{{Short description|Royal Air Force Air Chief Marshal (1901–1957)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox military person |name= Sir John Boothman |image= British team for Schneider Trophy race 1931.JPG |image_size= 325px |caption= British team for the Schneider Trophy race of 1931.<br>Boothman is shown third from the right. |nickname= |birth_date= {{Birth date|1901|02|19|df=yes}} |birth_place= |death_date= {{Death date and age|1957|12|29|1901|02|19|df=yes}} |death_place= |burial_place= |allegiance= United Kingdom |branch= Royal Air Force |service_years= 1921–56 |rank= Air chief marshal |service_number= |unit= |commands= Coastal Command (1953–56)<br/>AHQ Iraq (1948–50)<br/>Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment (1944–45)<br/>No. 106 Group (1944)<br/>No. 106 (Photo Reconnaissance) Wing (1943)<br/>RAF Finningley (1941–42)<br/>RAF Waddington (1941)<br/>No. 44 Squadron (1939) |battles= World War II |awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath<br/>Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire<br/>Distinguished Flying Cross<br/>Air Force Cross<br/>Mentioned in dispatches<br/>Croix de guerre (France)<br/>Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)<br/>Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)<br/>War Cross (Czechoslovakia) |relations= |other_work= }} Air Chief Marshal '''Sir John Nelson Boothman''', {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|KBE|DFC|AFC}} (19 February 1901 – 29 December 1957) was a senior Royal Air Force officer during World War II who went on to high command in the post-war years.

== RAF career == Educated at Harrow County School for Boys,<ref name=odnb>[http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/31971 Sir John Boothman at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]</ref> Boothman joined Royal Air Force in 1921 and chose to become a student and then an instructor at the Central Flying School.<ref name=air>[https://www.rafweb.org/Biographies/Boothman.htm Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation – Air Chief Marshal Sir John Boothman]</ref> He went on to win the Schneider Trophy for seaplane flying in 1931.<ref name=odnb/> He attended the RAF Staff College, Andover, in 1935 and after tours on the staff of RAF Coastal Command and of RAF Far East he was appointed Officer Commanding No. 44 Squadron in September 1939 at the start of World War II.<ref name=air/> He transferred to the Directorate of Operations three months later and then joined the staff at Headquarters Bomber Command in July 1940.<ref name=air/> He was made Officer Commanding RAF Waddington in March 1941 and went to Washington, D.C., as an advisor to the US Air Force in October 1941.<ref name=air/> He went on to be Officer Commanding RAF Finningley before joining the staff of the Directorate of Operational Requirements at the Air Ministry in June 1942 and then becoming Air Officer Commanding No. 106 (Photo Reconnaissance) Wing in 1943.<ref name=air/> He was made Commandant of the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment in July 1944 and concluded the War as Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Technical Requirements) which post he took up in July 1945.<ref name=air/>

After the War he became Air Officer Commanding AHQ Iraq and went on to be Controller of Supply (Air) at the Ministry of Supply in 1950.<ref name=air/> His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Coastal Command, a position he held until April 1956, just prior to his retirement.<ref name=air/>

==Family== In 1922 he married Gertrude Andrews.<ref name=odnb/>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Sir Alick Stevens}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Commander-in-Chief Coastal Command}}| years=1953–1956}} {{s-aft|after=Sir Brian Reynolds}} {{end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boothman, John Nelson}} Category:Royal Air Force air chief marshals Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Category:1901 births Category:1957 deaths Category:British air racers Category:Commanders of the Legion of Merit Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:People educated at Harrow High School Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom) Category:Recipients of the Air Force Cross (United Kingdom) Category:British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Category:Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross Category:Schneider Trophy pilots