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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 John Cruickshank VC *Signature Value : £75 | Joined the Territorial Army in April 1939 and was mobilized for active service at the outbreak of World War II. He served mostly in south east England. In July 1941 he transferred to the RAF for aircrew duties, undergoing pilot training with the US Navy at Pensacola, Florida and gaining his pilot's wings in June 1942. Following a short period with the RAF Ferry Command in Canada and further operational training in the UK he joined 210 Sqdn based at Pembroke Dock, South Wales and later Poole Bay, Dorset. As captain of a Catalina flying boat, he carried out Anti-U-boat patrols in the Bay of Biscay and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean until December 1943. During this period, he carried out a detachment to Gibraltar for similar duties. In early 1944 elements of his Sqdn were moved to Sullom Voe in the Shetland Islands for Anti U-boat duties and General Maritime Reconnaissance in northern waters. In mid July 1944, while on an Anti U-boat patrol west of the Lofoten Islands, they sighted and attacked a surfaced German U-boat. During the attack, the aircraft received extensive damage from the U-boat's armaments also suffering crew casualties. The aircraft remained airborne and returned to base. For this action three members of the crew were decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Distinguished Flying Medal, and the Victoria Cross. Following this episode, Cruickshank became tour expired and moved to staff duties at Headquarters, Coastal Command, Northwood, near London. He was released from active service in early 1946 and returned to a civilian occupation. |
 Flight Lieutenant Ted Arrighi *Signature Value : £30 | |
 Squadron Leader Terry Bulloch DSO DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | A prominent aviator in the Battle of the Atlantic, Terry Bulloch flew B-24 Liberators with No.120 Sqn in an anti-submarine role. Already awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for shooting down two German aircraft in a No.206 Sqn Lockheed Hudson over Dunkirk, he was awarded a Bar to this when he sunk U-boat U-597 in October 1942. After another attack, this time sinking U-132 and damaging U-89, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, and gained a Bar to this on leaving No.120 Sqn at the end of 1942. On 8th July 1943 in Liberator GR Mk.V BZ721 of No.224 Sqn he completed his hat-trick of U-boat kills, this time sinking U-514 in the Bay of Biscay. This type had been modified by RAF Coastal Command to carry rockets, which Bulloch had used to attack the submarine, finishing it off with depth charges. After the war, Bulloch became an airline pilot, crossing the Atlantic om more than 1,000 occasions. He died in on 13th November 2014. |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Sunderland | The Short Sunderland, Patrol and Reconnaissance Flying Boat. normal crew level 10. maximum speed of 210mph for Mark I, 205mph Mark II and Mark III, and 213mph Mark V. ceiling 17,900 feet and range of 2110 miles (mk I) 2880 miles for Mark V. endurance in the air 13.5 hours. The Sunderland carries 1 .303 machine gun in the nose, (mark I) and four .303 browning machine guns in the Tail Turret. Also in the Mark II four Vickers .303 inch machine guns were used in the body positions. and four browning machineguns in the nose flanks in the Mark III. Maximum bomb load of 4960 lbs. Based on the design of the Civil Empire class flying boat. The Short Sunderland entered service with the Royal Air Force in June 1938 with 230 squadron. and by the end of the war, 20 squadrons of the Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force were equipped with Sunderland's. By the end of the production in 1946 a total of 749 were built, The roles the Short Sunderland played, mainly were in Maritime and anti Submarine duties, especially in the battle of the Atlantic, The Sunderland accounted for 58 U-Boats sunk or badly damaged. The Sunderland was also used in other theatres of the war and in the Mediterranean helped in the evacuation of troops from Crete and Greece, as well as helping in the evacuation of troops in Burma. The Short Sunderland remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1959. used during the Korean War, The Berlin Air Lift, and during Operation Firedog, , The Malayan Emergency. |
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