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Cranston Fine Arts Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth P Parkin, Harold

Flg Of Harold Parkin

Harold Parkin Joined the RAF in 1941 and underwent initial pilot training was at Stratford-on-Avon, and at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. After the exams he was sent for Northamptonshire to learn to fly in the Tiger Moths. Harold Parkin was posted to Spittlegate near Grantham, a permanent RAF base, where he got his wings in 1942. For a period of time here went to Montrose in Scotland for training as a flying instructor and intructed at Little Rissington, near Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds where he spent the next two years training new pilots. In 1944 he was given a commission and sent to Operational Training Unit at Bruntingthorpe. As part of his flying squad, he had one bomb-aimer and one gunner from Rhodesia, and because of this, the rules required that they came under the (44th.) Rhodesian Squadron. Harold Parkin was involved in the last raid of the war. The mission was to fly to Berchtesgarten, Hitler's retreat in Bavaria. The mission was in broad daylight with 2 fighter escorts, where they proceeded to bomb Hitler's SS barracks in the bottom of the valley. In 1945-6, Harold served in transport operations, being based first in Stradishall, Suffolk and then at Stoneycross in the New Forest. They spent most of that time taking freight to Karachi and ferrying POW from Japanese prisoner of war camps. Harold Parkin left the RAF in 1946 but in 1951 joined the reserve and in 1953 was called up to train Pilots for the Korean war. Harold was at Flying Training Command HQ, near Reading as part of the Examining Board. until his retirement in 1972. Harold piloted the Lancaster Bomber Yorker Mk.111 Lancaster KM-Y 44 (Rhodesia Squadron). Yorker was one of about 35 Lancasters (out of thousands that were produced during the war) which completed over 100 operations.

Flg Of Harold Parkin - Signed Aviation Art

Bombing Up Yorker by Robin Smith. This single edition is sold out. The edition features 2 additional signatures.

Text for the above items :

Bombing Up Yorker by Robin Smith. This print depicts a Lancaster Mk.III powered by four Merlin engines. Assigned to 44 (Rhodesia) squadron on 5th February 1944 to Dunholme Lodge, KM (Yorker) ND 578 was flown by P.O. John Chatterton on its first fifteen operations after which he received the D.F.C. In fact the whole crew received the D.F.C after their tour, this being very unusual during the war, a gesture reflecting the heroism of the equally brave crew. Y-Yorker completed its 100th sortie in February 1945 with F.O. Hayler as skipper, surviving to complete its 123rd operation by 17/18th April with Harold Parkin in the driving seat, by this time stationed at Spilsby. The significance of the spade nose art reflects to the fact that John Chatterton was a farmer, a career that continued after the war, and became his logo. Unfortunately, his commander didn't approve of it, and it only lasted one week before it had to come off!

Lancaster Manufacturer : Avro Built : 7377

Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992.

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Flg Of Harold Parkin Squadron details

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