Second World War aviation art prints of the Hurricane aircraft. Our collection of prints and original paintings of the Hurricane aircraft of World War Two.
Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built.
Has at least part claim to the first British air victory of the war, and is credited with shooting down the first aircraft to fall on British soil since 1918.
The Junkers Ju87 Sturzkampfbomber, known to the British simply as the Stuka, had already acquired a deadly reputation across Europe, its siren screaming as the ungainly dive-bomber struck terror into the hearts of those below. In 1940 its pilots cro......
The print depicts the moment as the first Hurricane of 46 squadron of the Royal Air Force, piloted by Sqn Ldr Kenneth Cross, without arrestor hooks or wires approaches the ill-fated carrier HMS Glorious. during the evacuation of Norway in June 1940. ......
In the azure skies above London and the south-eastern Shires of England during the long, hot summer of 1940, a small band of RAF fighter pilots, substantially out-numbered, and against all odds, flew and fought a savage aerial battle in defence of t......
Hawker Hurricanes of 249 squadron (RAF) departing off HMS Ark Royal in June 1941 as par tof Force H. The Hurricanes were to become part of the Defence of Malta against the onslought and non stop bombing by the Axis Bombers and HMS Ark Royal would be ......
2 print editions available from £37.00 1 canvas print edition available from £370.00 Original available : £1600.00
Flt Lt Alex Thom DFC of No. 87 Sqn in his Hurricane (LK-M) encounters heavy ground fire on a mission over the Allied raid on Dieppe on 19th August 1942. ......
Each print in this special Tribute Edition is signed by four famous RAF Fighter Aces that flew Hurricanes and Spitfires with Douglas Bader in the Battle of Britain in 1940. Sadly, none of these renowned pilots are still with us today. The signatures......
Hurricanes of 87 Squadron return to their West Country base after repelling attacks by Luftwaffe bombers on nearby aircraft factories, August 1940. Flight Lieutenant Ian Gleeds Hurricane, in which he scored 20 victories, leads the Squadron pilots ba......
2 print editions available from £100.00 1 ex-display print available from £100.00
In August 1940, Frank Carey let No 43 Squadrons A Flight into Schwarms of JU87s, escorted by Me109s. Though hopelessly outnumbered, Carey accounted for 4 JU87s before running out of ammunition.......
Hurricanes of No.3 Squadron on patrol. MkIIc variants, characterised by the four Hispano or Oerlikon cannon housed in the wings. No 3 Sqn were engaged in night fighter activities during the Spring of 1941. ......
5 print editions available from £60.00 1 canvas print edition available from £490.00
The afternoon of 25th July 1940 was a desperate one for the already exhausted fighter pilots of the RAF defending the South coast of England. As convoy CW8 made its way through the English Channel, sixty JU.87 Stukas and forty JU.88 bombers launche......
4 print editions available from £100.00 3 canvas print editions available from £500.00 Original Sold.
Marmaduke St. John Pattle, known as Pat to his friends, was born in South Africa in 1913. Pattle came from a family with a military tradition, and upon graduation from Graemian College he joined the South African Air Force. Pattle, unfortunately, wa......
1 print edition available from £30.00 2 canvas print editions available from £294.00
While on an early morning sortie over Dieppe to support the allied landing Operation Jubilee, the Hawker Hurricane IIc of Alex Thom sustained flak damage to its engine. Despite a severe oil leak he nursed his aircraft safely back to England where he......
2 print editions available from £70.00 Original available : £410.00
Bob Stanford-Tuck waits at dispersal in his 257 Squadron Hurricane during the Battle of Britain. Promoted to command 257 Squadron, Bob was one of the Battle of Britains leading Aces. ......
Flt Lt Alex Thom DFC of No. 87 Sqn is ferried back to the airfield of No.87 Sqn in a Master aircraft on 19th August 1942 after his Hurricane made a forced landing at East Den. ......
2 print editions available from £75.00 Original available : £310.00
On July 29th 1940, the Luftwaffe launched what they believed was a surprise attack on the port of Dover and the shipping in the area. RAF controllers, however, were quick to react and Spitfires from Manston along with twelve Hurricanes from Hawkinge......
The Royal Air Force Hawker Hurricane was one of the two fighter aircraft which won the Battle of Britian during the second world war. The hardy Hurricane, much loved by its pilots, although often put into second place behind its stable partner the ......
Like many others, the Hurricanes of No.56 Squadron were frequently scrambled to attack German formations heading for London. Flight Lieutenant E J Gracie flew with No.56 Sqn from their base at North Weald in his Hurricane MkI. Like many squadrons, ......
Macky Steinhoff in action over the White Cliffs of Dover. It is August, and the height of the Battle of Britain: Heinkel 111 bombers have attacked airfields and radar stations along the south coast, and a frantic dog-fight has developed as Me109s of ......
The Battle of Britian - 28th August 1940. The Battle of Britain is at its height but the threat of invasion is still a deadly reality. As the country waited, grim and expectant, for Hitlers <i>Operation Sealion</i> to be put into action, Blenheims......
As Britain holds itself ready for perhaps the greatest battle it has ever fought, a pair of Mk 1 Hurricanes of 213 Squadron set out from their base at Biggin Hill for an early morning patrol over the Channel, they could meet the enemy at any moment.......
Hurricanes of 43 Squadron scramble from an airfield in southern England during the height of the Battle of Britain, 1940. The R.A.F.s first 300mph fighter, the Hurricane proved itself a formidable aerial gun platform, its pilots accounting for four-......
5 print editions available from £75.00 1 ex-display print available from £70.00
Two Hawker Hurricanes ME11D tank busters of No.6 Shiny Six Squadron about to attack retreating axis mechanised units, November 1942 at El Alamein. ......
8 print editions available from £40.00 Original available : £1500.00
Based at a temporary formed airfield at Lille Marc, Hurricanes of No. 87 Squadron - showing the strains of battle - taxi in from a skirmish during heavy fighting in the Battle of France, May 1940. ......
Serving with distinction throughout the Battle of Britain, Count Manfred Beckett Czernin's score included 13 confirmed, 2 unconfirmed, 3 probables and 5 damaged. He is depicted here on 25th July 1940, claiming the last of three Messerschmitt Bf......
4 print editions available from £75.00 1 canvas print edition available from £220.00 Original available : £900.00
Eric Nicolson, the only pilot of the Battle of Britain to be awarded the Victoria Cross, scrambles out of his stricken 249 Squadron Hurricane. Fired on by an Me110, he was wounded in the head and foot, and his engine was ablaze. After clambering ou......
A pair of 238 Squadron Hawker Hurricane fighters at the height of the Battle of Britain patrol the southern counties. The Hurricane is sometimes overlooked for its important role in the Battle of Britain. During the Battle 238 Squadoro losses would......
The Hawker Hurricane was Britains most important aircraft in the Battle of Britain, credited with destroying more enemy aircraft than all other forms of defence combined. Flown by Flying Officer Arthur Cowes, the aircraft depicted shows seven kill ma......
In the early evening of the 18th of July 1941, following coastguard reports of an enemy aircraft in their vicinity, two Hurricanes of 87 Sqn on detachment at the Airfield at St Mary's, Scilly Isles were scrambled to an area some 30 miles south......
5 print editions available from £60.00 2 canvas print editions available from £460.00 Original available : £2100.00
The 73 Sqn Hurricane of Sqn Ldr Derek Ward is shown having received fatal strikes from the guns of Bf 109 F-4 flown by the 'Star of Africa' Hauptmann Hans-Joachim Marseilles of 3/JG27 on 17th June 1942. Ward was Marseilles' third victim......
3 print editions available from £60.00 1 canvas print edition available from £220.00 Original Sold.
Its eight wing-mounted Colt-Brownings spitting flame, the Hawker Hurricane swooped to dispatch over two thirds of all enemy aircraft destroyed in the Battle of Britain. Courageous squadron commander Douglas Bader, 14 - kill her Cobber Kain, Ginger ......
Flight Lieutenant Ian <i>Widge</i> Gleed is depicted in his personal Hurricane 1 P2798 (LK-A) of 87 Sqn shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf.110 on 15th August 1940. Just visible beneath the cockpit of the Hurricane is his mascot, Figaro, shown kicking......
5 print editions available from £75.00 1 canvas print edition available from £220.00 Original available : £700.00
A pair of 79 Sqn Hurricanes attacking a Heinkel 111 on 15th August 1940. The nearest Hurricane is that of F/Lt Owen Tracey, who eventually destroyed the He.111 that was on its way to bomb Newcastle. ......
3 print editions available from £75.00 Original available : £330.00
Released on the 65th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain a new limited edition to commemorate Churchills famous few. Stalwart of the Battle of Britain, the Hawker Hurricane equipped the majority of the RAF squadrons that defended Britain during tha......
Hawker Hurricane Mk 1s of No 242 Sqn patrol a glorious September sky as the Battle of Britain reaches its climax in the Summer of 1940. The nearest aircraft is that of Sqn Ldr Douglas Bader, flying V7467 in which he claimed four victories, plus two ......
6 print editions available from £55.00 2 canvas print editions available from £460.00 Original available : £3050.00
Together with its more glamorous contemporary the Spitfire, the Hawker Hurricane has become one of the best known fighter aircraft in aviations war torn history. In this picture, two Hurricanes of No.501 Sqn are shown on a coastal sweep at the heig......
Byron Duckenfield and his 501 Squadron wingman struggle to get airborne in their Hurricanes as the spectacle of the scrambling squadron draws a group of passing motorists out of their vehicle to witness the thunderous noise of the aircraft. ......
3 print editions available from £75.00 Original available : £320.00
The Hawker Hurricane powered by the powerful Rolls Royce Merlin engine is shown in combat with Luftwaffe aircraft during the Battle of Britain. The Hurricane played a major role in the aerial victory along with its companion the Spitfire.......
10 print editions available from £37.00 1 canvas print edition available from £370.00
The Battle of Britain destroyed the myth of the Stuka, proving for the first time that the Junkers Ju87 was slow, lumpish and vulnerable in air battles against well-organised and determined fighter opposition, such as the more manoeuverable and fast......
They came across the English Channel at wave top height, their propeller slipstreams leaving wakes on the surface of the water. Nine Dornier Do17Z bombers of 9th Staffel, KG76, detailed to attack the RAF airfield at Kenley as part of Reichsmarshal ......
3 print editions available from £110.00 1 ex-display print available from £110.00
Whilst flying with A Flight of 85 Squadron on 30th July 1940, <a href=aces.php?PilotID=10>Geoffrey Allard</a> encountered a pair of Messerschmitt Bf.110s about 40 miles from the coast, apparently patrolling near a convoy. After Squadron Leader Town......
6 print editions available from £60.00 2 canvas print editions available from £480.00 Original available : £2500.00
Hurricane LK-M of No.87 Squadron piloted by Flt Lt Alex Thom DFC limps over the south coast of England on 19th August 1942. While supporting troops on the ground at Dieppe, the Hurricane was hit by ground fire and lost oil pressure. Alex Thom got the......
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The early months of 1942 saw Sqn Ldr Derek Ward flying several sorties a day, many of them at night with 73 Sqn in the skies above Egypt. He claimed a Heinkel 111 destroyed on 9th February and a Bf.109 just a few days later. Then, on the night of 1s......
4 print editions available from £30.00 1 canvas print edition available from £220.00 Original available : £775.00
Legendary Hurricane pilot Flight Commander Pete Brothers (32 Sqn) and his wingman, having just taken off from Biggin Hill, proceed to gain height over the White Cliffs of Dover in search of the fighters and bombers of the Luftwaffe. By the end of th......
If you had the height, you controlled the battle. If you came out of the sun, the enemy could not see you. If you held your fire until you were very close, you seldom missed. These three basic rules contributed to the prowess in aerial combat of som......
A scene played out daily by Fighter Command squadrons throughout the defining air battles fought in the summer of 1940. Mk I Hurricanes of 249 Squadron are seen returning to North Weald after heavy action over London during the culmination of the Ba......
Aircraft History: The Hawker Hurricane MkI was part of the first production batch of 500 built by Gloster Aircraft Co. Ltd, Brockworth during 1939/140 under contract number 962371/38/C.23A/ Delivered to 504 squadron, P2725 brought down the first ene......
Portland, England, 30th September 1940. Already an accomplished Spitfire ace with at least 10 confirmed kills, Bob Doe had just transferred from 234 squadron to 238 Hurricane squadron when he intercepted and brought down a Heinkel He111P-2 from I/......
3 print editions available from £70.00 Original available : £410.00
During the long summer of 1940 southern England formed the battle line upon which the future of the free world hung in the balance. Hurricane Mk1s of 504 Squadron power into the dawn sky for the first of what will probably be several scrambles in a ......
2 print editions available from £95.00 All 1 canvas print edition sold out.
Image shows nearest, young Pilot Officer Geoffrey Page, later to become one of the RAFs most highly decorated fighter aces, powers his Mk I Hurricane over the country lane at the edge of the airfield, as he and his fellow No 56 Squadron pilots make t......
Routine, though essential, maintenance is carried out on a 501 Sqn Hurricane at the height of the Battle of Britain during the Summer of 1940. Hurricane P3059 <i>SD-N</i> in the background is the aircraft of <a href=http://www.military-art.com/mall......
7 print editions available from £55.00 1 canvas print edition available from £370.00 1 ex-display print available from £42.50
Byron Duckenfield is recorded as having shot down a Stuka near Dover, but the exact circumstances are not clear. 501 Sqn did encounter Stukas in this area on a number of occasions - depicted here is a 501 Sqn Hurricane on the tail of a Ju.87. ......
3 print editions available from £65.00 Original available : £350.00
The 79 Sqn Hurricane of P/O E J Morris receiving hits from a Dornier 17 on 31st August 1940. Morris was forced to crash land his aircraft and was slightly wounded following the combat. ......
3 print editions available from £75.00 Original available : £320.00
The Hurricane saw widespread action with Allied forces, as the RAFs first monoplane fighter. This book describes its many feats throughout 1945. It served as a fighter-bomber on the Channel Front, where the American Eagles and Polish units were amon......
The long balmy summer days of 1940 provided perfect flying weather for the vast armadas of Luftwaffe bombers and fighters wreaking havoc over the southern counties of England. As summer wore on the enemy stepped up their attacks on airfields, radar ......
Aircraft History: P2544 was one of 729 Mk I Hawker Hurricanes built by Glosters at Hucclecote and delivered to the RAF between November 1939 and July 1940. One of the first delivered to No.274 in North Africa, Autumn 1940, P2544 served with the squa......
Hurricanes of 607 County of Durham Squadron diving down and attacking Heinkels over the Needles on the Isle of Wight, after a raid on the southern coast. 607 squadron were stationed at nearby Tangmere from the start of September 1940 and saw continu......
3 print editions available from £125.00 2 canvas print editions available from £370.00 Original Sold. 2 ex-display prints available from £240.00
The world's only airworthy Sea Hurricane Z7015, a Mk1b, belonging to the Shuttleworth Collection soars past the famous tree line at Old Warden airfield in Bedfordshire, UK. Both airframe and engine have been painstakingly restored to their forme......
Having already registered two victories since his arrival at 501 Sqn in the Autumn of 1940, Plt Off K W Mackenzie found himself again in action against some Messerschmitt Bf.109s on 7th October, sharing in the destruction of one before vigorously pu......
3 print editions available from £65.00 Original available : £255.00
Flying Officer Tom Neil closes on a Dornier Do.17 on 15th September 1940, just one of four victories confirmed on that day, the others being two Bf.109s and another Dornier shared. He is depicted flying Hurricane Mk1 V7313 of 249 Sqn whilst based a......
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Hurricane pilots await their next scramble while ground crews ready their Hawker Hurricanes for their next engagement during the Battle of Britain. Hurricanes FT-S and FT-D of No.43 Sqn.......
A Messerschmitt BF109 E of JG27 closes on a 501 squadron Hawker Hurricane during the typical combat in the skies over southern England during the Battle of Britain, in the summer of 1940. ......
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MK1 Hurricanes of No. 601 Squadron refueled and rearmed, climb to rejoin the battle during the summer of 1940. As the great air battle rages high above, life goes in the countryside as a Southern Railway train pulls out of a local village station, c......
Hawker Hurricane IIc of top Czech ace Flt. Lt. K.M. Kuttlewascher, No.1 Fighter Squadron on a night intruder sortie from RAF Tangmere. On this mission he destroyed three Heinkel IIIs over their own airfield, St. Andre, in occupied France. ......
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Squadron Leader Douglas Bader leads the Hurricanes of 242 Squadron in an aggressive diving attack upon a large force of Heinkel 111s approaching the Kent coast, whilst Spitfires from 66 Squadron tangle with the escorting Bf109s of JG52. It is Septe......
DHM2712. Vital Force by Richard Taylor. For perhaps the sixth time today, profoundly outnumbered, the RAFs young fighter pilots will intercept yet another Luftwaffe force as the evil raiders invade their beloved airspace. It is August 1940, and the B......
Flt Lt Alex Thom DFC of No. 87 Sqn strafes an enemy convoy in Hurricane LK-A during his second mission of the day to Dieppe on 19th August 1942. ......
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A soldier of the Home Guard watches over a downed Me109 fighter as a squadron of RAF Hurricanes fly overhead. More Hawker Hurricanes flew during the Battle of Britain than Spitfires, guarding Britain against the might of the Luftwaffe. ......
A poignant scene from the Battle of Britain, as a pair of battle weary Hurricanes return from a mission, young children play in the afternoon sun. ......
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On 6th November 1935, a prototype aircraft took to the air for the very first time. As Sydney Camm's sturdy, single-engine monoplane fighter climbed into the sky, few realized that it was destined to become one of the enduring symbols of the gre......
May 1940 and Hawker Hurricanes of No 501 squadron with the leading aircraft being flown by Sgt. Ginger Lacey, take off from their base in France to engage advancing enemy. ......
After taking part in the Battle of France early in 1940, 85 Squadron moved to Croydon on the 19th August, where, led by renowned squadron leader Peter Townsend DSO DFC, the squadron played a notable part in the Battle of Britain. Thirty Hurricane sq......
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With Europe occupied by Nazi forces, Great Britain was the last obstacle in Hitlers plan to rule Europe. Hitlers invasion plan called for his Luftwaffe to gain control of the air over Britain in the first few weeks of attack, which would be followed......
Taking his Hurricane off from Speke, a raiding JU88 crossed the airfield in front of Denys Gillam, who promptly shot it down. It was the fastest air victory of the war, and probably of all time. ......
The Hawker Hurricane was the RAFs first monoplane fighter, and it dragged the air force into a position where it could defend Britain in its hour of need. Prior to the Battle of Britain, a number of squadrons equipped with the fighter had seen actio......
In the evening of 18th of July 1941, Alex Thom took off in his No.87 Sqn Hurricane to intercept an enemy aircraft, spotted off the Scilly Isles. Attacking the enemy Heinkel He111 at an altitude of 1000 feet, his windscreen became covered in oil from......
2 print editions available from £60.00 Original available : £255.00
If the German and Italian forces were to succeed in their campaign in North Africa something had to be done about Malta. British submarines and torpedo carrying aircraft based on the tiny Mediterranean island were wreaking havoc with Axis shipping, ......
Cape Malyj-Korabelnye, Russia, 18th August 1943. While escorting Fw190s to attack Soviet shipping, ObLt. Schuck's flight of Me109G2s from 8./JG5 attacked the four Soviet Hurricanes of 78 IAP/VVS which were on patrol over the boats. The Soviet f......
3 print editions available from £56.00 Original Sold.
When Luftwaffe bombers first appeared in force in the night skies over London in September 1940 they heralded the beginning of The Blitz - the most sustained period of concentrated bombing aimed at British cities during World War II. Robert Taylors ......
Born October 4th 1911, Kenneth Cross was commissioned in to the RAF in 1930, joining 25 Sqn in 1931. Kenneth Cross survived the sinking of the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious in June 1940, when his No.46 Sqn Hurricane was onboard. Sqn Ldr Kenneth Cross was one of only two pilots to survive the sinking of HMS Glorious. Squadron Leader Cross and Flight Lieutenant Jameson from 46 squadron managed to get aboard a Carley float with 61 seamen, but 25 of the latter died of exposure and exhaustion before the 38 survivors, the two RAF men amongst them, were finally picked up by a passing fishing vessel. He spent much of the war commading Hurricanes in Africa, involved in the Crusader offensive in 1941, returning home in early 1944, and working at the Air Ministry until 1945. He died on the 18th of June 2003.
Born 17th January 1921. Joined the RAFVR in 1939, and completed pilot training to fly Hurricanes with No.245 Sqn during the Battle of Britain. He then joined No.616 Sqn in 1941, before taking a post as a test pilot. He died 1st November 2003.
Jack Frost commenced flying training in July 1941, completing his training in the USA. After a short period as a flying instructor he returned to the UK for operational training on Hurricanes. In February 1944 Jack Frost joined No 175 Squadron which was converting to the rocket-firing role. In April the squadron moved to the New Forest and started operations over northern France. Leading up to D-Day, Jack Frost flew 12 sorties, attacking vital radar stations that had to be put out of action before the invasion. On June 6 he flew an armed-reconnaissance sortie to attack enemy transports taking reinforcements to the beachhead. 175 Squadron equipped with Typhoons in January 1944. On August 7th 1944 a major German counter-attack, spearheaded by five Panzer divisions, was identified moving against just two US infantry divisions. The Panzers were threatening to cut off the US Third Army near the town of Mortain. More than 300 sorties were flown by the squadrons on the "Day of the Typhoon". Frost claimed a Tiger tank and a troop carrier, as well as two unidentified targets as "flamers". Frosts Typhoon was hit by 20mm flak but he managed to return to his airstrip. The intense effort of the Typhoon squadrons defeated the German counter-attack, which the Chief of Staff of the Seventh German Army reported had come to a standstill due to "employment of fighter-bombers by the enemy and the absence of our own air support". Frost and his fellow Typhoon pilots were made available immediately to be called down over the radio by ground controllers as the Allied armies encircled the German Forces at Falaise and the break out from Normandy that followed. Jack Frost carried out many attacks against gun positions, tank and transport concentrations, all in the face of intense anti-aircraft fire. The Typhoon squadrons suffered heavy casualties. He completed an operational tour of 100 sorties in December 1944 and after the war went on to a distinguished career with the peacetime RAF. Flying Typhoons and the Tempest, based in Schleswig-Holstein then moving to Kastrup in Denmark. Jack frost would later command No 26 Squadron at Gutersloh in Germany. In 1948 he was appointed RAF Liaison Officer to HQ BETFOR, responsible for air advice and control of air support for the British Army Brigade, based in Trieste. During this sensitive period, Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia was causing some difficulties and Frost led a four-aircraft dummy attack on his headquarters as a reminder of the RAFs continued, and potent, presence in the area. In May 1949 he returned to Britain to command No 222 (Natal) Squadron, equipped with Meteor day fighters, as air defences were rebuilt with the emergence of the Soviet threat. Frost served in Malaya at the Air Headquarters during the communist insurrection, when he was involved with planning the development of airfields and air defence radar. After service in Hong Kong he returned to flying duties when he took command of No 151 Squadron, flying the delta-wing Javelin night fighter from Leuchars in Scotland. After a series of senior appointments in the MOD, Jack Frost was posted in August 1970 to the Joint Warfare Establishment. After a four-year appointment as Deputy and Chief of Staff to the UK Military Representative to Nato Headquarters in Brussels, he retired from the RAF in October 1976. Sadly Jack Frost passed away on August 7th 2010.
John Ellacombe joined the RAF in 1939 and was posted to 151 Squadron in July 1940, immediately converting to Hurricanes. On 24th August he shot down a He111, but a week later his Hurricane was blown up in combat and he baled out, with burns. Rejoining his squadron a few months later, in February 1941 was posted to 253 Squadron where he took part in the Dieppe operations. On 28th July, flying a Turbinlite Havoc, he probably destroyed a Do217. Converting to Mosquitos, John was posted to 487 Squadron RNZAF, and during the build up to the Normandy Invasion and after, was involved in many ground attacks on enemy held airfields, railways, and other targets of opportunity. He completed a total of 37 sorties on Mosquitos. Flying a de Havilland Mosquito XIII with a devastating set of four 20mm cannon in the nose, John Ellacombe flew deep into occupied France on the night before D-Day searching out and destroying German convoys and railway targets. As the Normandy campaign raged on, 151 Squadron intensified its interdiction sorties - including night attacks on Falaise and the Seine bridges. On August 1st Ellacombe took part in the famous attack by 23 Mosquitoes on the German bar-racks in Poitiers, led by Group Captain Wykeham Barnes. Ellacombe had first joined 151 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, direct from Flying Training School. Within weeks he had scored his first victory but also force landed in a field, having shot down a He 111, and baled out of a blazing Hurricane. He baled out a second time during the Dieppe Raid in 1942 but was picked up safely. Postwar he had a long and successful career in the RAE.
Flying Officer C.J Mount joined NO.602 squadron on August 8th 1940 after a brief conversion course on Spitfires. On August 18th his Spitfire L1005 was severely damaged in combat with JU 87s and BF109s over Ford. Micky was unhurt. he again escaped injury when his Spitfire X4270 was damaged landing at Tangmere. he served in many of the theatres of WW2 and he flew Hurricanes in Malta and North Africa and Wellingtons in the Middle east. Micky retired and lived in Ascot in Berkshire. He died 4th August 2002.
Learnt to fly at the age of 16 and joined the RAF two years later in 1936. He first saw action in 1940 when as a Flight Commander in 32 Squadron, based at Biggin Hill, he flew his Hurricane against the fighters and bombers of the Luftwaffe. He recalls this as an intensely busy period, during which he shot down an Me109 - his first enemy aircraft; by the end of August that same year his tally of enemy aircraft shot down increased to eight. Awarded the DFC, he was transferred to 257 Squadron where he joined Bob-Stanford Tuck as a Flight Commander. Promoted in 1941 to Squadron Leader, Pete Brothers then took command of 457 Squadron RAAF, equipped with Spitfires. A year later when 457 Squadron returned to Australia, Pete took command of 602 Squadron. In the early autumn of 1942 he went on to become Wing Leader of the Tangmere Wing, succeeding his old friend, Douglas Bader. By the end of the war Pete Brothers had amassed 875 operational hours over a 44-month period. He was credited with having personally shot down 16 enemy aircraft and damaged many more. He later went on to command 57 Squadron during the Malaya campaign. Upon return to the UK Pete Brothers joined the V-Force, flying Valiant-4 jet bombers. He retired in 1973. Sadly, Pete Brothers died 18th December 2008.
605 Sqn Battle of Britain, Officer Commanding 54(F) Sqn Vampire 1948-1949. Eric William Wright was born on September 21st 1919 at Cherry Hinton, Cambridge, and went to the Cambridge County School and the Technical College. Wright joined the RAF Volunteer Reserve in June 1939 and was called up when he had completed his training as a pilot. As a sergeant pilot Wright flew Hurricanes over south-east England during the Battle of Britain; Wright joined No 605 (County of Warwick) Squadron in July 1940, a few days before it left its Scottish base for Croydon. He saw a great deal of action during the summer of 1940, and in the early days of September he shared in the destruction of a Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter and a Dornier 17 bomber. On September 15, the climax of the Battle, and a day commemorated as Battle of Britain Day, Wright shot down a Dornier 17 over Maidstone and by the end of the year he had accounted for six enemy aircraft, probably destroyed three more and damaged a further six. At the end of November he was awarded an immediate DFM. Wright was made a flight commander of No.232 Squadron in 1941 and went to India. After the Japanese attacks on Malaya the squadron embarked on the aircraft carrier Indomitable, flying off to Java at the end of January 1942 en route to reinforce the beleaguered squadrons at Singapore. Within a week Wright's CO had been killed and Wright was promoted to squadron leader. He damaged a Japanese bomber off the west coast of Singapore, but 232 was soon forced to evacuate to Sumatra. Wright was made CO of a composite squadron made up of the remaining Hurricanes. They were hopelessly outnumbered, and losses mounted. With only a few aircraft left, on March 1st 1942 Wright was ordered to pass his remaining Hurricanes to a group selected to stay behind and take his remaining pilots to Tjilatjap, on the south coast, from where they were to board a boat for Australia. Two Ford V8s were commandeered, and the party drove through the jungle at night, only to find that the last boat had been sunk. In vain they searched along the coast for other craft. A few days later the island fell to the Japanese, and Wright and his pilots were captured and spent more than three years in Japanese prison camps. After the war Wright was repatriated back to the UK via Guam and the US finally returning to England onboard the liner Queen Mary. Wright resumed his career as a fighter pilot flying the early jets and was a member of the RAFs official aerobatic team, No.247 Squadron, flying Vampires. In April 1948 he flew one of the six single-engine Vampire F3s of No.54 Squadron which made the first Atlantic crossing by jet aircraft. On returning back the the UK, Wright was appointed to command No 54. After spending a year at the Central Fighter Establishment Wright was appointed wing leader at Linton-on-Ouse with command of three fighter squadrons. In late 1956 he converted to the Hunter and took the Tangmere Wing to Cyprus for the Suez operations. He was then given command of the RAFs first Bloodhound ground-to-air missile squadron. In 1960 he was promoted to group captain and spent three years at Headquarters Fighter Command, where he was heavily involved in the introduction into service of the supersonic Lightning fighter. Wright was appointed CBE in 1964. He also received a Kings Commendation for Valuable Services in the Air and the Air Efficiency Award. Air Commodore Ricky Wright CBE DFC DFM retired form the Royal Air Force in 1973. Sadly Air Commodore Ricky Wright passed away on the 5th of November 2007 aged 88.
Volunteering for the RAF just as the Battle of Britain was reaching its climax, Luke joined 71 Eagle Squadron, flying his first combat operation in April 1941 on Hurricanes. Converting to Spitfires the squadron had a busy period of patrols, sweeps and escorts before transferring to the USAAF as the 334th Fighter Squadron. Luke flew over 60 combat missions in Europe.
Anthony Robert Fletcher Thompson - Tommy Thompson was born on October 14th 1920. He joined the RAF VF about July 1939 as an airman under training pilot. Called up on September 1st, he completed his training at 15 EFTS and 5 FTS Sealand and arrived at 6 OTU on September 10th 1940. After converting to Hurricanes, he joined 85 (F) Squadron at Church Fenton on the 29th and moved to 249 (F) Squadron at North Weald in Essex on October 17th 1940. Thompson shared in the destruction of a Junkers Ju88 on October 28th and destroyed a Bf109 on the 30th. In May 1941 249 Squadron went to Malta and flew off of HMS Ark Royal in two groups on the 21st. On August 5th Tommy Thompson joined the Malta Night Fighting Defence Unit then formed at Ta Kali. He damaged an Italian Br20 at night on November 11th. The unit became 1435 (Night Fighter) Flight on December 23rd 1941. Thompson was posted to 71 OTU Gordons Tree, Sudan on March 3rd 1942. He returned to operations on October 1st joining 73 (F) Squadron in the Western Desert. In mid-November he was appointed A Flight Commander. At the end of December Thompson was posted to Cairo and in February he went to 206 Group as a test Pilot. He was awarded the DFC (23.03.43). On March 10th 1944 Thompson was seconded to BOAC and he took his release in Cairo on January 26th 1946 holding the rank of Flight Lieutenant. The following day he signed a contract with BOAC as a Captain. He retired from British Airways on October 14th 1975. Tommy Thompson passed away on 9th March 2008.
Volunteering for the RAF in 1940, Bill Edwards was to fly 37 combat operations with 133 Squadron, the third Eagle Squadron to be formed, first on Hurricanes and then on Spitfires. Transferring to the 4th Fighter Group in September 1942, he was leading the Group on 13th July 1944 when he was shot down and taken prisoner of war. He remained in German captivity until liberated in June 1945. He retired from the USAF in 1968.
