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Air Commodore John Marlow Thompson & Bar, AFC (16 August 1914 – 23 July 1994) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer and a flying ace of the Second World War. Thompson was born on 16 August 1914 in Keynsham, Somerset and he joined the Royal Air Force on 16 March 1934. He finished his pilot training in March 1935 and was posted to No. 29 Squadron. By 1937 he was a flight commander with No. 151 Squadron and then with promotion to acting squadron leader he took command of No. 111 Squadron with Hawker Hurricanes in January 1940. He moved on to an air staff position with 11 Group in October 1940. He gained command of No. 131 Squadron in June 1941 and in November 1941 he became the commanding officer of No. 350 (Belgian) Squadron. In early 1942 he was moved to the Middle East to become a wing leader and later commanding officer of RAF Hal Far on Malta at the end of 1943. Thompson attended staff college in 1945 and by 1957 was officer commanding RAF Leeming, becoming the Director of Air Defence in December 1958. His last appointment was at HQ Military Air Traffic Organisation in 1962 until he retired in September 1966. ==Fighter ace== Thompson first saw action during the Battle of France, leading a detachment of 111 Squadron. His Hurricane was damaged by Bf 110s on 19 May, and he force-landed. He claimed two victories confirmed and 3 unconfirmed during this period. Under his command 111 Squadron provided escort for the Fleet Air Arm's bombing operations over the French coast during June 1940.He flew during the Battle of Britain, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in September. Thompson claimed a further four victories during the Battle. During August- October 1942, as Hal Far Wing Leader on Malta, Thompson claimed two more victories, a Ju 88 of KG 54 and a JG 27 Bf 109-F, and several aircraft damaged. After a spell as OC, No 338 Wing, by March 1944 he was SASO, HQ, No 210 Group. By the end of the war in May 1945 Thompson was Sector Commander stationed at RAF North Weald. At the end of the Second World War Thompson had eight confirmed destroyed and two shared, three unconfirmed destroyed, one probable and one shared and seven damaged.〔Aces High, Shores & Williams, page 585-6〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Marlow Thompson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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