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9 squadron Royal Air Force, 9 Squadron
was the squadron which bombed the Tirpitz at Tromso Norway. 9
squadron shown in Aviation
art prints of the Avro Lancaster Bomber of the Royal Air Force, published
by Cranston Fine Arts, the military print company.
W. O. G. T. M. Caines Volunteered and
joined the RAF at age 18 and was called up on 4th December 1940. He
subsequently joined 9 Squadron and after 7 Operational sorties was granted
four days compassionate leave to visit his wife, who had just given birth
to a son in a temporary maternity hospital in Taunton. He returned to find
his crew reported missing. He carried on flying with 9 Squadron as a spare
Wop but after 13 ops crewed up with F/O Manning who had lost his Wop after
five trips. On his twenty-fifth trip, on the way home from Frankfurt they
were hit in the Bombay by a fighter. Badly on fire and in a steep dive
they blew up. The aircraft broke her back and Caines was thrown clear of
the wreckage, landing in a little village called Lembeque, near Brussels.
He finished the war in captivity and was repatriated a week or so before
VE Day. Unfortunately he was the only one to survive the crash.
AVRO LANCASTER The Lancaster had a crew of seven or eight, with a
maximum speed of 287 mph (Mks I,lll, and X). Maximum range of 2,500 miles and a ceiling of 22,000 feet.
ARMAMENT. two .303 browning machine guns in
nose turret, dorsal turret, and four tail turret. or two .50mm in
tail turret. payload of 18,000 lb of bombs, one 12,000 lb or 22,000 lb
bomb if modified. DIMENSIONS. span 102 ft. length 69ft 4inches. and
height 20ft. 6inches.
The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and
the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four
engines, The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started
operations in march 1942, By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56
Squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being the
no. 44 squadron.Preparing for the Tirpitz by Philip West. Working around the clock and in all weather conditions the ground
crew knew from the size of the bombs they were loading, this was going
to be a very special operation for the Lancaster crews of 9
Squadron. Brainchild of Barnes Wallis, the 'Tallboy' bomb weighed
in at an impressive 12,000lbs. On this occasion in November 1944
the crews and aircraft are being readied for departure to Lossiemouth or
Kinloss on route to sink the "Tirpitz" laying at anchor near
Tromso in Norway.
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| Preparing for the Tirpitz by Philip West. Working around the clock and in all weather conditions the ground crew knew from the size of the bombs they were loading, this was going to be a very special operation for the Lancaster crews of 9 Squadron. Brainchild of Barnes Wallis, the Tallboy bomb weighed in at an impressive 12,000lb. On this occasion in November 1944 the crews and aircraft are being readied for departure to Lossiemouth or Kinloss on route to sink the Tirpitz laying at anchor near Tromso in Norway. Signed limited edition of 250 prints. Paper size 28 inches x 16 inches (71cm x 41cm). Price £135.00 Signed by Sgt Jim Brookbank, W. O. G. T. M. Caines, Flg Off Jim Pinning and Flt Lt W G Rees.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Paper size 28 inches x 16 inches (71cm x 41cm). Price £150.00 Signed by Sgt Jim Brookbank, W. O. G. T. M. Caines, Flg Off Jim Pinning and Flt Lt W G Rees.
Limited edition of 25 remarques. Paper size 28 inches x 16 inches (71cm x 41cm). Price £250.00 Signed by Sgt Jim Brookbank, W. O. G. T. M. Caines, Flg Off Jim Pinning and Flt Lt W G Rees. ITEM CODE DHM2231 |
| Sinking the Tirpitz by Nicolas Trudgian. Throughout four long years of war Allied air and naval forces endeavoured to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. The mighty warship was a constant threat to Allied shipping, even while lying at anchor in her lair among the fjords of Norway. Her very presence demanded constant attention and hampered all naval decision making till she was sunk at the end of 1944. Without so much as weighing anchor, Tirpitz could disrupt the north Atlantic convoys by tying up urgently needed escort vessels in readiness in case she made a run for the open sea. Churchill was exasperated and called upon RAF Bomber Command to make a decisive bid to finish her off once and for all. On November 12, 1944 Lancasters of Number 9 and 617 Squadrons set forth towards the Norwegian fjord of Tromso where Tirpitz lay at anchor surrounded by a web of protective submarine nets. Armed with the 12,000lb Tallboy bomb devised by Barnes Wallis, the Lancaster crews arrived in clear skies overhead the fjord to see the great battleship sharply contrasted against the still deep waters some 10,000ft below. As flak from the ships heavy armament burst all around them, one by one the 31 Lancasters rolled in for the attack. In a matter of three minutes the devastating aerial bombardment was completed, and eleven minutes later, her port side ripped open, the Tirpitz capsized and sank. The Coup de Grace was complete. Signed limited edition of 550 prints. Paper size 28 inches x 19 inches (72cm x 48cm). Price £140.00 Signed by Group Captain J B Tait, Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing, in addition ot the artist.
Limited edition of artist proofs. Paper size 28 inches x 19 inches (72cm x 48cm). Price £220.00 Signed by Group Captain J B Tait, Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing, in addition ot the artist.
Limited edition of 50 publishers proofs. Paper size 28 inches x 19 inches (72cm x 48cm). Price £190.00 Signed by Group Captain J B Tait, Squadron Leader Tony Iveson and Leutnant Zur See Willibald Volsing, in addition ot the artist. ITEM CODE DHM2031 |
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