# John Boothman

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{{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](/source/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](/source/Royal_Air_Force)
|service_years= 1921–56
|rank= [Air chief marshal](/source/Air_chief_marshal)
|service_number= 
|unit= 
|commands= [Coastal Command](/source/RAF_Coastal_Command) (1953–56)<br/>[AHQ Iraq](/source/AHQ_Iraq) (1948–50)<br/>[Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment](/source/Aeroplane_and_Armament_Experimental_Establishment) (1944–45)<br/>[No. 106 Group](/source/No._106_Group_RAF) (1944)<br/>[No. 106 (Photo Reconnaissance) Wing](/source/No._106_Wing_RAF) (1943)<br/>[RAF Finningley](/source/RAF_Finningley) (1941–42)<br/>[RAF Waddington](/source/RAF_Waddington) (1941)<br/>[No. 44 Squadron](/source/No._44_Squadron_RAF) (1939)
|battles= [World War II](/source/World_War_II)
|awards= [Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_Bath)<br/>[Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire](/source/Knight_Commander_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire)<br/>[Distinguished Flying Cross](/source/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_Kingdom))<br/>[Air Force Cross](/source/Air_Force_Cross_(United_Kingdom))<br/>[Mentioned in dispatches](/source/Mentioned_in_dispatches)<br/>[Croix de guerre](/source/Croix_de_Guerre_1939%E2%80%931945) (France)<br/>[Commander of the Legion of Merit](/source/Legion_of_Merit) (United States)<br/>[Distinguished Flying Cross](/source/Distinguished_Flying_Cross_(United_States)) (United States)<br/>[War Cross](/source/Czechoslovak_War_Cross_1939%E2%80%931945) (Czechoslovakia)
|relations= 
|other_work= 
}}
[Air Chief Marshal](/source/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](/source/Royal_Air_Force) officer during [World War II](/source/World_War_II) who went on to high command in the post-war years.

== RAF career ==
Educated at [Harrow County School for Boys](/source/Harrow_High_School),<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](/source/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](/source/Schneider_Trophy) for seaplane flying in 1931.<ref name=odnb/> He attended the [RAF Staff College, Andover](/source/RAF_Staff_College%2C_Andover), in 1935 and after tours on the staff of [RAF Coastal Command](/source/RAF_Coastal_Command) and of RAF Far East he was appointed [Officer Commanding](/source/Officer_Commanding) [No. 44 Squadron](/source/No._44_Squadron_RAF) in September 1939 at the start of [World War II](/source/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](/source/RAF_Bomber_Command) in July 1940.<ref name=air/> He was made [Officer Commanding](/source/Officer_Commanding) [RAF Waddington](/source/RAF_Waddington) in March 1941 and went to [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), as an advisor to the [US Air Force](/source/US_Air_Force) in October 1941.<ref name=air/> He went on to be Officer Commanding [RAF Finningley](/source/RAF_Finningley) before joining the staff of the Directorate of Operational Requirements at the [Air Ministry](/source/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](/source/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](/source/AHQ_Iraq) and went on to be Controller of Supply (Air) at the [Ministry of Supply](/source/Ministry_of_Supply) in 1950.<ref name=air/> His last appointment was as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief [Coastal Command](/source/RAF_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](/source/Alick_Stevens)}}
{{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Commander-in-Chief [Coastal Command](/source/RAF_Coastal_Command)}}| years=1953–1956}}
{{s-aft|after=[Sir Brian Reynolds](/source/Brian_Reynolds_(RAF_officer))}}
{{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

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Boothman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boothman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boothman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.