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

Warrant Officer Frank Stone

Rear Gunner on Hampdens with 83 sqn, he was shot down in August 1940 aged 17 over Ludwigshafen and sent to Stalag Luft III. In Hut 104 he was in charge of the hidden radio that aided the 'Great Escape' and had it been a success he would have been part of the second escape attempt two weeks later. We have learned that Frank Stone has now sadly passed away.

Warrant Officer Frank Stone - Signed Aviation Art

Lancaster Lift-Off by Gerald Coulson. 5 editions. 2 of the 5 editions feature up to 4 additional signatures. £32.00 - £135.00

Outbound Lancaster by Gerald Coulson. 3 of 4 editions available. The one edition featuring 4 additional signatures is available. £15.00 - £125.00

Text for the above items :

Lancaster Lift-Off by Gerald Coulson. Sold out at publisher. We have the last 170 remaining prints.

Outbound Lancaster by Gerald Coulson. An all time classic image of the Lancaster bomber of Bomber command at altitude crossing the coast on its way to another bombing mission in Europe. In this atmospheric classic image, Gerald Coulson has shown this stalwart of the Royal Air Forces Bomber Command during the second world war. A superb partner painting to the other classic Gerald Coulson image, Off Duty Lancaster.

Hampden Manufacturer : Handley Page Built : 1500

Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber built for the Royal Air Force and was used by Bomber Command in the early years of world war two. Along with the other medium bombers the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane raid on Cologne. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden was known as the Flying Suitcase because of its cramped crew conditions. A total of 226 Hampdens were in service with eight Royal Air Force squadrons by the start of the Second World War. Despite its speed and agility, in operational use the Hampden was no match for the fighters of the Luftwaffe (ME109 and FW 190) and the Hampdens role as a day bomber was brief, but Hampdens continued to operate at night on bombing raids over Germany and in mine laying (code-named gardening) in the North Sea. Almost half of the Hampdens built – 714, were lost on operations, witht he loss of 1,077 crew killed and another 739 missing. German flak accounted for 108; with one Hampden being lost due to German Barrage balloons; 263 Hampdens crashed due to a variety of causes, and 214 others were classed as missing. Luftwaffe pilots claimed 128 Hampdens, shooting down 92 at night. The Hampden soon became obsolete for its roll as a medium modern bomber, after operating mainly at night, it was retired from Bomber Command service in late 1942. but continued with Coastal Command throughout 1943 as a long-range Torpedo Bomber (the Hampden TB Mk I which carried the Mk XII torpedo in an open bomb-bay and a single 500 lb (230 kg) bomb under each wing) The Hampden was also used by the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force.

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Warrant Officer Frank Stone Squadron details

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