapiti and Hawker Hart over the North West frontier.

In 1936, as a Flight Lieutenant, he was personally congratulated by the king on his aerobatic showing in the Gloster Gauntlet.

Awarded an Air Force Cross in 1937,[2] he served at the RAF Staff College in Andover.

His final kill claims were made on 19 August 1942, bringing his total to 13 destroyed, seven probables and 10 damaged.

He quickly perfected the way he perceived fighter aircraft ought to be employed as ground support fighter-bombers.

His fighter squadrons were trained intensively to strafe and bomb German and Italian vehicles, tanks, transport and communication lines.

This aerial cover of the 8th Army won the approval and appreciation of General Bernard Montgomery and would form the basis of the ground attack principles used during the D-Day landings and beyond.

"Podge" Howard, and Broadhurst, who was occupying the co-pilot seat, both ejected from the aircraft and survived.

[5] In his book The Hidden Truth Maurice Hamlin, a former member of the RAF on duty the day of the crash, claims that Broadhurst ignored three direct orders to divert away from Heathrow due to the poor weather conditions (noting other aircraft had already been diverted).

Pilots, he goes on to say, cannot ignore these orders but Hamlin believes that Broadhurst continued to attempt to land due to the waiting press and dignitaries.

[7] The AAIB inquiry concluded that the inherent lag in the system of issuing of instructions by the ground controller combined with the Vulcan's normal higher than usual rate-of-descent in comparison with the types of aircraft normally handled by Heathrow's controllers, allowed the aircraft to descend below a safe height before corrective instructions could be issued and complied-with.