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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth W  Waughman, Russell |
Flt Lt Russell Rusty Waughman DFC AFC
Volunteered for the RAF in 1941. After training in Canada, he qualified as a heavy bomber pilot. In November 1943 he was posted to No.101 (Special Duties) Squadron at Ludford Magna. He completed a tour of operations, which began during the Battle of Berlin, where they did several operations. Surviving a mid-air collision, only to write the aircraft off on landing, Rusty and his crew on a subsequent flight had a miraculous escape when their aircraft was blown upside down, over the target, at Mailly-le-Camp; they also survived the Nuremberg raid on 30th March 1944, when 97 aircraft were lost - including about one quarter of 101 Sqn strength that night.
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| Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Flt Lt Russell Rusty Waughman DFC AFC - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Heading Home by Philip West. Having completed yet another sortie, the crew of 101 Sqn Special Operations Lancaster SR-W, piloted by Flt Lt Rusty Waughman, are about to commence the long and hazardous journey back to their base at Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire. |
Ops On Hold by Richard Taylor. March 1944 and heavy snow has settled firmly over the frozen Lincolnshire countryside around RAF Fiskerton. For once the Lancasters of 49 Squadron stand quietly idle at their dispersal points around the perimeter of the airfield. It is a scene recreated at many other heavy bomber airfields across the east of England and the young airmen who crew these mighty machines now wait patiently for the inevitable thaw that will soon see them in combat again. For some, however, the future is uncertain. Just a few weeks later, on 30 March 1944, during a raid on Nuremberg, more than 100 bombers would be shot down. In the space of a single night Bomber Command would suffer more men lost than Fighter Command during the entire Battle of Britain. Bomber Command flew more than 389,000 sorties from 101 operational bases across the east of England during WWII and the aircrew that undertook these missions came from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Rhodesia and many countries under Nazi occupation. Every airman was a volunteer and with an average age of just 22 they were forced to grow up quickly, enduring frightening odds and suffering terrible losses - only the Nazi U-Boat force experienced a higher casualty rate. Of the 125,000 men who served, 55,573 were killed. For every 100 airmen who joined Bomber Command, 45 would lose their lives, 6 would be seriously wounded and 8 made prisoners of war. Yet they resolutely overcame the overwhelming forces stacked against them, including some of the worst flying conditions imaginable and, never flinching from their task, flew until victory was finally achieved. |
Towards Victory by Philip West. The Avro Lancaster was undoubtedly the RAFs greatest bomber of World War 2. Stemming from the unsuccessful Avro Manchester, the Lancaster carried the night bomber offensive deep into occupied Europe. Over 7,300 Lancasters were built with the last being delivered in 1946. |
Almost Home by Robert Taylor. …night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate, careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power. On no part of the Royal Air Force does the weight of the war fall more heavily than on the daylight bombers… - Winston Churchill. With these words the British Prime Minister reminded the House of Commons of the heroic role undertaken by the young men of RAF Bomber Command during World War II as they set out across the North Sea to wreak havoc upon the enemy. And the cost they bore - for the odds of a safe return were, at best, marginal. One aircraft above all came to symbolise the valiant deeds that these young men undertook - the mighty Avro Lancaster. Introduced in early 1942, it quickly became the backbone of Bomber Command and it wasn't long before a score of airfields across the east of England reverberated to the sound of its four mighty Merlin engines. In this painting, a lone 9 Squadron Lancaster, separated from the main force during a punishing mission to Germany in late 1944, returns to safety. The weary crew are no doubt relieved to see familiar fields beneath them as they approach their base at RAF Bardney. 9 Squadron had received their Lancasters in September 1942 and became a leading unit within Bomber Command. Working on operations alongside 617 Squadron, they specialised in dropping Barnes Wallis's famous 12,000lb Tallboy bombs, including the successful mission to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. |
Almost Home by Philip West. After another long, hard nights mission over Germany, Flt. Lt. Rusty Waughman of 101 Special Duties Squadron, once again brings his aircraft and trusting crew back across the English Channel, heading for their home base of Ludford Magna, Lincolnshire. Many of the 101 Squadron Lancasters flew with an extra, German speaking, crew member, whose job it was to use onboard transmitters to jam the radio frequencies of German night-fighters. |
The Bomber Boys by James Dietz. On the night of 16 / 17 May 1943, in one of the most daring low-level missions of the war, the men of newly-formed 617 Squadron, under the command of Guy Gibson, attacked the great dams of the Ruhr. The story of their audacious raid gained the squadron immediate fame and thereafter they would be known simply as the 'Dambusters'. But for the hundreds of airmen who followed in their footsteps, the destruction of the great dams was merely the beginning for this new squadron of low-flying, precision-bombing experts. Over the next two years their courageous exploits would earn the respect of the world. They did so under the command of some of Bomber Command's greatest leaders. Following in Gibson's footsteps were men such as the inspirational Leonard Cheshire VC, described by the London Gazette as having 'a reputation second to none in Bomber Command', and who helped pioneer precision target marking and the accurate delivery of Barnes Wallis's new deep-penetration 'earthquake' Tallboy bombs, especially in the operations against V-weapon sites in northern France. Cheshire's worthy successor was James Tait, who led the raids against the Tirpitz and whose Tallboy bomb eventually sank the mighty German battleship. In December 1944, having completed over 100 operations, Tait handed over the reins to Canadian Jimmy Farquier - described as probably the finest bomber pilot in the RCAF - and the man who would lead 617 Squadron until the last raid of the war. Under his stewardship the airmen of 617 Squadron were to reach new heights of fame, delivering Tallboy's massive big brother - the Grand Slam - Barnes Wallis's piéce-de-résistance, a 22,000lb bomb whose warhead contained over 9,000lbs of explosive, making it the most powerful conventional bomb of World War II. In the capable hands of 617 Squadron's specially modified Lancasters, they destroyed targets such as the great Arnsberg and Bielefeld viaducts, and the seemingly indestructible Valentin U-boat pens on the banks of the River Weser, whose huge 15ft walls supported a roof that in places was 23ft thick. The squadron flew their last mission of the war on 25 April 1945, their Tallboys helping to destroy much of Hitler's once-fabled mountain retreat at Obersalzberg. This highly detailed and carefully researched painting fittingly depicts this famous unit to represent all those who served with Bomber Command during World War II. The crews have just returned safely to RAF Scampton after a long, hazardous raid over enemy territory. Tired, weary and thankful to have made it back in one piece, they can at last stretch their legs and enjoy some welcome refreshments before heading off to de-brief and a much-needed rest. |
| Flt Lt Russell Rusty Waughman DFC AFC Aircraft details |
| Flt Lt Russell Rusty Waughman DFC AFC Squadron details |
No.101 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , SR, LU, MW, | No.101 Sqn RAF Mens agitat molem - Mind over matter |
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