Air Commodore Tim THORN AFC FRAeS

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

I regret to announce that former CG RAF Regiment, Air Commodore Tim THORN AFC FRAeS, nicknamed “Tiger”, died on 19 April 2026, aged 83, after a long illness. He was born in Atbara, in the Sudan, on 21 September 1942 and attended Ipswich School from 1953 to 1961. He entered the RAF College Cranwell as a Flight Cadet in September 1961. He graduated with his pilot wings in 1964 and on completion of the Advanced Flying Training, he was selected to become a flying instructor straight out of training.

 

Promoted to squadron leader in July 1972, having turned down the opportunity to become a Queen’s Equerry, he was seconded to the British Army and joined the Parachute Regiment with 16 Parachute Brigade, where he completed over 100 parachute descents, one of which the parachute failed to open on an exercise parachuting into Schleswig-Holstein. The tour was shortened to attend the Indian Defence Services Staff College in South India for a year in 1975.

 

Promoted to wing commander in July 1979, he completed the six-month Air Warfare Course at the RAF College, Cranwell, before assuming command of No. II (AC) Squadron in 1980, flying the Jaguar at RAF Laarbruch. Thorn was the first and only jaguar pilot to achieve one hundred per cent air-to-ground strafe scores on no less than seven occasions, four of which both Aden guns of 60 rounds each fired simultaneously achieved 120 hits on Nordhorn range, West Germany and the other three with a single Aden gun firing 60 rounds achieving 60 hits on each sortie. He was awarded the Air Force Cross in December 1982. In January 1983, he handed over command of No II (AC) Squadron. He was posted to the Operations Directorate in the Ministry of Defence with responsibility for future RAF air-to-ground weapons, which included the development of a new nuclear weapon. In 1985, he was appointed a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (FRAeS).

 

He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) in London in 1990. During the year’s course, he was promoted to Air Commodore and at the end of the course was appointed the Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO) at HQ RAF Germany in January 1991. He held this post until 1993, when he became the first Air Commodore to be appointed the Commandant General of the RAF Regiment whilst holding the post of Director of Fire Services and Head of the RAF Strike Command Provost Branch. He relinquished the post upon retirement in 1995.

 

His was a rich and impressive Service history and far too detailed to cover here in full. He is survived by his wife, Rosie, to whom the Corps extends its sincere condolences.

 

I will advise the funeral details when known, but would expect a fulsome turnout from the wider RAF as well as the Regt; he was certainly ‘one of the good guys’. The Regt Officers’ LinkedIn Group will be updated routinely.

 

[I have been asked to contribute to the DT and Times Obituaries, with specific reference to his time as CG; all donations would be appreciated]

 

Per Ardua,

Martin

 

MARTIN R HOOKER 

Wing Commander MBE RAF Regt (Retd)