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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two  Postcards |
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Tribute to Alfred Grislawski by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Credited with more than 130 victories in World War Two, Alfred Grislawksi scored 24 of these on the Western Front. He is depicted here flying his Me109 with JG53 in what would be his last combat on 26th September 1944. Having shot down a P-38 Lightning earlier in the day, he was shot down in the combat shown by the P-51 Mustang of American Ace Hub Zemke and bailed out. Opening his parachute very low for fear of being shot at, he landed hard and damaged vertebrae, and did not recover before the end of the war. Awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, he died in 2003 aged 83. |
Spitfire Country by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Spitfire of 19 Squadron shown over southern England in 1940. |
Cat Among the Pigeons (FW190) by Ivan Berryman. (PC) It was in 1941 that the remarkable Focke-Wulfe FW190 first appeared in the skies of Europe, quickly establishing itself as a most formidable adversary. It proved to be the supreme weapon against all allied bomber forces. Here FW190A-8 of 1 Gruppe, Jagdgeschwader 1 is shown attacking a B17G of 381st Bomb Group during a critical defence of the Reich in 1944. |
Never Say Die by Ivan Berryman. (PC) What must surely be one of WWII's most extraordinary acts of bravery occurred on the night of 16th/17th January 1945 when F/L T A Smith and F/O A C Cockayne were on an ASH patrol over Stendal. Flying Mosquito FB.VI RS507 (YP-C) of No.23 Sqn, they inadvertently stumbled upon the German airfield of Fassberg on their return trip, fully lit up with aircraft taxiing. Taking full advantage of this situation, F/L Smith went straight in to attack, destroying one Bf.109 on the taxiway and another two as they attempted to take off. RS507 received ground fire hits to its starboard engine during the chase down the runway, Smith feathering the prop, but continuing to press home his attack. Knowing that there was no way of saving their aircraft, Cockayne was ordered to bale out, but sadly lost his life in the attempt. F/L Smith fought gallantly to bring his Mosquito down into snow with minimum damage, but the aircraft hit trees before striking the frozen ground and a furious fire broke out, Smith trapped in the wreckage. Against all the odds, he survived the crash, albeit with terrible burns, and saw out the war as a prisoner of the Germans. |
Flt Lt Walter Lawson by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Depicting the No.19 Sqn Spitfire Mk.IIA of Flt Lt Walter Lawson attacking a Bf.109 E-4 of JG.3 in the Summer of 1940. The final tally of Lawson before he was listed as missing in August 1941 was 6 confirmed, 1 shared, 3 probables and 1 damaged. The Bf.109 shown here was flown by Oberleutnant Franz von Werra. He survived this encounter, but was shot down over Kent in September 1940. |
Operation Ebensburg by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Sunday 8th April 1945. Halifax B.II Series 1 (Special) JP254 of 148 Special Duties Squadron, RAF piloted by Pilot officer Bill Leckie is depicted approaching the drop zone near to the Alt Aussee salt mine in the Austrian Alps to drop four SOE agents and their equipment whose mission it was to secure and protect 6,755 items of the world's greatest works of art that had been looted and stored by the Germans as they swept across Europe. With the allied forces closing in, the Germans had planned to blow up the entire store to prevent the artworks from falling into the hands of the liberators. Once on the ground, the four agents linked up with local resistance fighters and the mine and its valuable contents were eventually secured, the explosives made safe and the entire cache taken into the safe keeping of the 80th US Infantry Division as the German occupation of Europe crumbled. |
Guardian Moon by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Bomb doors open and ready for the vital drop, Short Stirling III EH990 prepares to lay her deadly cargo of mines off the coast of the Frisian Islands on the night of 7th October 1943. LS-K failed to return from the perilous mission, the aircraft believed to have been the victim of a German night fighter. |
Where Thoroughbreds Play by Ivan Berryman. (PC) A pair of Spitfire Mk 1s of 92 Sqn, based at Pembrey, practising dogfight tactics in a rare moment of relative peace in August 1940. Nearest aircraft, N3249, (QJ-P) is that of Sgt Ralph Titch Havercroft who was to score 3 confirmed victories, 2 unconfirmed, one shared and three probables during his combat career. |
Black Lizzie by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Entering service with the RAF in June 1938, the Westland Lysander was to prove invaluable in its role of transporting SOE agents on clandestine missions during World War II. 1,652 Lysanders were built and they were the first British aircraft to be based in France at the outbreak of the war and the last to see action there during the evacuation of Dunkirk. The example shown is of 161 Sqn based at Tempsford. |
Tribute to Robert S Johnson by Ivan Berryman. (PC) American fighter Ace Robert S Johnson is depicted in his 56th Fighter Group P-47 Thunderbolt with codes HV-P named 'Lucky'. Of his 27 victories during a tour of 89 combat missions from April 1943 to May 1944, he scored 21 in this aircraft. The joint sixth top-scoring American Ace of WW2, he was notably the first US pilot in the European theater to better the historic WW1 victory total of Eddie Rickenbacker, the top-scoring American Ace of that war. Post-war, he became a test-pilot and retired in 1962. He died in 1998. |
Yellow 10 by Ivan Berryman. (PC) The elegant D-13 was the ultimate example of Focke-Wulf's FW.190 to be powered by the Jumo 213EB inverted inline engine and is still widely regarded as one of the finest aircraft to have entered service with the Luftwaffe in WWII. Armed with three 20mm guns, one of them firing through the propeller spinner, this aircraft proved itself to be an effective weapon for Geschwader Kommodore Major Franz Gotz of JG.26, the great ace claiming 63 victories. His machine is depicted in close-up here - "Yellow 10", Werk No. 836017, based at Furstenau in February 1945. |
The Attack on Villers Bocage by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Lancasters of No.15 Squadron are shown releasing their bombs during the attack against German armour that had amassed in and near the French village of Villers Bocage on 30th June 1944. ED395 (LS-M), piloted by Fl Off W Hall, is in the background with LM473 (LS-P) in the foreground, flown by Fl Sgt N Overend. The village was almost completely obliterated during the bombing raid and the operation was deemed a tactical success. |
The Blackest Friday by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Following intelligence reports that the German destroyer Z.33 was anchored in Forde Fjord, Norway, together with a selection of minesweepers, tugs and trawlers, Beaufighters of 144, 404 and 455 Sqns were at once scrambled to attack the shipping, fully expecting their assault to take the Germans by surprise. Quite the contrary transpired to be true however and the attacking Beaufighters had to fly through a hail of flak and anti aircraft fire to line up on their targets. Moreover, Focke-Wulf 190s of 9/JG 5 joined the melee and a frantic battle ensued. Here, one Beaufighter has become a victim of an Fw.190, whilst a 144 Sqn aircraft tries to make a low level escape, close to the forbidding Fjord rock face. |
Escorting Blenheims to Le Trait, Spitfire W3455 of No.610 Sqn by Ivan Berryman (PC) Spitfire DW-U (W3455) of 610 Squadron escorting Blenheims to Le Trait on 21st August 1941. This aircraft was shot down by enemy fighters on this mission. |
The Chain by Ivan Berryman. (PC) Spitfire Mk.1 over a trio of Chain radar masts on the south coast of England. This Spitfire is from No.603 Sqn based at RAF Hornchurch from 27th August 1940, the height of the Battle of Britain. |
Mosquito Attack by Graeme Lothian. (PC) On 31st August 1944, 6 Mosquitoes of 305 Polish Squadron, Lasham, 2nd TAF were led by Wing Commander Orlinski to attack oil refineries at Nomexy, south of Nancy, France. Diving down and releasing their bombs before escaping at tree top height they destroyed 4 large containers and several smaller ones. All aircraft safely returned after their four and a half hour sortie. Fl Lt Eric Atkins DFC(bar) KW(bar) and his navigator Fl Lt Majer can be seen exiting the area to reform on the other 3 Mosquitoes who have already finished their bombing run. This was Atkins 61st operation, finishing the war with 78 ops over 3 tours. |
Moving Mountains - Tribute to Maggiore Vittorio Minguzzi and 22° Gruppo Autonomo by Ivan Berryman. (PC) The defense of Naples and southern Italy in World War Two was a desperate affair for the Regia Aeronautica who found themselves massively outnumbered as the Allied invasion progressed. Based at nearby Napoli-Capodichino, the Macchi 202s of 22° Gruppo Autonomo suffered terrible losses whilst trying to defend the port against the Allied heavy bombers, but nevertheless pressed home spirited attacks on the B-24s and their escorts. Here, Italian ace Maggiore Vittorio Minguzzi leads a trio of M.202s around the iconic crater of Mount Vesuvius. |
The Hunted and the Hunter by Ivan Berryman. (PC) The attack by Leutnant Walter Briegleb and his crew on Lancaster Mk.III ND960 DX-I of No.57 Sqn early on 22nd May 1944. Flying Me110 with codes D5+BV with his crew of Feldwebel Walter Bräunlich and Bordfunker Feldwebel Brandt, Briegleb flew undetected beneath the bomber and used the deadly 'Schräge Musik' - upward firing cannon - to hit the fuel tanks in the port wing between the fuselage and inner engine. Pulling away, he watched the aircraft burn and could see both gunners in their turrets but no return fire came. He wondered why none of the crew escaped by parachute with the bomber doomed - it disintegrated in the air over the coast of the island of Fyn, Denmark, impacting near Emtekær at 00:44hrs. Flight Lieutenant Arthur Richards (Pilot) Flying Officer William Woodall (Navigator) Pilot Officer Athur Bugden (Flight Engineer) Sergeant Thomas Edwards (Wireless Operator) Flying Officer George Ferguson (Air Bomber) Sergeant Harold Griffiths (Air Gunner) Sergeant Cyril Woodmass (Air Gunner) |
Viceless Lady by Ivan Berryman. (PC) A Fairey Swordfish launches from the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Eagle in 1939. HMS Eagle would later fall victim to German U-boat U-73 on 11th August 1942. |
A Friend in Need by Ivan Berryman. (PC) 146 Wing Hawker Typhoons were busy throughout the winter of 1944 / 45, carrying out a wide variety of missions and operations using a combination of rockets and bombs. Here, Wing Commander J R Baldwin OC of 146 Wing escorts a damaged wingman home as they enter the holding pattern to begin finals into their base at Antwerp. Baldwin's aircraft is Mk 1B PD521, carrying his personal markings JBII on the nose. |
The Defence of Napoli by Ivan Berryman. (PC) The Spring of 1943 saw intense bombing raids on the Italian port city of Naples by American B.24s and the Italian pilots responded with spirited attacks on the Liberators, flying from their nearby base of Capodichino. Just entering service with 22° Gruppo was the new Reggiane Re.2005 fighter, one of which can be seen here rolling away after a head-on attack on the bomber formation. A 22° Gruppo Macchi 202 has just damaged a B.24 in the distance. |
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