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Jack Hodges | Warrant Officer Jack Hodges DFC Jack Hodges joined the RAF in late 1940, and after completing his pilot training in Canada he returned to England and was then briefly sent to a Photo Reconnaissance Unit flying Spitfires. He moved to a OTU in Annan, Scotland on Hurricanes before finally moving to a holding unit in Redhill, flying Typhoons. In 1944 he was posted to join 175 Squadron. Shortly after this he moved to 174 Squadron at Westhampnett. He served on operations throughout occupied Europe until the end of the war, being awarded the DFC in 1945 for successfully leading a group of Typhoons against a German Armoured Division. |
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Tempest Moon by Ivan Berryman. Three 501 Sqn Hawker Tempests roar low across the North Sea outbound from Bradwell Bay, Essex, on their way to attack a German airfield at Bad Zwischehhan and nearby rail yards on the night of 2nd October 1944. The trio comprised of Sqn Ldr Joseph Berry, flying EJ600 (SD-F), Flt Lt E L 'Willy' Williams (SD-L) and Flt Lt C A 'Horry' Hansen. Berry was to lose his life on this mission, his aircraft being hit by ground fire from soldiers manning a radar station east of Veendam. |
A Busy Day at the Office by Ivan Berryman. The leadership qualities and grim determination of Squadron Leader J R Baldwin was seldom better demonstrated that when he led a small flight of Hawker Typhoons against a force of some thirty Focke-Wulf Fw.190s in January 1944. Nine of the German aircraft were shot down that day, Baldwin himself being responsible for two of them. He is shown here in Typhoon PR-A of No.609 Squadron. |
A Buzz for Beamont by David Pentland. Wing Commander Roland Beamont in his personal Tempest V, intercepted and downed his first V1 Buzzbomb on the night of June 22nd, 1944, over south east England. As Commander of 150 wing and others he went on to shoot down a total of 30 V1 flying bombs, 8 enemy aircraft and 35 locomotives destroyed plus one minesweeper sunk. |
Clipped Signature - Frank Wheeler. Frank Wheeler trained as a pilot and served as an instructor from 1941 until he joined No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons in 1944. After his tour of operations he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He died in 2013. Clipped alongside the signatures of Jack Hodges and Douglas Oram - Jack Hodges joined the RAF in 1940, serving in a number of roles before flying Typhoons with No.175 Sqn then No.174 Sqn from 1944. He flew in the ground attack role until the end of the war, gaining a Distinguished Flying Cross leading an attack against a German armoured division. Douglas Oram joined the RAF in 1942, training in the USA before being posted to No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons where he completed a year on operations. He left after the war but rejoined in 1947 until retiring in 1967. |
F/Lt J R Baldwin by Ivan Berryman. F/Lt (later Wing Commander) Baldwin was to become the highest-scoring Typhoon pilot of all with 15 confirmed victories, one shared, one probable and four damaged. He is depicted here downing a Bf.109 in Typhoon 1B, DN360 (PR-A) of 609 Sqn over Beachy Head. |
Tribute to Sqn Ldr David Fairbanks by Ivan Berryman. Whilst flying with other Hawker Tempests of 274 Sqn on 11th February 1945, Sqn Ldr David Fairbanks spotted a lone Arado Ar234 of the Kommando Sperling 1 (F) / 123 flown by Hauptmann Hans Felde returning to its base at Rheine. A desperate chase commenced through the cloudbase until the German jet prepared to land, whereupon Fairbanks sent 4U+DH down in flames after a single short burst of his four 20mm cannon. |
Bug Killer by Ivan Berryman. Equipped with the experimental Monica IIIE detection device, Hawker Tempest EJ535 was deployed to the Fighter Interception Unit at Newchurch for evaluation in July 1944. Originally developed as the AN/APS 13, Monica had been intended as a rear-looking device to warn crews of attacks from behind. Now modified to face forward, it became a valuable aid in the battle against Hitler's terror weapons, notably the V-1 Flying Bomb. In the hands of the Fighter Interception Unit's then Commanding Officer Joseph Berry, this became a winning combination with no fewer than 52 Doodlebugs falling to Berry's guns - on one occasion, seven V1s being shot down by Berry in a single night. |
Clipped Signature - Douglas Oram. Douglas Oram joined the RAF in 1942, training in the USA before being posted to No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons where he completed a year on operations. He left after the war but rejoined in 1947 until retiring in 1967. Clipped alongside the signatures of Jack Hodges and Frank Wheeler - Jack Hodges joined the RAF in 1940, serving in a number of roles before flying Typhoons with No.175 Sqn then No.174 Sqn from 1944. He flew in the ground attack role until the end of the war, gaining a Distinguished Flying Cross leading an attack against a German armoured division. Frank Wheeler trained as a pilot and served as an instructor from 1941 until he joined No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons in 1944. After his tour of operations he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He died in 2013. |
Wing Commander J R Baldwin - The Spoils of War by Ivan Berryman. Britain's highest scoring Typhoon ace, Wing Commander J R Baldwin climbs from the cockpit of his personalised Typhoon at a makeshift airfield in northern France after a sortie in support of the Allied forces' drive into mainland Europe following D-Day in June 1944. Baldwin was instrumental in the capture of a German General's Mercedes, a prize which he employed as his personal transport for the duration of his time in France. |
Winter Warriors by Ivan Berryman. The Winter of 1943-44 saw Hawker Typhoons operating from Tangmere, equipped with 500lb or 1000lb bombs against radar installations and V1 sites in northern France. Wing Commander J R Baldwin is depicted getting airborne with others of his squadron for just such a mission early in 1944, before the squadron moved to Needs Oar Point in readiness for the D-Day landings. |
JBII - Hawker Typhoon of Wing Commander J R Baldwin by Ivan Berryman. Squadron Leader J R Baldwin passes above a section of Mulberry Harbour near Arromanches, late in June 1944, his personalised Hawker Typhoon bearing the codes JBII. |
Closing the Gap by Robert Taylor. As Typhoon Mk1b fighter-bombers of 247 Squadron exit the target area near Falaise at full throttle, the havoc wreaked in their wake bears witness to the devastation of their powerful rockets. Fuel and ammunition from the retreating German column explode with shattering detonations, the savagery of the attack demoralising the enemy into stunned oblivion. The Typhoons will hurtle back to base to re-arm and hastily re-fuel, ready for yet another withering strike on the encircled Wehrmacht columns. This stunning rendition from the the worlds premier aviation artist pays tribute to the brave young RAF fighter pilots of the twenty squadrons of rocket-firing Hawker Typhoons who flew those perilous ground attacks during the Battle of Normandy. |
In the Playground of the Gods by Ivan Berryman. A lone Royal Air Force Spitfire is shown high amongst the clouds over the southern counties of England during the hieght of the Battle of Britain. |
Taming the Tiger by Geoff Lea. It is August 1944, barely two months since the Allies landed their first troops on the beaches of Normandy. After the failed Operation Luttich (codename given to a German counterattack during the Battle of Normandy, which took place around the American positions near Mortain from 7 August to 13 August, 1944 ) The German Panzer Divisions were in full retreat, The British and American Generals believed it to be critical to halt them before they cauld regroup. Caught in the Gap at Falaise, the battle was to be decisive. Flying throughout a continuous onslaught, rocket-firing Typhoons kept up their attacks on the trapped armoured divisions from dawn to dusk. The effect was devastating: at the end of the ten day battle the 100,000 strong German force was decimated. The battle of the Falaise Pocket marked the closing phase of the Battle of Normandy with a decisive German defeat. It is believed that between 80,000 to 100,000 German troops were caught in the encirclement of which 10,000 to 15,000 were killed, 45,000 to 50,000 taken prisoner, and around 20,000 escaped . Shown here are German Tiger I tanks under continues attack by Royal Aoir Force Typhoons. |
Hard Hitter by Ivan Berryman. Whilst in command of 609 Sqn in January 1944, F/Lt (later Wing Commander) J R Baldwin, leading a small formation of Hawker Typhoon 1Bs, encountered thirty Focke-Wulf Fw190s and engaged them in a furious battle. Nine enemy aircraft were shot down in the action, Baldwin accounting for two of them himself. He went on to finish the war as the highest-scoring Typhoon pilot of all with 15 confirmed victories, one shared, one probable and four damaged. He is depicted here, flying DN360 with the codes PR-A. |
Sledgehammer by Ivan Berryman. Regarded by some in the Air Ministry as a failed fighter, the mighty Hawker Typhoon was unrivalled as a ground attack aircraft, especially in the crucial months immediately prior to - and after - D-Day when squadrons of Typhoons operated in 'cab ranks' to smash the German infrastructure and smooth the passage of the invading allied force. This aircraft is Mk.1B (MN570) of Wing Commander R E P Brooker of 123 Wing based at Thorney Island. |
Foob Fairbanks - The Terror of the Rhine by Ivan Berryman. Flying his last mission with his old mount, Hawker Tempest EJ762, fresh from repair after being damaged by flak, David Fairbanks found himself embroiled in a fierce battle with Messerschmitt Bf109s on 17th December 1944. In the course of the combat, Fairbanks shot down two of the enemy aircraft and damaged another before returning safely. |
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. |
Bombs Away by Ivan Berryman. On 20th June 1944, Hawker Typhoons of 146 Wing, 84 Group, were detailed to attack a railway tunnel that was being used by the Germans as a supplies store. Leading the raid in MN934 (ZH-Z), Wing Commander J R Baldwin and his men successfully sealed the tunnel at both ends, thus depriving the retreating German infantry of essential provisions and ammunition. |
Clipped Signature - Jack Hodges. Jack Hodges joined the RAF in 1940, serving in a number of roles before flying Typhoons with No.175 Sqn then No.174 Sqn from 1944. He flew in the ground attack role until the end of the war, gaining a Distinguished Flying Cross leading an attack against a German armoured division. Clipped alongside the signatures of Frank Wheeler and Douglas Oram - Frank Wheeler trained as a pilot and served as an instructor from 1941 until he joined No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons in 1944. After his tour of operations he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He died in 2013. Douglas Oram joined the RAF in 1942, training in the USA before being posted to No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons where he completed a year on operations. He left after the war but rejoined in 1947 until retiring in 1967. |
Normandy Sunrise by Gerald Coulson. Here, in the brightening morning sky, Typhoons are prepared for the first sortie of the day. One has already fired up its big, powerful engine, blowing up whirlwinds of Normandy dust, ground crew hover, ready to remove chocks prior to taxi and take-off. A second is readied, while the remainder of the squadron, widely dispersed around the temporary field, are about to set about their deadly missions of the day. |
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