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Cranston Fine Arts Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth S Stevens, Graham

Flight Lieutenant Graham Stevens

With No.230 Sqn, flew Sunderlands against the Japanese. Called up in 1941, he completed his pilot training with the US Navy in Pensacola, Florida and was selected to fly Catalina flying boats in the maritime reconnaissance role. Inititally posted to 270 Squadron in West Africa as a 2nd Pilot, he and his crew were tasked with patrolling over the South Atlantic gathering information on enemy maritime activity. As the war in Europe drew to a close, he completed a Captains conversion course and re-trained to gly the Short Sunderland. As victory over the Japanese approached he joined 230 Squadron in Madras to begin what was the most satisfying period of his service, piloting repatriation flights for Allied POWs from Singapore to begin the first leg of their journey home.

Flight Lieutenant Graham Stevens - Signed Aviation Art

Tropical Duties by Richard Taylor. 4 of 5 editions available. 3 of 4 editions featuring up to 3 additional signatures are available. £2.00 - £395.00

Text for the above items :

Tropical Duties by Richard Taylor. On Wednesday 22nd June 1938 a new sound was heard over the humid streets of Singapore as four Bristol Pegasus radial engines heralded the arrival of the RAF's newest flying-boat. For the men of 230 Squadron gathering on the slipway at Seletar, the approaching aircraft looked formidable and even from a distance, they could spot the powerful array of .303 machine guns it possessed. 230 Squadron had been chosen as one of the first units to be re-equipped with the world's most advanced flying boat - the Short Sunderland. Richard Taylor's painting is a tribute to the outstanding Sunderland and the men who flew it in the Far East. As the sun beats down on tropical island anchorage a Mk III Sunderland from 230 Squadron unloads essential supplies at a forward base on an archipelago deep in the Indian Ocean. A second aircraft, breaking a patrol, prepares to land.

Catalina Manufacturer : Consolidated Built : 3305

Catalina Built by the Consolidated Aircraft Company and designed by Isaax M Ladden. the Catalina first flew on the 28th march 1935. and first flew with the US Navy in October 1936. In 1935 the cost of each Catalina was $90,000 and just over 4,000 were built. The Catalina was used in various maritime roles. but it was designed initially as a maritime patrol bomber. Its long range was intended to seek out enemy transport and supply ships. but was eventually used in many roles including Convoy escort,, anti submarine warfare and search and rescue. In its role as a search and rescue aircraft it probably is best remembered for many thousands of aircrews shot down in the Pacific and less extend in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The Catalina was the most successful flying boat of the war and even served in a military role until the early 1980's some are still used today in aerial firefighting.

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Sunderland Manufacturer : Short Built : 749

Sunderland The Short Sunderland, Patrol and Reconnaissance Flying Boat. normal crew level 10. maximum speed of 210mph for Mark I, 205mph Mark II and Mark III, and 213mph Mark V. ceiling 17,900 feet and range of 2110 miles (mk I) 2880 miles for Mark V. endurance in the air 13.5 hours. The Sunderland carries 1 .303 machine gun in the nose, (mark I) and four .303 browning machine guns in the Tail Turret. Also in the Mark II four Vickers .303 inch machine guns were used in the body positions. and four browning machineguns in the nose flanks in the Mark III. Maximum bomb load of 4960 lbs. Based on the design of the Civil Empire class flying boat. The Short Sunderland entered service with the Royal Air Force in June 1938 with 230 squadron. and by the end of the war, 20 squadrons of the Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force were equipped with Sunderland's. By the end of the production in 1946 a total of 749 were built, The roles the Short Sunderland played, mainly were in Maritime and anti Submarine duties, especially in the battle of the Atlantic, The Sunderland accounted for 58 U-Boats sunk or badly damaged. The Sunderland was also used in other theatres of the war and in the Mediterranean helped in the evacuation of troops from Crete and Greece, as well as helping in the evacuation of troops in Burma. The Short Sunderland remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1959. used during the Korean War, The Berlin Air Lift, and during Operation Firedog, , The Malayan Emergency.

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Flight Lieutenant Graham Stevens Squadron details

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