History of 603 Squadron

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603 Squadron Royal Air Force. Super Marine Spitfire of 603 Squadron shown in aviation art prints by Robert Taylor available from aviationprints.co.uk, part of the Royal Air Force squadron's history in aviation art.

603 Squadron, Auxiliary Air Force was formed at Turnhouse 14th October 1925, and was among the first Auxiliary Air Force squadrons to be formed. Initially a light bomber squadron, 603 was equipped with DH 9s, Westland Wapatis, Hawker Harts and Hinds. On 27th October 1938, the squadron was redesignated as a fighter squadron, and was re-equipped with the Gloster Gladiator Mk II, which in September 1939 were replaced by the Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk I.. Following the declaration of war against Nazi Germany, the squadron was soon in action when it was scrambled on 16th October 1939 to intercept a force of Ju88 bombers of I/KG 30 attacking naval vessels in the Firth of Forth - 603 shooting down one of the enemy aircraft which crashed off Port Seton. On 28th October, 603 and 602 (City of Glasgow) Squadrons shared in the destruction of an He111 - which was the first enemy aircraft to fall on British soil. Between January and August 1940, 603 claimed a further 13 enemy aircraft. At the end of August, the squadron was sent south for what was to become known as the Battle of Britain, during which 603 was involved in many fierce air battles. The squadron returned to Scotland in December, completing many coastal and convoy patrols before returning to Hornchurch in May 1941, as part of the Hornchurch Wing, carrying out offensive fighter sweeps and bomber escorts over France. Now flying the Spitfire MkVa and b, 603 continued in this role until it was posted back to Scotland in December 1941. Little happened until April 1942, when the squadron was sent to Malta on defensive duties and re-equipped with Spitfire Mk Vc. In August, 603 was renumbered becoming the nucleus of of 229 Squadron. By February 1943, the unit was a coastal strike squadron equipped with the Bristol Beaufighter, attacking enemy shipping in the Aegean. It returned to the UK at the end of 1944. On 26th December 1944, the squadron was disbanded. It was reformed on 10th January 1945, renumbered 603 and re-equipped with the Spitfire LF 16e aircraft. Its task was now to escort Beaufighters on anti-shipping strikes, and to attack V2 sites on the continent. The squadron was disbanded on 15th August 1945 and reformed on 10th May 1946. On the 16th December 1947, King George VI gave permission for the use of the Royal prefix for all Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons. No.603 Squadron Royal Auxiliary Air Force, chosen as the Queen's squadron, was disbanded on 10th March 1957, whilst equipped with D.H. Vampires FB.5 at RAF Turnhouse.

603 City of Edinburgh Royal Auxiliary Air Force Motto: Gin ye daur (If you dare).


2 Discount Two-Print Packs Available on These Editions, Including :

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Time to Leave by Ivan Berryman.
for £135

Save £25 !

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The Battle for Britain by Robert Taylor.
for £265

Save £20 !

Wounded Eagle by Ivan Berryman.

Gerald Stapme  Stapleton in his 603 Sqn Spitfire despatching the Bf109 of Franz von Werra of III/JG 3.

Limited edition of 30 giclee paper prints. Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 21cm). Price £85.00

Signed by Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC
and
Major Erich Rudorffer.

Special Offer Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer



Limited edition of 20 artist proofs. Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 21cm). Price £110.00

Signed by Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC
and
Major Erich Rudorffer.

Special Offer Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer



Signature edition of 2 prints. Image size 12 inches x 8 inches (31cm x 20cm). Price £450.00

Signed by Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC
and
Major Erich Rudorffer
and features the mounted original signatures of :
Oberleutnant Walter Schuck
and
Group Captain Dennis David CBE DFC AFC (deceased).


Original pencil drawing by Ivan Berryman. Paper size 17 inches x 12 inches (43cm x 31cm). Price £390.00

Signed by Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC,
Squadron Leader Maurice P Brown
and
Flight Lieutenant Alex Thom DFC.

Special Offer Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer



ITEM CODE B0368

Spitfire Country by Nicolas Trudgian.

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Click the editions below.

Signed limited edition of 500 prints. SOLD
OUT
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. SOLD
OUT

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Angels of Malta - Faith, Hope and Charity by Ivan Berryman.

Item Price : £140

Evening Reflection by Richard Taylor.

Item Price : £75

Spitfire Country by Nicolas Trudgian.

A typical scene from a bright August morning in that momentous summer of 1940. Having climbed into the dawn sky at daybreak, the Spitfires of No 603 Squadron have already been in action, and with more heavy raids on the plotters table, they scurry back to Biggin Hill to re-arm and refuel. A Messerschmitt Me109, shot down during the previous days fighting, lies discarded in a hay field, its lucky pilot having escaped with his life. Meanwhile, the beautiful Kent countryside comes awake as it prepares for the toils of another glorious summers day.

Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Paper size 39 inches x 24 inches (99cm x 61cm). Price £

Signed by :
Wing Commander Peter Olver DFC,
Squadron Leader Basil Stapleton DFC (deceased),
Air Commodore Sir Archie Winskill KCVO CBE DFC AE
and
Flight Lieutenant Ludvik Martel (deceased).


Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Paper size 39 inches x 24 inches (99cm x 61cm). Price £

Signed by :
Wing Commander Peter Olver DFC,
Squadron Leader Basil Stapleton DFC (deceased),
Air Commodore Sir Archie Winskill KCVO CBE DFC AE
and
Flight Lieutenant Ludvik Martel (deceased).


ITEM CODE NT0325

Head on Attack by Robert Taylor

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Signed limited edition of 1250 prints. £135.00

11 Discount Two-Print Packs Available on These Editions, Including :

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Spitfire F Mk21 by Ivan Berryman.
for £170

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Flt Lt Walter Lawson by Ivan Berryman.
for £270

Save £15 !

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41 Squadron Spitfires by Ivan Berryman.
for £195

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Head on Attack by Robert Taylor

On October 12, 1940, No. 603 Squadron, reduced to only eight aircraft, took on a large formation of Me109s attacking head on. Robert Taylors vivid portrayal shows Scott-Maldens Spitfire moments after knocking down an Me109 in the encounter, both he and his wingman coming through unscathed.

Signed limited edition of 1250 prints. Paper size 24 inches x 20 inches (61cm x 51cm). Price £135.00

Signed by Air Vice-Marshal David Scott-Malden (deceased).


ITEM CODE DHM2080

Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia X4277 XT-M. by M A Kinnear.

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Open edition print. Special Offer £14.00

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Item Price : £12

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Item Price : £56

Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia X4277 XT-M. by M A Kinnear.

Aircraft History: First flight 27th August 1940. X4277 was delivered to No.6 Maintenance Unit 28th August, and then delivered to 603 Squadron, 30th August. The aircraft was shot down in flames off the North Foreland (between Margate and Broadstairs) and crashed in to the sea 3rd September, 1940.

Flight Lieutenant Richard Hope Hillary: Born on the 20th April, 1919 in Australia. Richard Hillary came to England aged three, when his father took up a post as a government official at Australia House in London. He later attended Oxford, was a member of the University Air Squadron and was called up in October 1939. He completed his training and was initially posted to No.1 School Army Co-operation, followed by a posting to No.5 OTU - to convert to Spitfires- and then on to 603 Squadron at Montrose. He shot down his first enemy aircraft on 29th August 1940, but his aircraft was badly damaged forcing him to crash land, Hillary surviving unhurt. He obtained his fifth victory on 3rd September 1940, but was then shot down by Hptmn. Bode of II/JG26. He had to abandon his blazing Spitfire (X4277) by parachute, landing in the sea with severe burns to his face and hands. After some time in the water he was rescued by the Margate lifeboat. He spent the next three months in the Royal Masonic Hospital, and was then transferred to the Queen Victoria Cottage Hospital at East Grinstead, where he began a long period in hospital as one of the first guinea pig patients under the care of plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe (later Sir Archibald McIndoe) It was during his recovery that he wrote his famous book The Last Enemy which has since become a wartime classic. Following great personal effort, he was posted on a nightfighter training course to No.54 OTU, flying the Bristol Blenheim. During the early hours of 8th January 1943 whilst on a night flying exercise, his Blenheim crashed in poor weather, both he and his navigator were killed.

Open edition print. Image size 16.5 inches x 11.5 inches (42cm x 30cm). Price £14.00

Special Offer Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer



ITEM CODE AP0015

 
Head on Attack by Robert Taylor  No. 603 Squadron Spitfire attacks a large group of ME109s in a head-on attack during the battle of Britain, 1940.  Signatories: David Scott-Maiden.

  Aircraft side view by M A Kinnear  Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk Ia X4277 XT-M.  

Aircraft History:  First flight 27th August 1940. X4277 was delivered to No.6 Maintenance Unit 28th August, and then delivered to 603 Squadron, 30th August. The aircraft was shot down in flames off the North Foreland (between Margate and Broadstairs), and crashed in to the sea 3rd September, 1940.

Flight Lieutenant Richard Hope Hillary:  Born on the 20th April, 1919 in Australia. Richard Hillary came to England aged three, when his father took up a post as a government official at Australia House in London. He later attended Oxford, was a member of the University Air Squadron and was called up in October 1939. He completed his training and was initially posted to No.1 School Army Co-operation, followed by a posting to No.5 OTU - to convert to Spitfires- and then on to 603 Squadron at Montrose. He shot down his first enemy aircraft on 29th August 1940, but his aircraft was badly damaged forcing him to crash land, Hillary surviving unhurt. He obtained his fifth victory on 3rd September 1940, but was then shot down by Hptmn. Bode of II/JG26. He had to abandon his blazing Spitfire (X4277) by parachute, landing in the sea with severe burns to his face and hands. After some time in the water he was rescued by the Margate lifeboat. He spent the next three months in the Royal Masonic Hospital, and was then transferred to the Queen Victoria Cottage Hospital at East Grinstead, where he began a long period in hospital as one of the first 'guinea pig' patients under the care of plastic surgeon Archibald McIndoe (later Sir Archibald McIndoe). It was during his recovery that he wrote his famous book "The Last Enemy" which has since become a wartime classic. Following great personal effort, he was posted on a nightfighter training course to No.54 OTU, flying the Bristol Blenheim. During the early hours of 8th January 1943 whilst on a night flying exercise, his Blenheim crashed in poor weather, both he and his navigator were killed.

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 MK's 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. 

 

 

SHOWCASE PRODUCT

EDITIONS

Special Offer Pack of All Four Prints Price : £400

Stormclouds Gather by Nicolas Trudgian Price : £145

Fighter General by Graeme Lothian Price : £200

Adolf Galland / Messerschmitt Bf109 E-4 by Ivan Berryman Price : £145

JG52 - Summer 1940 by Ivan Berryman Price : £80

ARTIST
Featured Artist - Nicolas Trudgian



Having graduated from art college, Nicolas Trudgian spent many years as a professional illustrator before turning to a career in fine art painting. His crisp style of realism, attention to detail, compositional skills and bright use of colours, immediately found favour with collectors and demand for his original work soared on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, more than a decade after becoming a fine art painter, Nicolas Trudgian is firmly established within a tiny, elite group of aviation artists whose works are genuinely collected world-wide. When he paints an aircraft you can be sure he has researched it in every detail and when he puts it over a particular airfield, the chances are he has paid it a recent visit. Even when he paints a sunset over a tropical island, or mist hanging over a valley in China, most probably he has seen it with his own eyes. Nick was born and raised in the seafaring city of Plymouth, the port from which the Pilgrim Fathers set sail in 1620, and where Sir Francis Drake played bowls while awaiting the Spanish Armada. Growing up in a house close to the railway station within a busy military city, the harbour always teeming with naval vessels and the skies above resonating with the sounds of naval aircraft, it was not at all surprising the young Nick became fascinated with trains, boats and aircraft. It was from his father, himself a talented artist, that Nick acquired his love of drawing and surrounded by so much that was inspiring, there was never a shortage of ideas for pictures. His talent began to show at an early age and although he did well enough at school, he always spent a disproportionate amount of time drawing. People talked about him becoming a Naval officer or an architect but in 1975 Nick's mind was made up. When he told his careers teacher he wanted to go to art school the man said, 'Now come on, what do you really want to do? After leaving school Nick began a one-year foundation course at the Plymouth College of Art. Now armed with an impressive portfolio containing paintings of jet aircraft, trains, even wildlife, he was immediately accepted at every college he applied to join. He chose a course at the Falmouth College of Art in Cornwall specialising in technical illustration and paintings of machines and vehicles for industry. It was perfect for Nick, and he was to become one of the star pupils. One of the lecturers commented at the time: Every college needs someone with a talent like Nick to raise the standards sky high; he carried all the other students along with him, and created an effect which will last for years to come. Two weeks after leaving art college Nick blew every penny he had on a trip to South Africa to ride the great steam trains across the desert, sketching them at every opportunity. Returning to England, in best traditions of all young artists, he struggled to make a living. Paintings by an unknown artist didn't fetch much despite the painstaking effort and time Nick put into each work, so when the college he had recently left offered him a job as a lecturer, he jumped at the chance. The money was good and he discovered that he really enjoyed teaching. Throughout the 1970s Nick was much involved with a railway preservation society near Plymouth and it was through the railway society that he had his first pictures reproduced as prints. But Nick felt he needed to advance his career and in summer 1985 Nick moved away from Cornwall to join an energetic new design studio in Wiltshire. Here he painted detailed artwork for many major companies including Rolls Royce, General Motors, Volvo Trucks, Alfa Romeo and, to his delight, the aviation and defence industries. He remembers the job as exciting though stressful, often requiring him to work right through the night to meet a client's deadline. Here he learned to be disciplined and fast. Towards the end of the 1980's Nick had the chance to work for the Military Gallery. This was the break that for years he had been striving towards and with typical enthusiasm, flung himself into his new role. After completing a series of aviation posters, including a gigantic painting to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Royal Air Force, Nick's first aviation scene to be published as a limited edition was launched by the Military Gallery in 1991. Despite the fact he was unknown in the field, it was an immediate success. Over the past decade Nick has earned a special reputation for giving those who love his work much more than just aircraft in his paintings. He goes to enormous lengths with his backgrounds, filling them with interesting and accurate detail, all designed to help give the aircraft in his paintings a tremendous sense of location and purpose. His landscapes are quite breathtaking and his buildings demonstrate an uncanny knowledge of perspective but it is the hardware in his paintings which are most striking. Whether it is an aircraft, tank, petrol bowser, or tractor, Nick brings it to life with all the inordinate skill of a truly accomplished fine art painter. A prodigious researcher, Nick travels extensively in his constant quest for information and fresh ideas. He has visited India, China, South Africa, South America, the Caribbean and travels regularly to the United States and Canada. He likes nothing better than to be out and about with sketchbook at the ready and if there is an old steam train in the vicinity, well that's a bonus!

Messerchmitt Me109 Signature Prints



Save £170 on this specially selected pack of pilot signed Me109 aviation art prints. All four prints for £400, giving collectors these prints at trade discounted prices!

This pack of aviation art prints includes 4 separate prints, at a highly discounted price when purchased in this special pack. The prints included in the pack are :

Stormclouds Gather by Nicolas Trudgian,
Fighter General by Graeme Lothian,
Adolf Galland / Messerschmitt Bf109 E-4 by Ivan Berryman
and
LJG52 - Summer 1940 by Ivan Berryman.

In all, the prints have 11 different signatures (12 in total) of pilots of Me109 aircraft of WW2.

Click the 'Special Offer Pack' Edition to order.

DETAIL IMAGES





EXTRAS

More Items from our database

Height and Sun by Robert Taylor.



Four Me110 aircraft prints by Nicolas Trudgian.



Battle of Britain by Graeme Lothian.



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