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Alan Nicoll
| Sqn. Ldr. Alan Nicoll Joined the RAF in February 1939 and trained as an Observer (Navigator). His first posting was to 44 Squadron newly equipped with the Hampden bomber at RAF Waddington. When war was declared on 3rd September 1939 he was immediately involved in operations flying that night on the very first sortie of WW2. By the end of 1940 he had completed a full tour of 37 raids before being commissioned and selected for advanced navigation training in Canada. He was subsequently posted to Rhodesia as a navigational instructor and examiner. He completed Pilot training before returning to the UK where he qualified as a Sunderland flying boat Captain serving at Calshot and Pembroke Dock. In 1956 he took the last RAF aircraft to moor up in the Pool of London for 'Battle of Britain' celebrations. A posting to RAF Seletar (Singapore) followed where Sunderlands were finally retired from service in 1959. He then served on Shackletons and in Transport Command before retiring in 1975. |
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Touchdown by Ivan Berryman. A Short Sunderland Mk111 of 422 Squadron alights on to a moderate sea at Castle Archdale in 1944. |
War in the Atlantic by Stan Stokes. During WW I Germany made very effective use of its U-boat fleet in a campaign which almost resulted in Englands defeat. As a result, the Versailles Treaty prohibited Germany from possessing submarines. By the late 1920s Germany had circumvented these restrictions and by the time WW II began, they had several dozen U-boats in service. The period between July of 1940 and December of 1941 was known as the fat years for the U-boat fleet. During this period, aided by the use of French Atlantic ports, and the effective use of wolfpack hunting techniques, German U-boats wreaked havoc on convoys in the Atlantic. By the spring of 1941 the Nazi U-boat fleet numbered 120, and later in the war would exceed 350 in number. The tide began to turn in favor of the Allies in late 1941 when the Royal Navy acquired fifty old destroyers from the U.S., and began an effective campaign against German weather and supply surface ships which supported the undersea hunters. The RAF was also involved, and the Short Sunderland flying boat played an important role in stemming the tide. The Short Brothers acquired one of the first licenses to built Wright biplanes, and eventually began building their own designs, including a number of dirigibles and torpedo planes during WW I. After the war they developed the first British all metal aircraft, the Silver Streak. The company is probably best known for a series of commercial flying boats, the pinnacle of which was their Empire Series of 4-engine, high wing monoplanes which were capable of cruising speeds of 200-MPH. The Short Sunderland was developed in the 1930s for the British Air Ministry as a long-range, all purpose flying boat. It was a large aircraft for its time with a wingspan of 112 feet. More than 700 of these aircraft were produced. During WW II the Sunderland was utilized in the anti-U-Boat role. With its armament upgraded the aircraft earned the nick-name the Flying Porcupine from U-boat crews. When America entered the war, the U-boat command expanded its hunting zone all the way to the East Coast of the United States. For a period the submariners experienced another period of happy times, and in November of 1942 almost 750,000 gross tons of shipping was lost. With production of averaging five new U-boats per week, for a time it appeared that victory in the Atlantic might be obtainable for the Germans. Eventually, the U-boat war was won by the Allies through the use of effective radar technology, the use of the Leigh Light (a powerful airborne searchlight), development of forward firing depth charges, and the use of special techniques to counter the U-boat threat. The U-boats also suffered from a general lack of coordination between its command and that of the Luftwaffe. In May of 1943 a total of 41 U-boats were lost, and by early 1944 more U-boats were being destroyed than Allied merchant ships were being sunk. The men who served in the U-boat command during WW II had the most hazardous of all positions in the War with close to a 75% casualty rate by wars end. |
Clipped Signature - Alan Nicoll. Joined the RAF in 1939 as a Navigator on Hampdens with No.44 Sqn serving a full tour of 37 ops before the end of 1940. Subsequently qualified as a Sunderland Captain at Pembroke Dock, retiring from service in 1959. He then served with Transport Command flying Shackletons until 1975. |
Guardian of the Convoy by Nicolas Trudgian. A limited edition print issued in part to raise funds for The Maritime Air Trust project 'Constant Endeavour'. A commemorative tribute to be erected in Westminster Abbey to all who served in RAF Coastal Command and their successors, together with the overseas squadrons and those from the Commonwealth and Allied Air Forces. |
Fat Alberts Day Off by Ivan Berryman. Ground crew performing routine maintenance on a Sunderland on the slipway at Pembroke. |
Tireless Vigilance by Stephen Brown. With grace and majesty of mighty battleships, a pair of Short Sutherlands sweep out towards the dangers of the North Atlantic. With a 12-hour mission ahead of them the skill and dedication of the crews would once again play a crucial role in protecting vital supply lines from the menace of German U-boats. |
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