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Bill Knight No Photo Available Navigator on Beaufighters with No.143 Squadron, part of the North Coates strike wing.
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Items Signed by Bill Knight |
 | RAF North Coates Strike Wing by Robin Smith (B) Price : £145.00 | The print depicts the three squadrons that comprised the first, and most successful Coastal Command strike wing, based at RAF North Coates, Lincolnshire. Using Beaufighters nicknamed whispering death due to their speed and armament and low no...... |
Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Bill Knight |
 | Beaufighter Aircraft Aviation Art Prints by Robin Smith and Ivan Berryman. Pack Price : £130.00 Saving : £115 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : RAF North Coates Strike Wing by Robin Smith (B) Seastrike by Ivan Berryman. | |
 | Aircrew Signed Beaufighter Prints by Robin Smith and Geoff Lea. Pack Price : £110.00 Saving : £110 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : RAF North Coates Strike Wing by Robin Smith (B) Desert Prang by Geoff Lea. (D) | |
 | Coastal Command Banff Beaufighters Aviation Prints by Ivan Berryman and Robin Smith. Pack Price : £110.00 Saving : £125 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Beaufighter Attack by Ivan Berryman. RAF North Coates Strike Wing by Robin Smith (B) | |
 | Pilot Signed Banff Beaufighter Prints by Robin Smith and Keith Aspinall. Pack Price : £120.00 Saving : £70 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : RAF North Coates Strike Wing by Robin Smith (B) Trouble Brewing by Keith Aspinall. (B) |
| Squadrons for : Bill Knight | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Bill Knight. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st February 1918 Fate : Disbanded 25th May 1945 Vincere est vivere - To conquer is to live | No.143 Sqn RAF No. 143 Squadron Royal Flying Corps was formed on 1 March 1918 and became a unit of the Royal Air Force a month later, but it disbanded on 31 October 1919 having operated the Sopwith Camel and Sopwith Snipe. On 15 June 1941, No. 143 reformed at Aldergrove as a long-range fighter unit in Coastal Command equipped with Beaufighters and became operational almost immediately. Early in June the Squadron moved first to north-east England and then to Scotland for convoy patrols along the east coast. In December 1941, No. 143 returned to Ireland and became non-operational, giving up its Beaufighters for Blenheims and becoming a training unit. In August 1942, the Squadron moved to East Anglia for convoy patrols and air-sea rescue missions and in September once more began to re-equip with Beaufighters, becoming operational on anti-shipping raids in November. On the 18 April 1943, by which time the wing was better prepared. This time all three squadrons were involved in the attack, while cover was provided by Fighter Command. The attack on a heavily armed convoy near the Dutch coast was a success, and no British aircraft were lost. The squadron remained with the Coates Wing until the late summer. In August 1943 No. 143 moved to Cornwall to provide fighter support for anti-submarine aircraft operating over the Bay of Biscay. In February 1944, it returned to North Coates to resume attacks on enemy shipping and in May moved to Manston to fly anti-E-boat patrols. In October 1944, No. 143 moved to northern Scotland where it converted to Mosquitoes as part of the Banff strike wing for attacks on enemy shipping off Norway for the rest of the war. On 25 May 1945, the Squadron was disbanded and its personnel transferred to No. 14 Squadron. | |
| Aircraft for : Bill Knight | |||
| A list of all aircraft associated with Bill Knight. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
| Squadron | Info | ||
Manufacturer : Bristol Production Began : 1935 Retired : 1956 Number Built : 4422 | Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim, the most plentiful aircraft in the RAFs inventory when WWII began, was designed by Frank Barnwell, and when first flown in 1936 was unique with its all metal monoplane design incorporating a retractable undercarriage, wing flaps, metal props, and supercharged engines. A typical bomb load for a Blenheim was 1,000 pounds. In the early stages of the war Blenheims were used on many daylight bombing missions. On the day that war was declared on Germany, a Blenheim piloted by Flying Officer Andrew McPherson was the first British aircraft to cross the German coast and the following morning 15 Blenheims from three squadrons set off on one of the first bombing missions The Blenheim units operated throughout the battle, often taking heavy casualties, although they were never accorded the publicity of the fighter squadrons. The Blenheim units raided German occupied airfields throughout July to December 1940, both during daylight hours and at night. Although most of these raids were unproductive, there were some successes; on 1 August five out of 12 Blenheims sent to attack Haamstede and Evere (Brussels) were able to bomb, destroying or heavily damaging three Bf 109s of II./JG 27 and apparently killing a Staffelkapitän identified as Hauptmann Albrecht von Ankum-Frank. Two other 109s were claimed by Blenheim gunners. Another successful raid on Haamstede was made by a single Blenheim on 7 August which destroyed one 109 of 4./JG 54, heavily damaged another and caused lighter damage to four more. There were also some missions which produced an almost 100% casualty rate amongst the Blenheims. One such operation was mounted on 13 August 1940 against a Luftwaffe airfield near Aalborg in north-western Denmark by 12 aircraft of 82 Squadron. One Blenheim returned early (the pilot was later charged and due to appear before a court martial, but was killed on another operation); the other 11, which reached Denmark, were shot down, five by flak and six by Bf 109s. Blenheim-equipped units had been formed to carry out long-range strategic reconnaissance missions over Germany and German-occupied territories, as well as bombing operations. In this role, the Blenheims once again proved to be too slow and vulnerable against Luftwaffe fighters and they took constant casualties While great heroism was displayed by the air crews, tremendous losses were sustained during these missions. The Blenhiem was easy pickings at altitude for German Bf-109 fighters who quickly learned to attack from below. To protect the vulnerable bellies of the Blenheims many missions were shifted to low altitude, but this increased the aircrafts exposure to anti-aircraft fire. In the German night-bombing raid on London on 18 June 1940, Blenheims accounted for five German bombers, thus proving that they were better-suited for night fighting. In July, No. 600 Squadron, by then based at RAF Manston, had some of its Mk IFs equipped with AI Mk III radar. With this radar equipment, a Blenheim from the Fighter Interception Unit (FIU) at RAF Ford achieved the first success on the night of 2–3 July 1940, accounting for a Dornier Do 17 bomber. More successes came, and before long the Blenheim proved itself invaluable as a night fighter. One Blenheim pilot, Squadron Leader Arthur Scarf, was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for an attack on Singora, Thailand, on 9 December 1941. Another bomber of No. 60 Squadron RAF was credited with shooting down Lt Col Tateo Katō's Nakajima Ki-43 fighter and badly damaging two others in a single engagement on 22 May 1942, over the Bay of Bengal. Katō's death was a severe blow to the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force. | ||
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