John Breen (RAF officer)

John Breen,  (8 March 1896 – 9 May 1964) was a senior officer in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War.

Service
He transferred from the Army to the RAF in 1918 as a captain. He was promoted to squadron leader in 1925 and trained as a pilot with No. 24 Squadron RAF in 1925. He was posted to Iraq as commander of an armoured car wing. He then commanded No. 84 Squadron RAF, and No. 33 Squadron RAF before a period of study at the Imperial Defence College. As a wing commander in 1935 he was attached to the Sudan Defence Force in Khartoum.

From 27 June 1940 he was appointed Air Office Commanding 1 Group RAF Bomber Command and served in this post during the Battle of Britain, but in December 1940 he was moved to the Air Ministry on promotion to air commodore. He later served as Director General of Personnel for the RAF and as Head of the Postwar Planning Executive before retiring as an air marshal on 2 May 1946. He died in 1964 aged 68.