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Battle of Britain
Aviation Art Prints  Aviation Artists Anthony Saunders  Battle of Britain |
[UP] - British Aviation - American Aviation - Battle of Britain - Original Paintings - Postcards |
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| Text for the above items : |
Merlin Chorus by Anthony Saunders. The Battle of Britan - 13th August 1940. Fresh from a successful action over a marauding group of Me110s and Me109s attempting to raid port facilities at Portland during the Battle of Britain, Spitfires of 152 Squadron return to their base at Warmwell to refuel and rearm. As the distinctive sound of their Merlin engines echoes around Lulworth Cove, one of the Spitfires - hit during the engagement - is starting to smoke. Thankfully all will land safely, ready to continue the bitter struggle while Goerings Luftwaffe begin to intensify their attacks as they try to gain air superiority during one of the most decisive battles ever fought. |
High Summer by Anthony Saunders. On the 9th September 1940, No.92 Squadron was thrown into the Battle of Britain. They had fought bravely during the evacuation of Dunkirk, and after a spell on convoy patrol, they were thrust into the desperate climax of the greatest air battle in history. Flying Spitfires from Biggin Hill, they immediately went into action attacking massive Luftwaffe bomber formations and their escorting Me109s. Southern England was under severe threat, but the impact of 92 Squadron was immediate. During the next four months, its young pilots brought down no fewer than 127 enemy aircraft. This painting by Anthony Saunders portrays Spitfires from No.92 Sqn as they successfully engage an Me109 over the harvested fields of southern England, in August 1940. The desperate action of aerial combat is beautifully captured in this compelling and accurate reconstruction of a famous fighter squadron at war. |
Salute the Few by Anthony Saunders. (APB) A poignant scene from the Battle of Britain, as a pair of battle weary Hurricanes return from a mission, young children play in the afternoon sun. |
Two of 222 by Anthony Saunders. (APB) Battle hardened Spitfires of 222 squadron head home high above a gathering storm at the height of the Battle of Britain. |
Homeward Bound by Anthony Saunders. Summer 1940: it has been another rough day for the sasoned pilots of JG-26 Schlageter. Once again they have flown out of their base at Abbeville in northern France to escort the massed bombers of the Luftwaffe against the RAFs fighter airfields of southern England, and once again they have been locked in deadly combat with the Spitfires and Hurricanes of RAF Fighter Command. The Battle of Britain is reaching its climax and, for the first time, the Luftwaffe tastes defeat. This painting by Anthony Saunders brings to life a typical cameo from those long and arduous aerial contests, an Me109 from JG-26 has taken a hit during the fighting, the engine is overheating, and beginning to trail smoke. But the Squadron Commander, the legendary Adolf Galland, closes in to escort the stricken fighter back across the Channel. Crossing the iconic white cliffs of Dover, the drama has time to run. |
Fear Nothing by Anthony Saunders. The Battle of Britian - 28th August 1940. The Battle of Britain is at its height but the threat of invasion is still a deadly reality. As the country waited, grim and expectant, for Hitlers Operation Sealion to be put into action, Blenheims of 105 Squadron make another strike against German troop barges assembling in the northern French port of Boulogne. Overhead, escorting Hurricanes of 501 Squadron engage in a savage tussle with Me109s of JG3 as the Luftwaffe pilots attempt to disperse the attacking British bombers. During the encounter three Me109s of JG3 were shot down for no British loss. |
Gauntlet by Anthony Saunders. Portsmouth August 26th 1940, the lone spitfire of Squadron Leader Sandy Johnstone breaks the ranks and picks off one of the menacing Heinkels only to encounter an equally determined attack from a BF109. We were brought to readiness in the middle of lunch and scrambled to intercept mixed bag of 100+ Heinkel IIIs and DO 17s approaching Portsmouth from the South. The controller did a first class job and positioned us one thousand feet above the target. with the sun behind us, allowing us to spot the raiders from a long way off. No escorting Messchersmitts were in sight at the time, although a sizable force was to turn up soon after. then something strange happened. I was about to give a ticking off to our chaps for misusing the R/T when I realised I was listening to German voices. It appeared we were both using the same frequency and, although having no knowledge of the language it sounded from the monotonous flow of the conversation that they were unaware of our presence. as soon as we dived towards the leading formation, however we were assailed immediately to loud shouts of Achtung Spitfuern Spitfuern! as our bullets began to take their toll. In spite of having taken jerry by surprise our bag was only six, with others claimed as damaged, before the remainder dived for cloud cover and turned for home. In the meantime the escorting fighters were amongst us when two of our fellows were badly shot up. Hector Maclean stopped a cannon shell on his cockpit, blowing his foot off above the ankle although, in spite of his grave injuries, he managed to fly his spitfire back to Tangmere to land with wheels retracted. Cyril Babbages aircraft was also badly damaged in the action. forcing him to abandon it and take to his parachute. He was ultimately picked up by a rescue launch and put ashore at Bognor, having suffered only minor injuries. I personally accounted for one Heinkel III in the action (Sandy Johnson) . No. 602 City of Glasgow auxiliary squadron was a household name long before WWII began. It had been the first auxiliary squadron to get into the air in 1925, two of its members, Lord Clydeside and David McIntyre were the first to fly over Mount Everest in 1933: the squadron sweeped the board in gunnery and bombing in 1935, beating the regular squadrons at their own game. It was the first auxiliary Squadron to be equipped with Spitfire Fighters as far back as March 1939 and it was the first squadron to shoot down the first enemy aircraft on British soil. The squadron moved south from Drem airfield in East Lothian on August 14th 1940 to relieve the already battered no. 145 squadron at Westhampnett, Tangmeres satelitte station in Sussex. The squadron suffered 5 casualties during the battle. The squadron remained at Westhampnett until December 1940 to be replaced by no. 610 auxiliary airforce squadron. No 602 squadron itself remained active up until 1957 when it was put into mothballs. |
Decisive Blow by Anthony Saunders. The Luftwaffe had done everything in its power to pummel London into submission but they failed. By the end of September 1940 their losses were mounting. For weeks since the early days of September, London had been the main target for the Luftwaffe and during that time Luftwaffe High Command had grown increasingly despondent as their losses steadily mounted. Far from being on the brink of collapse RAF Fighter Command, though vastly outnumbered, had shown an incredible resilience. The fighting had reached a dramatic climax on Sunday 15th September when, bloodied and bruised, the Luftwaffe had lost the upper hand on a day of intense combat that had culminated with a humiliating retreat. Almost every day that had passed since then had seen the Luftwaffe do everything in its power to pummel London and regain the initiative, but the daylight raids were becoming increasingly costly. On Friday 27th September, 80 days after the Battle of Britain had officially begun, the Luftwaffe came once more, this time concentrating on the fastest bombers they had - Ju88s and Bf110s. And they came in force, principally targeting London and Bristol. Anthony Saunders' superb painting depicts one of these raids, this time by bombers from KG77 as they head over the Medway Estuary, east of the City of London, in an attempt to attack the capital's warehouses and docks. Among the many units defending the capital that day was 92 Squadron from Biggin Hill and Anthony portrays the Spitfire of Pilot Officer Geoffrey Wellum in his dramatic piece. With a deft flick of the rudder Wellum banks his fighter away to port seconds after sharing in the destruction of a Ju88. It was just one of more than 50 German aircraft destroyed by the RAF during the day. |
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