Air Commodore Arthur William Murphy, DFC, AFC, FRAeS (17 November 1891 – 21 April 1963) was a senior engineer and aviator in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He accompanied Henry Wrigley on the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, a feat that earned both men the Air Force Cross. Murphy later played a leading role in military aircraft maintenance and production.
A veteran of World War I, Murphy served first as a mechanic and then as a pilot with the Australian Flying Corps. Based in the Middle East, he flew with No. 1 Squadron and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Murphy was the first airman on the RAAF's strength when it formed in 1921, and rose to the rank of temporary air commodore during World War II, commanding No. 1 Aircraft Depot and, later, No. 4 Maintenance Group. He was also the RAAF's first Inspector of Air Accidents. A fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society, Murphy retired from the military in 1946, and died in 1963 aged seventy-one.
Early life and World War I
Murphy was born 17 November 1891 in Kew, a suburb of Melbourne, to joiner and engineer Charles Hubert Murphy and his wife Mary. Educated at Melbourne High School and Footscray Technical School, he spent five years with Austral Otis Engineering as an apprentice. Having been employed at various engineering firms, Murphy joined the Australian Army's Aviation Instructional Staff at Central Flying School Point Cook in 1914 to train as an air mechanic. By February 1916, he had risen to the rank of sergeant and volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force to serve overseas. Transferring to the Australian Flying Corps, Murphy was allocated to No. 1 Squadron—also known until 1918 as No. 67 Squadron, Royal Flying Corps (RFC)—as a warrant officer. He departed Melbourne aboard HMAT A67 Orsova on 16 March, bound for Egypt.
Based in the Sinai Desert and Palestine, Murphy was initially responsible for No. 1 Squadron aircraft maintenance; his achievements saw him mentioned in despatches in 1917. He then trained as a pilot with the RFC in Egypt, where he obtained a temporary commission as a second lieutenant on 24 October. He flew with the RFC before returning to No. 1 Squadron in Palestine. During 1918, Murphy saw combat over Jordan, operating Bristol Fighters. On 12 August, he and his observer were selected to join Colonel T. E. Lawrence and his irregular Arab army in the Hejaz near Daraa, providing air cover and reconnaissance. Credited with bringing down two enemy aircraft while supporting Lawrence's troops, Murphy was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his "keenness, reliability and boldness".
Between the wars
Murphy's temporary commission was terminated after the war and he reverted to the rank of sergeant to remain in the Army, returning to Australia on 5 March 1919. Later that year he took part in the first transcontinental flight across Australia, from Melbourne to Darwin, Northern Territory, accompanying pilot and former schoolmate, Captain Henry Wrigley. The pair departed Point Cook on 16 November and arrived in Darwin on 12 December, having travelled in forty-seven flying hours. They flew in a single-engined Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 with no radio, over unmapped and often hazardous terrain, and surveyed seventeen potential landing grounds along the journey. Murphy and Wrigley were each awarded the Air Force Cross in recognition of their achievement. Such was the perceived danger of the expedition that while making preparations for the return flight they received a telegram from the Defence Department ordering them to desist, arrange for the B.E.2 to be dismantled and shipped back, and themselves to travel southwards by steamer.