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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth T  Thom, Alex |
[UP] - Tait, James - Tappin, H - Tapson, Derek - Tatham, Basil - Tattersall, John - Taussig, Kurt - Taylor, Jimmy - Taylor, P - Tempest, Ken - Temple, Julian - Tetlow, Phil - Thom, Alex - Thomas, Harry - Thomas, J - Thomas, Ken - Thompson, Anthony - Thompson, Sam - Thompson, Tommy - Thomson, George - Thomson, Thomas - Thorburn, John - Thorogood, Laurence - Tidy, Douglas - Tilley, F - Tilley, Reade - Todd, Noel - Todd, Richard - Toombs, John - Townsend, Bill - Townsend, Peter - Townsend, Rusty - Trent, Leonard - Trotman, John - Tucker, Arthur - Tuhill, Pat - Tunstall, Fred - Tyack, F - Tyson, Geoffrey |
Flight Lieutenant Alexander Henry Thom DFC
Born in Perth, Scotland, Alex Thom joined the RAFVR on June 24th 1939 and flew at the weekends at 11 EARFTS Perth. At the outbreak of World War Two, Thom was called up for full time service with the Royal Air Force and was posted to 3 ITW at Hastings on October 2nd 1939, moving to 15 EFTS at Redhill on April 29th 1940 and on June 15th moved again to 15 FTS, initially at Brize Norton and later to Chipping Norton. Alex Thom went to 6 OTU on September 29th at Sutton Bridge where he converted to Hawker Hurricanes and joined 79 squadron stationed at Pembury only for a short period when he was transferred to 87 Squadron on October 6th 1940, moving with the squadron on the 31st of October to their new base at Exeter. He achieved the rank of Pilot Officer on the 3rd of December 1941. During his time at Exeter he was also based on the Scilly Isles and on one occasion after shooting down an enemy bomber the crew bailed out over the sea. Alex Thom circled the downed German crew who were in a life raft until a motor launch came and picked them up. Thom would later meet the crew and was given a flying helmet by the German pilot, an item he still has today. Alex Thom was appointed B Flight commander on 10th July 1942 and was awarded the DFC on the 14th August 1942. At this time he was credited with two enemy aircraft destroyed and a probable He111. On the 19th of August 1942 while supporting the ground forces at Dieppe, his Hurricane (LK - M) was hit by ground fire and lost oil pressure. He managed to limp back to England where he made a forced landing at East Den. Thom managed to get back to his airfield as a passenger in a Master flown by Flt Sgt Lowe and immediately took off again in Hurricane (LK - A) back to Dieppe where he proceeded to strafe enemy positions. On the 1st of October 1942 he became F/O. In November 1942, 87 Squadron was transferred to North Africa. They were transported by ship to Gibraltar where the squadron flew sorties, and then onto North Africa. Thom was posted away from the squadron to be a flying control officer at Bone. He returned to 87 Squadron which was then based at Tongley and took command on June 27th 1943. He was again posted away from the squadron on September 27th returning to the UK with the Rank of Flight Lt. Thom became an instructor with 55 OTU at Annan on November 17th moving to Kirton in Linsay on March 12th 1944 to join 53 OTU. He was appointed Flight Commander Fighter Affiliation Flight at 84 (Bomber) OTU at Husbands Bosworth on May 19th 1944 and remained there until October 10th when he went to RAF Peterhead as Adjutant. His final posting was to HQ13 Group, Inverness on May 8th 1945 as a Staff Officer and retired from the RAF on December 4th 1945 as a Flight Lt. He died on 10th January 2016.
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| Text for the above items : |
Hurricanes Over the Needles by Graeme Lothian. Hurricanes of 607 County of Durham Squadron diving down and attacking Heinkels over the Needles on the Isle of Wight, after a raid on the southern coast. 607 squadron were stationed at nearby Tangmere from the start of September 1940 and saw continuous action throughout the Battle of Britain until the 16th October, when it withdrew to Scotland having raised its total victory to 102. Also aiding in the pursuit are Spitfires of 602 City of Glasgow Squadron based at Westhampnett. |
Return From Combat by Simon Smith. Two 85 squadron Hurricanes returning to base after a battle over the skies of southern England in the summer of 1940. |
Battle of Britain Hurricanes by Graeme Lothian. (P) Hurricanes of the Royal Air Force scramble to take on the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain in the summer of 1940. |
Tribute to F/Lt Owen Tracey by Ivan Berryman. 79 Sqn Hurricane of F/Lt Owen Tracey trying to get airborne again amid explosions from the attacking German Dorniers on 15th August 1940. |
Sqn Ldr Maurice Brown - No.41 Sqn by Ivan Berryman. Spitfire EB-J of Sqn Ldr Maurice Brown at the height of the Battle of Britain. |
Peaceful Interlude (Spitfires) by Ivan Berryman. A pair of Spitfires on patrol over the southern counties during the Battle of Britain. |
Air Taxi by David Pentland. Southern England, 19th August 1942. Alex Thom arrives safely at the airfield of No.87 Squadron in a Miles Master. He would immediately take off to return to Dieppe in Hurricane LK-A, seen in the background. |
Spitfires - September 1940 by Barry Price. On a September evening in 1940, Spitfires of No.19 Sqn are seen flying south over the River Thames to engage the enemy. In the distance, barrage balloons are in position to help protect the docklands. |
Spitfire Dawn by Keith Woodcock. No text for this item |
Danger Over Dieppe by David Pentland. While on an early morning sortie over Dieppe to support the allied landing Operation Jubilee, the Hawker Hurricane IIc of Alex Thom sustained flak damage to its engine. Despite a severe oil leak he nursed his aircraft safely back to England where he made a successful forced landing. |
Spitfire! by David Pentland. Sussex Coast, England, 16th August 1940. For Donald MacDonald, Squadron leader of 64 Squadron, this particular day was fairly eventful. Catching the JG54 fighters and III/KG55 bombers on the coast, he personally accounted for one Me109E destroyed, another damaged, and a third probable. Continuing his attack he shared in the destruction of a He111P-2, and heavily damaged a second. |
Scramble by David Pentland. Robrough, Southern England, August 1940. Pilots of 247 Squadron, tasked with defending Plymouth, race to their Gloster Gladiator IIs in response to an intruder alert. Originally stationed in the Shetlands the squadron had been sent south to support the hard pressed units of fighter command during the Battle of Britain. |
Desperate Measures by Ivan Berryman. Having already registered two victories since his arrival at 501 Sqn in the Autumn of 1940, Plt Off K W Mackenzie found himself again in action against some Messerschmitt Bf.109s on 7th October, sharing in the destruction of one before vigorously pursuing another as it turned to head out across the Channel. With his ammunition exhausted, Mackenzie was determined not to let the interloper escape and placed his Hurricane's starboard wing over the tail of the Bf.109, bringing it violently down and severing the tail of the German fighter which plunged uncontrollably into the sea. With his own wingtip missing from the impact and his engine now damaged by rounds from other pursuing German aircraft, Mackenzie limped his crippled Hurricane over the cliffs near Folkestone, where he crash-landed. He survived the incident, albeit with some facial injuries sustained when he was thrown against the gunsight, and was awarded the DFC for his gallantry. |
Doe's Griffin by David Pentland. Portland, England, 30th September 1940. Already an accomplished Spitfire ace with at least 10 confirmed kills, Bob Doe had just transferred from 234 squadron to 238 Hurricane squadron when he intercepted and brought down a Heinkel He111P-2 from I/KG55 Griffin Geschwader. |
Total Commitment by Ivan Berryman. On the afternoon of 5th September 1940, Spitfires of 41 Sqn intercepted a large formation of Heinkel 111 bombers and their escorts over the Thames estuary, en route for London. Flying N3162 as Red 2, Flight Lieutenant Eric Lock attacked the bombers head on as they began to turn north. In a fraught combat, Lock was to destroy two He.111s and a Bf.109 on that single mission, setting him on course to become the highest scoring ace in the RAF during the Battle of Britain with sixteen confirmed victories and one shared. His final total at the end of the war was twenty six kills confirmed and eight probables. |
Hurricanes at the Ready by Graeme Lothian. (P) Hurricane pilots await their next scramble while ground crews ready their Hawker Hurricanes for their next engagement during the Battle of Britain. Hurricanes FT-S and FT-D of No.43 Sqn. |
Summer 1940 by Ivan Berryman. Pilot Officer Allan Wright - later Group Captain, and awarded DFC and AFC - pilots Spitfire QJ-S of No.92 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, with his wingman in close support. |
One on the Run by Ivan Berryman. A pair of 79 Sqn Hurricanes attacking a Heinkel 111 on 15th August 1940. The nearest Hurricane is that of F/Lt Owen Tracey, who eventually destroyed the He.111 that was on its way to bomb Newcastle. |
The Battle for the Skies Over Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Graeme Lothian. A large umbrella of Spitfire Wings covered most of the sky over Dieppe during the Allied attack Operation Jubilee on 19th August 1942. Squadron leader Johnnie Johnson leads 610 (County of Chester) Squadron down from top cover support to lend a hand to Spitfires of 485 Squadron (New Zealand) and 411 Squadron (Canadian) which made up the 12 Group Wing, led by W/C Pat Jameson. The enemy being made up of a huge mixed force of Fw190 and Me109 fighters from JG2 and JG26. 12 Group Wing flew four times that disastrous day and in the end the Royal Air Force lost 106 aircraft compared to the Luftwaffe losses of 48. |
Spitfire - Fighting Lady by Graeme Lothian. (P) Johnnie Johnsons Spitfire on patrol over the British coastline. This is the original sketch for the oil painting Fighting Lady. |
Into the Schwarm by Ivan Berryman. The lone Spitfire of Maurice Peter Brown of No.41 Sqn, single-handedly attacks a group of eight Me109s on 25th October 1940. |
| Flight Lieutenant Alexander Henry Thom DFC Aircraft details |
 Hurricane Manufacturer : Hawker Built : 14533 | Hurricane Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built. |
| Flight Lieutenant Alexander Henry Thom DFC Squadron details |
No.79 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded (renumbered) 1st January 1962 Known Codes : , AL, NV, | No.79 Sqn RAF Madras Presidency Nil nobis obstare potest - Nothing can stop us |
No.87 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 3rd January 1961 Known Codes : , LK, PD, | No.87 Sqn RAF United Provinces Maximus me metuit - The most powerful fear me |
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