| | Item Code : B0488C | Operation Ebensburg by Ivan Berryman. (C) - This Edition | |
| | TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | | PRINT | Artist signed edition of 200 prints, numbered 951 to 1150.
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| Other editions of this item : | Operation Ebensburg by Ivan Berryman. | B0488 |
| | TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | | PRINT | Limited edition of 1150 prints.
Great value : Value of signatures exceeds price of item! | Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 20cm) |  Leckie, Bill  (signed in person)
+ Artist : Ivan Berryman
Signature(s) value alone : £50 | £25 Off! | Now : £40.00 | VIEW EDITION... | ARTIST
PROOF | Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. | Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 20cm) |  Leckie, Bill  (signed in person)
+ Artist : Ivan Berryman
Signature(s) value alone : £50 | £30 Off! | Now : £60.00 | VIEW EDITION... | ARTIST
PROOF | Large Size Limited edition of 5 artist proofs. | Image size 26 inches x 17 inches (66cm x 43cm) | Artist : Ivan Berryman |  | £200.00 | VIEW EDITION... | | PRINT | Large Size Limited edition of 10 giclee prints. | Image size 26 inches x 17 inches (66cm x 43cm) | Artist : Ivan Berryman | £10 Off! | Now : £145.00 | VIEW EDITION... | | PRESENTATION | Presentation Edition of 5 prints. | Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 20cm) | Leckie, Bill (signed in person)
Searby, John (clipped)
Mahaddie, Hamish (clipped)
Bennett, Donald (clipped)
+ Artist : Ivan Berryman
Signature(s) value alone : £235 | | £360.00 | VIEW EDITION... | GICLEE
CANVAS | Limited edition of 10 giclee canvas prints. | Image size 26 inches x 17 inches (66cm x 43cm) | Artist : Ivan Berryman
on separate certificate | £100 Off! | Now : £300.00 | VIEW EDITION... | ORIGINAL
ACRYLIC | Original acrylic painting by Ivan Berryman. | Size 16 inches x 12 inches (41cm x 31cm) | Leckie, Bill (signed in person)
+ Artist : Ivan Berryman
Signature(s) value alone : £50 | £800 Off! | Now : £1800.00 | VIEW EDITION... | | POSTCARD | Collector's Postcard - Restricted Initial Print Run of 40 cards. | Postcard size 6 inches x 4 inches (15cm x 10cm) | none | | £2.90 | VIEW EDITION... |
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| Extra Details : Operation Ebensburg by Ivan Berryman. (C) | | About all editions : |
An account from pilot Bill Leckie :
We took off in Halifax T for Tommy at 23.45 hours in bright moonlight on Sunday 8th April 1945, from our base at Brindisi in southern Italy. My crew consisted of self (Pilot Officer Bill Leckie) Pilot; Navigator W/O Tom Ryden; Bomb Aimer F/Sgt Jim Douglas; Flight Engineer F/Sgt David Pithie; Wireless Operator F/Sgt Jack Pointer; Rear Gunner F/Sgt Charlie Leslie; and dispatcher FI Sgt John Lennox. Also on board were the four SOE agents, our only remit being to drop them in a precise spot; unaware at the time we were involved in Operation Ebensburg. It was a lovely clear night and I flew in a north-west direction, flying parallel to Italy's northern coastline, then turning northwards off the port of Ascona and heading between Venice to the west and Trieste to the east. I now wonder what my feelings would have been then, if I had known one of my 'passengers' was a former Luftwaffe paymaster who had defected to the French Resistance. He was a native of the area to which we were now heading, and had discovered from relatives, the Nazi plan to conceal massive collections of art treasures in this area which was well known to him from childhood. Albecht Gaiswinkler, in addition to informing the Allies of the location of this huge repository, seemed to be the ideal person to receive specialist training in England to become one of the four special agents I was now transporting to the site of this clandestine operation. Gaiswinkler was posted to SOE Special Training School in Dorking, Surrey, and several other highly specialised Special Operational Executive training units (SOE) where he met up with two other Austrians who were to become part of the four-man group. The fourth member (also Austrian) had been a member of the Werhmacht and while serving, had become an expert radio operator. Like the other members of the group he was strongly opposed to the Nazi regime, he defected from the German army while serving in Greece, and joining the Partisans, had already received guerrilla training, then decided to throw in his lot with the Allies. Part of the comprehensive training included parachute exercises which were carried out at Ringway Airfield, Manchester. Although unknown to the crew of Halifax T for Tommy, the primary task of the four agents was to find out the situation at Alt Aussee salt mine, organise local resistance groups and report all information back to HQ code name 'Maryland' and the time was now approaching for the drop. At 02.50 hours, 30 minutes before the designated time, Dispatcher F/Sgt John Lennox indicated to the four Austrians it was now time to prepare for the drop. This came almost as a relief, as they were suffering from cold and stiffness due to the cramped condition in the unheated fuselage. Securing all personal weapons and equipment, all four reported readiness for the drop. Soon afterwards, the Halifax banked gently and started its run at 800 feet to drop the containers. They were watched by rear gunner F/Sgt Leslie floating down by parachute on to the DZ. The four Austrians followed on the second run in, all reported to have dropped on the precise area of the dropping zone as briefed. It was discovered later that all containers except one had sunk into deep snow. The only one retrieved, contained the vital radio but was found to have been damaged in the drop. The group had to hurriedly leave the area, as the sound of the Halifax engines had initiated a mountain search by German troops. Linking up with local resistance groups later, a replacement radio was acquired which was essential to retaining contact with HQ. It transpired that the new radio had been taken from the office of Himmler's second-in-command, who had fled on the advance by Allied troops. Large supplies of Nazi loot were still arriving at the salt-mine depository, and the agents' surveillance of this situation was made much easier by discovering that the man in charge of the mine repository was a communist, and a secret member of the local Resistance Organisation. Following close continuous surveillance organised by the four Austrian agents, it was eventually discovered that among the art treasures arriving, six mysterious crates had been placed in the mine. By resistance workers breaking in to examine those, it was discovered the crates contained 500 Ib aircraft bombs, all set ready to be set off at any given time, in order to completely destroy the stolen priceless valuables and irreplaceable works of art. When the German troops charged with guarding the mine and its valuables decided to desert their charges on the approach of Allied Forces, agent Gaiswinkler became increasingly worried about anyone arriving to trigger off the bombs inside the mine. It was arranged that the bombs were defused, and a minor explosion was arranged to seal off the entrance to the vast number of chambers containing the Nazi loot. Gaiswinkler then sent off two men to try to contact US Forces, to convince them of the urgency required to take over custody of the mine's contents. As luck would have it the two men were captured by German troops, and Gaiswinkler organised a raid to recapture his two men. It was to the immense relief of Gaiswinkler, when the 80th US Infantry Division arrived at Alt Aussee, and realising the importance of the situation, immediately occupied the area and secured the mine and contents. Although secret agent Gaiswinkler and three other Austrians dropped by Bill Leckie, saved 6,755 of the world's greatest works of art, including paintings by Titian, Goya, Rubens, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and numerous others, they subsequently received little public recognition. Albrecht Gaiswinkler was apparently nominated for the King's Medal, a personal gift from the sovereign, the honour was apparently turned down. It is reassuring however, that persons of such high ideals and values are recognised in some publications. The magazine 'Military Illustrated' dated April 2002, provides a great deal more information on the Special Duty carried out by 148 Squadron, with Halifax T for Tommy flown by Bill Leckie. Peter Harclerode covers this subject in an interesting and informative manner, his account of Op Ebensburg is highly recommended to those interested in this subject.
Crew of T for Tommy :
Pilot Officer Bill Leckie, Navigator W/O Tom Ryden; Bomb Aimer F/Sgt Jim Douglas; Flight Engineer F/Sgt David Pithie; Wireless Operator F/Sgt Jack Pointer; Rear Gunner F/Sgt Charlie Leslie; and dispatcher F/Sgt John Lennox
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| The Aircraft : | | Name | Info | | Halifax | Royal Air Force heavy Bomber with a crew of six to eight. Maximum speed of 280mph (with MK.VI top speed of 312mph) service ceiling of 22,800feet maximum range of 3,000 miles. The Halifax carried four .303 browning machine guns in the tail turret, two .303 browning machines in the nose turret in the MK III there were four .303 brownings in the dorsal turret. The Handley Page Halifax, first joined the Royal Air Force in March 1941 with 35 squadron. The Halifax saw service in Europe and the Middle east with a variety of variants for use with Coastal Command, in anti Submarine warfare, special duties, glider-tugs, and troop transportation roles. A total of 6177 Halifax's were built and stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1952 |
| Artist Details : Ivan Berryman | | Click here for a full list of all artwork by Ivan Berryman |
Ivan Berryman
Over the last 30 years, Ivan Berryman has become a leading aviation, motor racing and naval artist. In this time, the subjects of his paintings have been wide and varied as he has deliberately strived to include some of the lesser know aircraft, ships and events in his portfolio, which includes aircraft like the Defiant, TSR2, Beaufort, ships including MTBs and corvettes, and around 100 different aircraft of the first world war. In addition to this he has taken new approaches to the classic subjects of his field, including the Dambuster Lancasters, Battle of Britain Spitfires, Bf109s and Hurricanes, HMS Hood, Bismarck and the best known naval ships, as well as some iconic sporting moments. In his own words : Art and aviation have been like a brother and sister to me. We have grown up together, learned together and made our adult lives together. But you do not have to have an appreciation of aircraft to admire the graceful lines of a Spitfire or the functional simplicity of a Focke-Wulf 190. They are themselves a work of art and they cry out to be painted - not as machines of war and destruction, but as objects of beauty, born of necessity and function, yet given a life and iconic classicism beyond their original calling. My interest and love of art and aircraft was gifted to me by my father, a designer and aeronautical engineer of considerable repute. Denis Berryman C.Eng. FRAeS. He gave me his eyes, his passion, his dedication and his unwavering professionalism. I owe him everything. And I miss him terribly. A love of art and of beautiful and interesting things takes you on a journey. You discover new interests, new fascinations, and you want to paint them. You want to paint them in their environment, in their element. Whether it is an aeroplane, a warship, a racing car or a beautiful woman, their gift to an artist is the same: Their lines, their texture and the way that light and shadows give them form. These are the food and oxygen of an artist. Not the paint and the canvas. These are mere tools. The secret is in the passion and the perception...
More about Ivan Berryman
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