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Wing Commander Bee Beamont Typhoon and Tempest Signed Prints by Gerald Coulson and Stan Stokes.
PCK2477. , 4371, 12498, Wing Commander Bee Beamont Typhoon and Tempest Signed Prints by Gerald Coulson and Stan Stokes. Aviation Print Pack.
Items in this pack :
Item #1 - Click to view individual item
GC0316. Striking Back by Gerald Coulson. Conceived initially by Hawkers (of Hurricane fame) as a fast powerful fighter, the Typhoons performance in this role proved to be disappointing in the respect of rate of climb, and at height. They did however eventually come into their own as a superlative very fast ground attack aircraft, and combined with the skill of their pilots became one of the most potent weapons of World War Two. This painting conveys something of the drama of a pair of typhoons at take-off, each loaded with two 1000lb bombs. Normandy dust contributes to the backdrop. We have the last remaining 45 art prints in this sold out edition. Signed by Squadron Leader L F W Stark DFC* AFC C de G (Belg) (deceased) and Wing Commander Roland Bee Beamont CBE DSO DFC DL (deceased). Signed limited edition of 650 prints. Image size 23 inches x 18 inches (58cm x 43cm)
Item #2 - Click to view individual item
STK0136B. The Exterminator by Stan Stokes. By mid-1941 it was clear that Hitlers plans to invade Britain were in disarray. The RAF had fought the Luftwaffe to a standoff, and many of Germanys top pilots had been killed or captured. Not willing to admit defeat in his campaign against Britain, Hitler approved the development of a pilotless terror weapon, the VF-1 Vergeltungswaffe (retaliation weapon). Designed by the Feiseler Company, the small pilotless Fi-103 was at times referred to in Britain as the doodlebug, buzz bomb, or farting fury. These flying bombs were inexpensive to build and were capable of carrying an 1870-pound warhead. The Fi-103 was powered by a ram-jet engine, and utilized three air driven gyroscopes to orient the aircraft. A rudimentary pre-set propeller device was utilized to determine when the VF-1 would land. Lacking the accuracy necessary to make it an effective weapon against military targets these doodlebugs were primarily targeted at large population centers. Therefore, they were primarily used as civilian terror weapons, and the RAF was given the assignment of providing the defense against these terror weapons. Early testing revealed many problems with the VF-1, and it was not until March 1944 that most of these problems had been worked out. The final VF-1 production models were capable of speeds in excess of 400 MPH . The high speed of the VF-1, coupled with its small size and large warhead, made it difficult for the RAF to shoot down these doodlebugs. The doodlebug had strong sheet steel skin which deflected machine gunfire, making it necessary to utilize cannon fire. Cannons had more than twice the range of machine guns, but the attacking fighters had to get in close to hit these small, fast targets. If the pilot got in too close the explosion of the VF-1s heavy warhead often disabled the attacking fighter. An alternative was to deflect the doodlebug by maneuvering alongside it, and then by executing a gentle banking maneuver, flip the VF-1, and disrupt its gyros. Generally, this caused the doodlebug to crash in an unpopulated area with little damage. Less than 10% of the buzz bombs were destroyed in this manner, and this technique was only utilized when the pilot had depleted his ammunition. One of the top buzz-bomb exterminators was Wing Commander Roland Beamont who destroyed 32 doodlebugs during his tour of duty. He flew the Tempest V with 150 Wing, which he commanded. The three squadrons of 150 Wing were credited with destroying 630 buzz bombs between June and August of 1944. The Hawker Tempest was the fastest interceptor available, and provided its pilots a highly stable platform for its four 20mm cannon. The Meteor, the RAFs first jet, was utilized briefly as a buzz bomb interceptor, but with only nine kills, it was withdrawn as being unsuitable for this purpose. As depicted in Stan Stokes painting appropriately entitled The Exterminator, Wing Commander Beamont is depicted flying his Tempest V through the debris created by a successful hit on a buzz bomb in July, 1944. The action takes place southeast of London over the tranquil English countryside. Signed by RAF Wing Commander, Roland Beamont (deceased). 225 prints from the signed limited edition of 4750 prints, with signature of Stan Stokes and pilot, and a remarque. Image size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm)
Website Price: £ 190.00
To purchase these prints individually at their normal retail price would cost £370.00 . By buying them together in this special pack, you save £180
All prices are displayed in British Pounds Sterling
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| Signatures on this item | | *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | | Name | Info | 
Squadron Leader L F W Stark DFC* AFC C de G (Belg) (deceased)
*Signature Value : £50 (matted)
| Lawrence W F Stark was born on 16th November 1920 in Bolton, Lancashire and was educated at Bolton School and then The Lancashire and Manchester Technical College. Pinkie Stark joined the RAF in 1941 and trained to be a pilot in Canada. On his return to England he spent some time flying Avro Ansons and Boulton Paul Defiants before being sent to a Typhoon OTU and and to 182 Squadron, then posted on operations the 10th January 1943 to 609 Typhoon Fighter Squadron, based at Manston. The squadron had been tasked to counter the hit and run attacks over South-East England by Fw190s. On 12 March 1943 Lawrence W F Stark had his first victory when he downed a Fw190 over Dunkirk. He shot down two Ju88 bombers over France, one in October and the other on 2 November 1943. He flew so low when claiming the first of these Ju88s that he clipped the top of some trees, returning to base with branches in the now misshapen nose of his Typhoon. On 4th January 1944 he shared in the destruction of a Dornier Do217, he also shot down a Caudron Goeland transport and another Fw 190, with 5½ victories and another aircraft destroyed on the ground he qualified as an Ace. He served on with 609 Squadron throughout occupied Europe, eventually taking over as the Squadron Commander and, awarded the DFC, became an Ace as one of the most successful Typhoon pilots in aerial combat. In February 1944 he moved to 263 Typhoon Fighter Squadron as a flight commander, to carry out ground-attack operations, still with the Typhoon. He flew sorties in support of the D-Day landing attacking ground targets in Northern France but in July 1944 he was shot down in Brittany. With the help of the French resistance he evaded capture and returned to England in a motor boat. Stark later returned to 609 Squadron as commanding officer to continue the ground-attack work. Stark continued flying in the RAF and gained a Bar to his DFC. In 1947 he completed the Empire Test Course and was posted to Boscombe Down as a test pilot, in particular with the Blind Landing Experimental Unit performing automatic landing trials. He was awarded the AFC and C de G (Belg). He retired from the RAF in 1963 and later became manager of Rochester Airport.. Sadly Squadron Leader Stark passed away on the 1st of August 2004. | 
Wing Commander Roland Bee Beamont CBE DSO DFC DL (deceased)
*Signature Value : £55 (matted)
| One of World War IIs great characters, Bee flew Hurricanes with 87 Squadron, later leading a Tempest Wing. He had 8 victories plus a further 32 VIs destroyed. After the war he became a highly respected Chief Test Pilot.Wing Commander Roland Beamont, one of the RAFs top buzz bomb interceptors, was born in Enfield England on August 10, 1920. Educated at Eastborne College, Beamont accepted a short service commission with the Royal Air Force in 1938. He commenced flying in 1939 at the the No. 13 Reserve Flying School at White Waltham. His initial duty was with the Group Fighter Pool at St. Athan where he learned to fly the Hurricane. Beamont was soon posted with the No. 87 Squadron which was part of the Advanced Air Striking Force in France. Seeing action in both France and Belgium prior to the Allied withdrawl, Beamont rejoined 87 Squadron in England during the Battle of Britain. In the spring of 1941 Beamont was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after destroying five enemy aircraft. As Commanding Officer of 609 Squadron, Beamont pioneered both day and night ground attack missions utilizing the Typhoon. Beamont was credited with destroying 25 trains in a three month period. He was then made responsible for organizing and commanding the first Tempest Wing at Newchurch. Three days after D-Day Bearnont shot down an Me-109, marking the first aerial combat victory for the Hawker Tempest. In the summer of 1944 Beamont destroyed 32 buzz bombs prior to leading his wing to a Dutch Airfield at Volkel on the Continent. In October of 1944 Beamont was shot down during a ground attack mission over Germany, and he remained a prisoner of war until wars end. Following repatriation Beamont became an experimental test pilot with the Gloster Aircraft Company, which had developed the RAFs first jet aircraft. Turning down a permanent commission with the RAF, Beamont then joined English Electric Company in Wharton as the Chief Test Pilot for the B3/45 (Canberra) jet bomber program. He managed all prototype testing on the Canberra, and in the process set two Atlantic speed records. Later Beamont was involved with the supersonic P1/Lightning program, and became the first British pilot to fly at twice the speed of sound. From 1965 until 1970 he was a founding member of Britains highly succesful Saudi Arabian export program. For several years prior to his retirement in 1979, Beamont was Director of Operations for British Aerospace and Panavia where he was in charge of flight testing for the Tornado. Since his retirement Beamont has authored nine books, and published numerous magazine articles. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Scociety and an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in America. He died 19th November 2001. |
| Signatures on item 2 | | *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | | Name | Info |
Wing Commander Roland Bee Beamont CBE DSO DFC DL (deceased)
*Signature Value : £55 (matted)
| One of World War IIs great characters, Bee flew Hurricanes with 87 Squadron, later leading a Tempest Wing. He had 8 victories plus a further 32 VIs destroyed. After the war he became a highly respected Chief Test Pilot.Wing Commander Roland Beamont, one of the RAFs top buzz bomb interceptors, was born in Enfield England on August 10, 1920. Educated at Eastborne College, Beamont accepted a short service commission with the Royal Air Force in 1938. He commenced flying in 1939 at the the No. 13 Reserve Flying School at White Waltham. His initial duty was with the Group Fighter Pool at St. Athan where he learned to fly the Hurricane. Beamont was soon posted with the No. 87 Squadron which was part of the Advanced Air Striking Force in France. Seeing action in both France and Belgium prior to the Allied withdrawl, Beamont rejoined 87 Squadron in England during the Battle of Britain. In the spring of 1941 Beamont was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross after destroying five enemy aircraft. As Commanding Officer of 609 Squadron, Beamont pioneered both day and night ground attack missions utilizing the Typhoon. Beamont was credited with destroying 25 trains in a three month period. He was then made responsible for organizing and commanding the first Tempest Wing at Newchurch. Three days after D-Day Bearnont shot down an Me-109, marking the first aerial combat victory for the Hawker Tempest. In the summer of 1944 Beamont destroyed 32 buzz bombs prior to leading his wing to a Dutch Airfield at Volkel on the Continent. In October of 1944 Beamont was shot down during a ground attack mission over Germany, and he remained a prisoner of war until wars end. Following repatriation Beamont became an experimental test pilot with the Gloster Aircraft Company, which had developed the RAFs first jet aircraft. Turning down a permanent commission with the RAF, Beamont then joined English Electric Company in Wharton as the Chief Test Pilot for the B3/45 (Canberra) jet bomber program. He managed all prototype testing on the Canberra, and in the process set two Atlantic speed records. Later Beamont was involved with the supersonic P1/Lightning program, and became the first British pilot to fly at twice the speed of sound. From 1965 until 1970 he was a founding member of Britains highly succesful Saudi Arabian export program. For several years prior to his retirement in 1979, Beamont was Director of Operations for British Aerospace and Panavia where he was in charge of flight testing for the Tornado. Since his retirement Beamont has authored nine books, and published numerous magazine articles. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Scociety and an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in America. He died 19th November 2001. |
| Artist Details : Gerald Coulson | | Click here for a full list of all artwork by Gerald Coulson |
Gerald Coulson
Gerald Coulson has been painting professionally for over 47 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. Between 2003 and 2008 Cranston Fine Arts purchased the remaining back catalogue prints from Gerald Coulson's previous publishers. His early prints are now very sought after and many items which we purchased are now at very low stock levels with many sold out already. At the time of writing, many are down to the last 20 or even as low as the last few prints. We only sell direct to our customers and not through other outlets, which means nearly all these prints are exclusively available direct from us. Sadly Gerald passed away on the 6th of February 2021.
More about Gerald Coulson
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