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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 |
Flight Lieutenant Allan Scott DFM (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Allan Scott joined the RAF in March 1941, joining 124 Squadron in October, where he made his first claim - a shared Ju88 near Clacton-on-Sea. Ordered to Malta, he flew his Spitfire off HMS Eagle to the island on 21st July 1942, where the Germans attempted to lure the 30 Spitfires on a heading to Siciliy with a false broadcast, without success. Initially posted to 603 Squadron, he went to 1435 Squadron, seeing much action - including a victory over an Italian S.79 bomber during Operation Pedestal on 13th August. He claimed a further Me109 that month, but a concerted Axis bombing campaign came in October. On the 12th, he claimed 3 Me109s - one destroyed, one probable and one damaged - and the next day he claimed another Me109 destroyed alongside two damaged Ju88s. On the 15th he claimed another Me109 bomber escort and had claimed another probable and another destroyed before the attacks tailed off around the 21st. He remained with this unit until December 1942. Whilst on Malta he was credited with at least 5 destroyed and a further 2 probables, and received the DFM. Returning to the UK he became an instructor before joining No.122 Sqn flying Spitfires on intruder missions over France. By January 1944 the squadron had re-equipped with long range P-51 Mustangs for bomber escort duties. He carried out dive-bombing sorties in the Mustang in the build up to D-Day in 1944, before becoming a test pilot in July that year. After the war, he suffered serious injury when aerobatics in a Tiger Moth caused the airframe to fail and the aircraft to crash. He died on 8th September 2020. |
Flight Lieutenant Colin Parkinson DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £55 | Australian Colin Parkinson joined the RAAF in 1940, arriving in England to join 19 Squadron flyin Spitfires. In March 1942 he shot down a Do217. In May he was posted to Malta, flying his Spitfire off HMS Eagle on 9th June, with 602 Squadron. After scoring several victories he flew to Gibraltar to lead in further Spitfires, taking off from HMS Furious to the island on 17th August. Commissioned, he now flew with 229 Squadron. On 9th October with Winco Donaldson and Screwball Beurling, he performed a low level beat up and acrobatics over the presentation of the George Cross to the people of Malta. He ended his tour of Malta in November 1942 with the DFC and 10.5 victories, plus probably 2 more. Colin Parkinson passed away aged 89 on 31st March 2006. |
Flight Lieutenant Ian MacLennan DFM *Signature Value : £40 | Canadian Ian Maclennan joined the RCAF in October 1940, arriving in England in August 1941. He joined 610 Squadron in February 1942, then 401 Sqn, where he destroyed an Fw190. Posted to Malta, he flew his Spitfire off HMS Eagle on 9th June, and shortly after transferred to 1435 Flight. On Malta he claimed 7 victories and was awarded the DFM. He was commissioned, becoming a flight commander in November. In December he returned to England. In February 1944 he joined 433 Squadron as a flight commander. On 7th June he was hit by ground fire whilst covering the Normandy beaches, crash landed, and was taken POW. |
Flight Lieutenant Jack Rae DFC* (deceased) *Signature Value : £65 | New Zealander Jack Rae joined the RNZAF in September 1940, was posted to England and joined 485 Squadron RNZAF. He claimed 2 victories before being posted to 603 Squadron. With this unit he flew his Spitfire off USS Wasp to Malta, on 20th April 1942. After being shot down over the island, he was posted to 249 Squadron. During the following two weeks he saw much action, claiming 4 and one shared by the end of July. Posted back to the UK, he returned to combat flying in May 1943, rejoining 485 Squadron. He rapidly scored further victories, but on 22nd August just after downing an Fw190, his engine failed forcing him to land in France where he was taken POW. His final tally stood at 12 victories and 8 probables. He died on 19th December 2007. |
Flight Lieutenant Ken Evans DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £45 | Joining the RAF in 1939, Ken Evans was posted to 600 Squadron, where he flew night operations. In September 1941 he was posted to 130 Squadron to fly Spitfires, and in early 1942 was ordered to Malta. Arriving in Gibraltar he joined the carrier HMS Eagle. On 18 May he flew his Spitfire to Malta from the Eagle, to join 126 Squadron. Seeing much action over the island in June and July, in August he returned to Gibraltar to lead a new flight back to Malta, this time embarking on the carrier HMS Furious. One of 126 Squadrons most successful pilots on Malta, Ken was awarded the DFC on 1st December 1942, and credited with 5 destroyed, 3 probables and 3 damaged. Commissioned on Malta, he returned to the UK, and in September 1943 was posted to 165 Squadron as a flight commander. |
Squadron Leader Arthur Roscoe DFC *Signature Value : £55 | American Art Roscoe joined the RAF in February 1941, through the Clayton Knight Committee that was recruiting American civilian pilots for the RAF. Arriving in England he joined 71 Eagle Squadron, where he made his first claims. In June 1942 he volunteered for service on Malta and flew off the carrier HMS Furious on 11th August to join 229 Squadron. During his final combat on 12th October he was shot down, wounded and evacuated from the island in a Liberator, which in turn crashed on landing in Gibraltar. On recovery, he was posted to join 165 Squadron, then 242 Squadron, and in May 1944 was given command of 232 Squadron. He had destroyed 4 enemy aircraft and probably 3 more. |
The Aircraft : | |
Name | Info |
Spitfire | Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. |
Me109 | Willy Messerschmitt designed the BF109 during the early 1930s. The Bf109 was one of the first all metal monocoque construction fighters with a closed canopy and retractable undercarriage. The engine of the Me109 was a V12 aero engine which was liquid-cooled. The Bf109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and flew to the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons. During the Battle of Britian the Bf109 was used in the role of an escort fighter, a role for which it was not designed for, and it was also used as a fighter bomber. During the last days of May 1940 Robert Stanford-Tuck, the RAF ace, got the chance to fly an Me109 which they had rebuilt after it had crash landed. Stanford-Tuck found out that the Me109 was a wonderful little plane, it was slightly faster than the Spitfire, but lacked the Spitfire manoeuvrability. By testing the Me109, Tuck could put himself inside the Me109 when fighting them, knowing its weak and strong points. With the introduction of the improved Bf109F in the spring of 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the invasion of Yugoslavia and during the Battle of Crete and the invasion of Russia and it was used during the Siege of the Mediteranean island of Malta. The Bf109 was the main fighter for the Luftwaffe until 1942 when the Fw190 entered service and shared this position, and was partially replaced in Western Europe, but the Me109 continued to serve on the Eastern Front and during the defence of the Reich against the allied bombers. It was also used to good effect in the Mediterranean and North Africa in support of The Africa Korps. The Me109 was also supplied to several German allies, including Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia. The Bf109 scored more kills than any other fighter of any country during the war and was built in greater numbers with a total of over 31,000 aircraft being built. The Bf109 was flown by the three top German aces of the war war. Erich Hartmann with 352 victories, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories and Gunther Rall with 275 kills. Bf109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen Luftwaffe Aces scored more than 200 kills. Altogether this group of pilots were credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills, of which the Messerschmitt Bf109 was credited with over 10,000 of these victories. The Bf109 was the most produced warplane during World War II, with 30,573 examples built during the war, and the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945. Bf109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf109s until 1955. The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s. |
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