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Halifax Signature Print Pack.
DPK0295. Halifax Signature Print Pack. Aviation Print Pack. Items in this pack :
Item #1
DHM2250. Leading the Way by Gerald Coulson. On August 15th 1942, under the leadership of Don Bennet, a new group was formed from Bomber Command to develop specialised target finding and target marking. Made up purely from experienced volunteers, this elite and highly trained group of men were known as the Pathfinders. Up until this point the means available to Bomber Command of accurately finding their targets were totally lacking and the task of the Pathfinders was to develop techniques to precisely define these targets ahead of the main force. Initially made up of four Squadrons Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) they were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Originally part of No.3 Group Bomber Command the Pathfinder Force was directly answerable to C-in-C Air Marshal Arthur Harris until January 1943 when it became a separate group, No.8 (PFF) . Personally selected for the task by Arthur Harris, the Australian born Don Bennet, just 32 years of age proved to be and inspired choice to form the Pathfinders. A navigation expert without peers he was widely experienced in flying all types of aircraft including fighters, flying boats and bombers and already an experienced operational bomber captain. Along with many of his colleagues, such as Hamish Mahaddie and John Searby he was responsible for instilling in his men the Pathfinder Spirit - an intangible quality of dedication which bonded them together. Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. The first Pathfinder unit to fly the Halifax was 35 Squadron based at Graveley. With some of the greatest Bomber Aircrew amongst their number the unit quickly gained a reputation for excellence that was second to none. This superb painting from one of the worlds most highly regarded Aviation Artists, Gerald Coulson, depicts a Halifax B.MkII series 1A of 35 (PFF) Squadron on an operation over occupied Europe. Flying at around 20,000 feet and completely alone and unprotected, the crew navigate their bomber well ahead of the main force, leading the way to their target. Signed by Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC, Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM and Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE (deceased). Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Image size 31 inches x 26 inches (79cm x 66cm)
Item #2
DHM1902. Action This Day by Richard Taylor. A cold winters morning, as dawn breaks over RAF Lissett, revealing that last nights biting wind has once again brought a covering of snow to the airfield. But, with conditions forecast to improve, tonights operation to bomb industrial targets in Germany is set to proceed, and ground crew start to prepare Halifax Mk3 LV907 F-Freddy, simply known as Friday 13th, for action. This iconic aircraft flew an impressive total of 128 operational sorties with 158 Squadron between March 1944 and April 1945. Signed by :
Pilot Officer Maurice Spivey DFM,
Warrant Officer Rex Statham
and
Flight Lieutenant Fred Tunstall. Signed limited edition of 350 prints. Paper size 34.5 inches x 25 inches (85cm x 64cm)
Item #3
DHM1712C. Halifax Mk.III NA337 by Ivan Berryman. One of 6,176 Halifaxes built during World War II, NA337(2P-X) was shot down over Norway on 23rd April 1945. In 1995 it was recovered from the lake that had been its watery home for fifty years and has now been restored by the Halifax Aircraft Association in Ontario, Canada. Signed by Flt Lt Eric Kemp DFC. Kemp signature edition of 50 prints (Nos 1 - 50) from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 19 inches x 13 inches (48cm x 33cm)
Item #4
DHM1713F. Halifax Tugs Towing Hamilcar Gliders by Ivan Berryman. Halifax glider tugs of 644 Squadron, Tarrant Rushton, 1944. Signed by :
Sergeant Titch Rayner
and
Private Alf Whitbread. Rayner / Whitbread signature edition of 300 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 17 inches x 12 inches (43cm x 31cm)
Website Price: £ 360.00
To purchase these prints individually would cost £530.00 . By buying them together in this special pack, you save £170
All prices are displayed in British Pounds Sterling
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Military-art.com, The Military
Print Company provides the
largest selection of military, aviation and naval art available on the
internet, with this online shop containing more than fifteen thousand
individual products. We have been publishing our prints for well
over 20 years, providing our customers with the vast selection of top
quality prints you can see on this site. In addition to our
military, naval and aviation print collections, we also supply sport
prints, landscape prints, wildlife prints, and giclee canvas prints, as
well as related books, DVDs and other items.
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| Signatures on this item | | Name | Info | | Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC | After joining the RAF in 1940 he was called up in early 1941 and entered OTU where he qualified as an observer and was then posted operationally to 466 Sqn at Leconfield on Wellingtons. At the end of 1942 he joined 35 Sqn as a Navigator at Gravely as part of the Pathfinder Force, initially on the Halifax and later converting to Lancasters. He remained with the Pathfinders until 1944 when he was posted to Stoney Cross to convert back to Wellington 1C's as a way of becoming reacquainted with two engined aircraft. he spent the remainder of the war flying Dakota's in the Far East and left the RAF in mid 1946. | | Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE (deceased) | Joining the RAF in 1932, after qualifying as a pilot, he served as an instructor until 1942, when he joined 15 Squadron at Mildenhall, flying Lancasters. Volunteering for the Pathfinder Force he joined 35 Squadron at Gravely on Halifaxes, followed by 582 Squadron on Lancasters, taking part in many bombing sorties over Normandy, including two missions on D-Day. He finished the war having completed 66 operations. Pat Carden sadly died 28th June 2008, aged 96. | | Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM | Joining the RAF in 1940 he was initially posted to Cardington as a driver and ended up on the Isle of Sheppey releasing explosive met balloons in order to hamper enemy aircraft. Volunteering for aircrew he attended a gunnery course at Stormy Down in 1942 and shortly after joined 51 squadron at Snaith in Yorkshire, as a Rear Gunner on Lancasters. In 1943 after many operations with the main force he volunteered for the Pathfinders and joined 35 Squadron at Gravely on both the Halifax and Lancaster. He remained with this unit until the end of the war completing 82 operations and left the RAF in 1946 |
| Signatures on item 3 | | Name | Info | | Flt Lt Eric Kemp DFC |
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Eric Kemp signing the prints - Returning from Caen - by Graeme Lothian |
Eric Kemp photographed with his framed copy of Returning from Caen - by Graeme Lothian. |
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| Signatures on item 4 | | Name | Info | | Private Alf Whitbread | Served with 17 Platoon of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Landed as part of the Coup de Main operation on Glider No.6 into Pegasus bridge in the early hours of D-Day. | | Sergeant Titch Rayner | Titch Rayner served with the British Parachute Regiment. On D-Day he was flown into France on Horsa glider No.4, which landed off target due to a navigational problem. With the element of surprise gone, he and his fellow Paras had to fight their way through to Pegasus Bridge. |
| Signatures on item 5 | | Name | Info | | Flying Officer Dave Rodger (deceased) | Born inn Sault Ste marie, Ontario on February 23rd 1918, he son of a Scots carpenter, David Rodger was an avid collector of aeroplane magazines as a boy, that began his interest in flying. David Roger went to the local technical school, then worked for Algoma Steel while serving in the Canadian Militia. Rodger joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in October 1941 and trained as an air gunner before being commissioned as pilot officer, and then arriving in England in 1942. David Rodger converted to Lancaster bombers, and joined No 97 Squadron at Woodhall Spa near Lincoln, and it was here he teamed up with McCarthy. During their time with 97 squadron they attacked the main industrial cities on the Rhur and also Hamburg and Berlin. By the time they joined No 617 Squadron, they were recognised as an experienced crew. Rodger and McCarthy had already completed more than 20 bombing raids together when they were selected to join No 617 Squadron, forming at RAF Scampton in March 1943 under the command of Wing Commander Guy Gibson. David Rodger was the rear gunner in "Big Joe" McCarthy's Lancaster, which attacked the Sorpe Dam during Operation Chastise, the Dam Buster raid of May 16th 1943. On the night of the raid their aircraft was unservicable due to an engine problem, so they took the reserve aircraft which had been fitted with the upkeep bouncing bomb, but not had time to be fitted with the crucial spoptlights which were used to keep the aircraft at the height of 60 feet. As McCarthy took the bomber across the coast at 100ft, Rodger, in the rear turret, was soon in action trying to douse the searchlights before "having a lively exchange with a light flak gun". By the time they arrived at the Sorpe, McCarthy's men were the only survivors of the team charged with attacking the dam, which was shrouded in mist as they arrived. With a tall church spire on the approach and a hill to be avoided after the attack, McCarthy had great difficulty getting into position to drop the mine. The lack of the height-finding spotlights made the job almost impossible. The crew made nine dummy attacks before releasing their weapon accurately at last. But the force of the explosion was insufficient to breach the earth dam, and McCarthy and his men set course for base. After the success of the Dam raids 617 squadron now under the command of Wing Commander Leonard Cheshire specialised in the attack of pinpoint targets, and Cheshire and his four senior crews from the dam buster raid developed daring and accurate low-level target-marking techniques. Rodger was appointed the gunnery leader of the squadron in September. Rodger then attacked targets in Italy, and made pinpoint raids against viaducts and the huge concrete constructions associated with the V-1 rocket programme in the Pas de Calais. In addition to their marker role, the Lancasters of No 617 carried the massive 12,000-ton "Tallboy" bomb, which was used to devastating effect against V-sites and railway tunnels. During the night of June 5 1944, 16 Lancasters of No 617 carried out a unique operation, dropping a dense screen of "window" (foil strips) which advanced slowly across the Channel to simulate a large convoy of ships approaching the French coast between Boulogne and Le Havre, north of the real invasion area. After 14 months on No 617, McCarthy and his crew were finally rested in July 1944. Rodger, who had flown 50 bombing operations, including 24 with No 617, was awarded the DFC for "his calm resolution in the face of the heaviest opposition, which has been an inspiration to his crew". Rodger returned to Canada in September 1944, where he married, and was released from the RCAF the following year. He returned to work at Algoma Steel, where he became a superintendent. Always a keen outdoorsman, he loved fishing and played his last game of ice hockey at 84. David Rodger died on September 1st 2004 in Canada aged 86. |
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