History of 41 Squadron. Royal Air Force 41 Squadron. Super
Marine Spitfire MK XII of 41 Squadron shown in aviation art prints
by leading aviation artists including Ivan Berryman and John Young available
from Cranston Fine Arts the aviation art company, part of the Royal Air
Force squadron's history in aviation art.
41 squadron is one of the Oldest Squadrons
in the royal Air Force. It was active at the outbreak of World war two
equipped with Spitfire MK1,s and first seeing action of the East coast of
England in December 1939. In May 1940 41 squadron was based at
Hornchurch, the squadron was involved in combat over Dunkirk and during
the spring its pilots were involved in the defense of Britain
against the mass bomber formations of the Luftwaffe during the battle of Britain.
on the 15th August the squadron's small number of serviceable Spitfires
intercepted 90 plus enemy aircraft. 41 squadron flew all mks of spitfires finishing
the war flying the MKXIV.
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.
Spitfires Over St Michaels Mount by Robert Taylor.Robert has chosen
to show a Spitfire in the Battle of Britain colours of No 41 Squadron
for his romantic portrayal of a Spitfire over St Michaels Mount, just
off the coast of Cornwall – where the southwest corner of the British
Isles meets the mighty Atlantic. This famous and historic landmark
dating back to the Iron Age is steeped in folklore and legend. The
castle of St Michaels Mount, perched atop a great granite rock that
rises majestically out of the sea in Mounts Bay, for centuries made a
tempting site for fighting forces. Here Robert cleverly uses this
historic fort to provide a symbolic backdrop to a wonderful study of one
of the most beautiful aircraft ever built.Signatories: Wg Cmdr Peter V Ayerst
DFC; Sq Ldr Ian Blair DFM;
Flt Lt Kenneth W S Evans DFC.
Victory Over the Rhine by Nicolas Trudgian.
Ill-advisedly
employed by Hitler as the wonder-bomber, the Me262 was initially issued
to Bomber Units, one of which being KG51. Tasked with undertaking
lightning fast raids upon advancing Allied ground forces, the shark-like
jets employed their spectacular speed advantage to surprise, strike and
escape. Not to be outdone, the RAF responded with their supremely fast
Spitfire XIVs which had already proven themselves highly effective
against Germanys V1 flying bombs. In his painting, Nick Trudgian
recreates a typical moment: Spitfire Mk XIVs of 41 Squadron have
intercepted and damaged a Me262 of KG51 and, with smoke and debris
pouring from its damaged Jumo 004 Turbojet, the stricken Luftwaffe jet
will be lucky to make it home. A dramatic painting and a fine tribute to
the RAFs contribution to the Victory in Europe.
