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John R Toombs Died : 11 / 12 / 2006

John R Toombs (deceased) John Richard Toombs, known throughout his service as Jack, was born on 29th September 1919 in Southend-on-Sea and joined the RAFVR in April 1939 as an Airman u/t WOp/AG. Called up on 1st September 1939, he completed his training and joined 236 Squadron at St. Eval in August 1940. His first operational sortie with 236 was made on 24th August. All Toombs’ sorties during the Battle of Britain period were made with the same crew, P/O AL van Waeyenberghe, pilot, and Sgt. JR Thompson, observer. These two men were lost on 10th March 1941, serving with 272 Squadron, when their Blenheim was lost without trace on a sortie from Northern Ireland. Returning from a sortie to Brest, Toombs fired a Verey pistol at two Me109s, attacking his aircraft. It seems that one pulled up sharply and collided with the other. Toombs watched one go down but did not see what happened to the second. In 1941 Toombs was posted to 7 Squadron, operating in Stirlings from Oakington. He flew as a rear gunner. He completed his tour and later did a second tour, again as a rear gunner, this time with a Lancaster squadron of the Pathfinder force. He was commissioned in July 1944. Toombs was released from the RAF in 1946 as a Flight Lieutenant. He went to Ceylon and Sumatra, working in rubber plantations and on jungle clearing. After returning to England, he is believed to have later rejoined the RAF and served with the Traffic Branch, retiring in 1974. Toombs died on 11th December 2006.

Items Signed by John R Toombs (deceased)

	Fighter Pilot of the Royal Air Force by Graeme Lothian. (APB) Price : £480.00	Each of the 20 artist proof remarques features a hand-drawn remarque of a famous WW2 RAF fighter pilot alongside the signatures.......
	Fighter Pilot of the Royal Air Force by Graeme Lothian. (APC) Price : £480.00	Each of the 20 artist proof remarques features a hand-drawn remarque of a famous WW2 RAF fighter pilot alongside the signatures.......
	Fighter Pilot of the Royal Air Force by Graeme Lothian. (APD) Price : £320.00	Each of the 20 artist proof remarques features a hand-drawn remarque of a famous WW2 RAF fighter pilot alongside the signatures.......
	Fighter Pilot of the Royal Air Force by Graeme Lothian. (APE) Price : £480.00	Each of the 20 artist proof remarques features a hand-drawn remarque of a famous WW2 RAF fighter pilot alongside the signatures.......
	Fighter Pilot of the Royal Air Force by Graeme Lothian. (APF) Price : £480.00	Each of the 20 artist proof remarques features a hand-drawn remarque of a famous WW2 RAF fighter pilot alongside the signatures.......

Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of John R Toombs (deceased)

John R Toombs (deceased)

Aircraft for : J R Toombs (deceased)
A list of all aircraft associated with J R Toombs (deceased). A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Squadron	Info
Blenheim Click the name above to see prints featuring Blenheim aircraft. Manufacturer : Bristol Production Began : 1935 Retired : 1956 Number Built : 4422	Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim, the most plentiful aircraft in the RAFs inventory when WWII began, was designed by Frank Barnwell, and when first flown in 1936 was unique with its all metal monoplane design incorporating a retractable undercarriage, wing flaps, metal props, and supercharged engines. A typical bomb load for a Blenheim was 1,000 pounds. In the early stages of the war Blenheims were used on many daylight bombing missions. On the day that war was declared on Germany, a Blenheim piloted by Flying Officer Andrew McPherson was the first British aircraft to cross the German coast and the following morning 15 Blenheims from three squadrons set off on one of the first bombing missions The Blenheim units operated throughout the battle, often taking heavy casualties, although they were never accorded the publicity of the fighter squadrons. The Blenheim units raided German occupied airfields throughout July to December 1940, both during daylight hours and at night. Although most of these raids were unproductive, there were some successes; on 1 August five out of 12 Blenheims sent to attack Haamstede and Evere (Brussels) were able to bomb, destroying or heavily damaging three Bf 109s of II./JG 27 and apparently killing a Staffelkapitän identified as Hauptmann Albrecht von Ankum-Frank. Two other 109s were claimed by Blenheim gunners. Another successful raid on Haamstede was made by a single Blenheim on 7 August which destroyed one 109 of 4./JG 54, heavily damaged another and caused lighter damage to four more. There were also some missions which produced an almost 100% casualty rate amongst the Blenheims. One such operation was mounted on 13 August 1940 against a Luftwaffe airfield near Aalborg in north-western Denmark by 12 aircraft of 82 Squadron. One Blenheim returned early (the pilot was later charged and due to appear before a court martial, but was killed on another operation); the other 11, which reached Denmark, were shot down, five by flak and six by Bf 109s. Blenheim-equipped units had been formed to carry out long-range strategic reconnaissance missions over Germany and German-occupied territories, as well as bombing operations. In this role, the Blenheims once again proved to be too slow and vulnerable against Luftwaffe fighters and they took constant casualties While great heroism was displayed by the air crews, tremendous losses were sustained during these missions. The Blenhiem was easy pickings at altitude for German Bf-109 fighters who quickly learned to attack from below. To protect the vulnerable bellies of the Blenheims many missions were shifted to low altitude, but this increased the aircrafts exposure to anti-aircraft fire. In the German night-bombing raid on London on 18 June 1940, Blenheims accounted for five German bombers, thus proving that they were better-suited for night fighting. In July, No. 600 Squadron, by then based at RAF Manston, had some of its Mk IFs equipped with AI Mk III radar. With this radar equipment, a Blenheim from the Fighter Interception Unit (FIU) at RAF Ford achieved the first success on the night of 2–3 July 1940, accounting for a Dornier Do 17 bomber. More successes came, and before long the Blenheim proved itself invaluable as a night fighter. One Blenheim pilot, Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for an attack on Singora, Thailand, on 9 December 1941. Another bomber of No. 60 Squadron RAF was credited with shooting down Lt Col Tateo Katō's Nakajima Ki-43 fighter and badly damaging two others in a single engagement on 22 May 1942, over the Bay of Bengal. Katō's death was a severe blow to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force.
Defiant Click the name above to see prints featuring Defiant aircraft. Manufacturer : Boulton Paul Production Began : 1939 Number Built : 1075	Defiant BOULTON PAUL DEFIANT Built as a fighter, with a crew of two. Maximum speed of 304 mph, and a ceiling of 30,350 feet. armament on the defiant was four .303 browing machine guns in the Boulton Paul Turret. Designed as a intercepter fighter, the Defiant first flew in August 1937. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in October 1939 with no 264 squadron. and first flew in operations in march 1940 the Boulton Paul Defiant was certainly no match for the German Fighters, due to their lack of fire power as the defiant had no wing mounted machine guns. Heavy losses. The aircraft was re deployed as a night -Fighter in the autumn of 1940. This role also being taken over by Bristol Beaufighters in 1941, leaving the defiant for training, target tug, and air-sea rescue roles. A Total of 1075 Boulton Paul Defiant's were built