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Winter Ops by Gerald Coulson.
GC5. Winter Ops by Gerald Coulson. Up to 1942 Bomber Command operations were beset by many problems. The means they had to accurately pinpoint the target and assault it were totally lacking, in fact their Commander in Chief, Air Marshall Arthur Harris later wrote : It was glaringly obvious that the average crew in average weather could not find their way to the target. Between February and August 1942 an effort was made to rectify this through the development of a specialised target finding and target marking force, which became known as the Pathfinders. Activated on August 15 this new group was formed under the leadership of their AOC Air Commodore Don Bennett, himself a very experienced pre war pilot with exceptional navigational skills. The aircrews of No. 8 (PFF) Group were tasked with marking out the designated targets but the formation of this group was initially opposed by Harris. He felt that the ranks of his Main Force could be weakened if a high number of experienced and highly skilled crews were taken by this specialist unit, leading to a lessening of skills within the other bomber groups. He agreed however for an alternative scheme whereby complete units were assigned to the Pathfinder Force and the stage was then set for what was to become the Main Offensive of Bomber Command. The first four Squadrons – Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) – were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. In the absence of any specialist Target Markers the crews were initially forced to operate using standard flares and the early raids produced variable results, with cloud cover often proving the main obstacle in accurate marking. However during the winter of 1942 the introduction of the ground guided marking system, OBOE, marked a quantum leap in accurate target marking and by mid 1943 Pathfinder techniques had been developed for all forms of weather conditions, including nights when complete overcast existed.Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment such as H2S 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. This third and final painting in Gerald Coulsons Tribute to Bomber Command depicts Lancaster Bombers of No.8 (PFF) Group returning late after a gruelling operation over Berlin. It is Christmas 1943 and the winter landscape reflects the early morning sunrise as the weary crews approach the safety of their Cambridgeshire base. Signed by Squadron Leader Norman Scrivener DSO DFC (deceased), Flight Lieutenant John Petrie-Andrews DFC DFM, Wing Commander Jim Wright DFC, Flight Lieutenant Dennis Woolley DFC DFM and Wing Commander Ernest Rodley DSO DFC AFC AE. Signed limited edition of 500 prints, with 5 signatures. Image size 24 inches x 17 inches (61cm x 43cm)
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| Signatures on this item | | Name | Info | | Flight Lieutenant Dennis Woolley DFC DFM | Flight Lieutenant Dennis William, Woolley. DFC, DFM. 106 (5 Group) and 83 (S-PFF- Group) Squadrons. 1940 - Volunteered for air crew service. 1941 - Trained as an Air Observer in Manitoba. 1942 - Did 1st tour, on Manchesters (6 trips) and on Lancasters (27 trips). Awarded DFM. 1942 - 3 - Instructor at Winthorpe, Notts. 1943 - Engaged in special operations relating to the advancement of the Italian campaign. Based latterly in Sicily. 1944 - Did 2nd tour in Bomber Command in 83 (PFF) Squadron. 25 trips in Lancasters. Awarded DFC and Pathfinder Badge. 1944 - 5 - Joined Transport Command, Transatlantic Ferry Unit based at Darval, Montreal. 1945 - 6 - Seconded to what is now known as British Airways. Based at Poole, navigating Sunderland flying boats to and from Singapore. 1946 - Demobilised."
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Flight Lieutenant John Petrie-Andrews DFC DFM | John Petrie-Andrews joined the RAF in 1940. After training as a pilot, in January 1943 he was posted to join 102 (Ceylon) Squadron at Pocklington for his first tour, flying Halifaxes. In February 1943 he transferred to 158 Squadron, still on Halifaxes. John the joined 35 Squadron, one of the original squadrons forming the Pathfinder Force. Here he flew first Halifaxes before converting to Lancasters. John Petrie-Andrews completed a total of 70 operations on heavy bombers, including 60 with the Pathfinders. | 
Squadron Leader Norman Scrivener DSO DFC (deceased) | One of the top RAF navigators of the war, Norman Scrivener first flew with the 75 (New Zealand) Sqn before joining Guy Gibson in 106 Sqn. In 1942 he joined 83 Sqn Pathfinder Force as navigator to the Squadron Commander John Searby. Sadly Norman Scrivener died in May 2007. | | Wing Commander Ernest Rodley DSO DFC AFC AE | He initially joined the RAFVR in 1937 and was commissioned and posted to Bomber Command in 1941. Joining 97 Sqn flying Manchesters he was involved in the famous Augsberg daylight raid for which he received a DFC. At the end of 1942 he joined RAF Scampton helping to convert to Lancaster Bombers before rejoining 97 Sqn at Bourn as a Pathfinder. After a spell at Warboys as an instructor he took command of 128 Sqn at Wyton, flying Mosquitoes as part of the Light Night Strike Force. Staying with this unit he finished the war having completed 87 operations. | | Wing Commander Jim Wright DFC | Upon completing his training in 1943 he joined 61 Sqn as a Navigator on Lancasters. After a brief spell in hospital, he then became part of the Pathfinder Force, transferring to 97 Sqn in May 1944. |
| The Aircraft : | | Name | Info | | Lancaster | The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines, The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in march 1942, By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 Squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being the no. 44 squadron. During World War two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancasetr Bomber was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into Tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. . Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) There Lancastrian airline was also base don the Lancaster but was not very successfull. Other developments were the Avro York and the successfull Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
| Artist Details : Gerald Coulson |
Gerald Coulson
Gerald Coulson has been painting professionally for over 30 years and has a reputation that is second to none. Entirely self taught, he developed his technique to such a high standard that his work was published as fine art prints, enabling him to begin a full time painting career in 1969. Since that time his work, covering many different subjects, has been published and marketed worldwide as both open and limited edition prints. Gerald has had many one-man shows both in the UK and the USA and his work has been extensively exhibited throughout the world. A recent one man show of his in the UK attracted more than 3000 people in two days. The Fine Art Trade Guild have placed him in the top ten best selling artists no less than fifteen times - three times at number one. Coulson's passion for aircraft stems from childhood. This passion led to an apprenticeship as an aircraft engineer after which he served in the RAF as a technician and with British Airways as an engineer at Heathrow. His knowledge of aircraft engineering, combined with his drawing ability, led to him becoming a Technical Illustrator of service manuals for Civil and Military aircraft. These experiences and technical background have allowed him an insight and intimate knowledge of the aircraft he paints. Along with a unique ability to capture these aircraft on canvas this naturally led to a painting career which he has developed to successfully cover a wide variety of subjects. Following a trip to the 1991 British Grand Prix his interest in Motor racing was fuelled. His ability to capture the technical detail and a talent for painting subjects at speed meant that this was a perfect natural progression alongside his aviation work and he is now also firmly established as one of the worlds leading motor racing artists. A Vice President and founder member of the Guild of Aviation Artists he is a four times winner of the Flight International Trophy for outstanding aviation painting. He qualified for his pilots licence in 1960 and is still actively flying today - mostly vintage aircraft, and can often be seen buzzing over the Fens of Cambridgeshire in a Tiger Moth. Whatever the subject he paints, whether aviation, landscape or portrait, his unique ability to capture the realism and 'mood'of the scene is unsurpassed, making him one of the most widely collected and highly regarded artists in the world today.
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