Thorn joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) as an aircraft apprentice with the service number 562610 in 1928 and passed out from the
No. 1 School of Technical Training RAF based at
RAF Halton. He trained to be a
non-commissioned officer pilot and by the early 1930s had earned his pilot’s
aircrew brevet. War broke out in September 1939 and one month later Thorne was posted to the newly formed
No. 264 Squadron RAF at
RAF Sutton Bridge to fly the
Boulton Paul Defiant An unusual fighter for its era, the Defiant had a single engine but was armed with four .303 machine guns in a rear turret operated by an
air gunner. As the squadron began to take shape, its new commanding officer, Squadron Leader
Philip Hunter, arrived. Thorn had teamed up with
leading aircraftman Frederick James Barker from Bow in London. They formed part of the flight commanded by
Nicholas Gresham Cooke. In early operations the Defiant was often mistaken for the similarly shaped
Hawker Hurricane by German pilots who dived to attack from above and behind, the blind spot for a Hurricane pilot, but directly into the fire from the gunner’s turret on a Defiant.
Battles of France and Dunkirk On 27 May 1940 Thorn and Barker are reported to have shot down a
Messerschmitt Bf 109 near Dunkirk, but this is not mentioned in other records. On 28 May 1940, just north of Dunkirk, their flight was attacked by a formation of Bf 109 fighters; handling his aircraft skillfully Thorn enabled Barker to shoot down three of them very quickly. On 29 May 1940, again over Dunkirk, the crew were involved in 264 Squadron's major success when they went into combat at about 1515 hours, shooting down a
Junkers Ju 87 dive bomber and a
Messerschmitt Bf 110 twin-engined fighter at about 1515 hours. On a second mission at 1930 hours they shot down another Ju 87 and another Bf 110; Shores also records a share in the destruction of a
Heinkel He 111 bomber on that date. Their
flight commander, Nicholas Cooke, failed to return from that mission. On 24 August, in action against a formation of
Junkers Ju 88 bombers which had just bombed
RAF Manston, Thorn and Barker shot down one of the enemy, On 26 August 1940 at mid-day, Thorn and Barker were in action against the
Luftwaffe bomber streams again and shot down two
Dornier Do 17 bombers over Dover. As they commenced an attack on a third Do 17, a Bf 109 attacked them, badly damaging their Defiant (serial number L7005). Thorn dived quickly away to crash land the crippled aircraft, which had caught fire, but the Bf 109 came in for a second attack; Barker assisted a Hurricane in shooting it down, before he and Thorn baled out.
Later career The RAF recognised the vulnerability of the Boulton Paul Defiant on daylight operations and assigned its squadrons to night fighting. In recognition of their success and great bravery during the Battle of Britain Thorn and Barker were both awarded a
Bar to their Distinguished Flying Medals on 11 February 1941. and assigned to
No. 32 Squadron RAF and then
flight lieutenant on 6 July 1942, and appointed acting
squadron leader commanding
No. 32 Squadron RAF from April until September 1942. He completed a tour of duty as an instructor with No. 61 Operational Training Unit from November 1942 at the end of which he received a
Mention in Despatches on 14 January 1944 for his dedication to the training of the young pilots under his command. Posted to
No. 169 Squadron RAF as a
flight commander he led night fighting and night intruder missions against the
Luftwaffe night fighters over occupied Europe. At the end of the war in Europe he was transferred to command a training unit. In this position on 1 January 1946 he was again Mentioned in Despatches for his skill and dedication as a flying instructor and commander. ==Death==