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| Squadron Leader Douglas Bader (front center) with pilots of No. 242 Squadron grouped around his Hurricane at Duxford, September 1940. CH 1413. During the Second World War, the squadron was notable for (firstly) having many pilots who were either Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) personnel or Canadians serving in the RAF – to the extent that it was sometimes known, unofficially, as "242 Canadian Squadron" – and (secondly) for being the first squadron to be commanded by Douglas Bader. |
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| Squadron Leader Douglas Bader of No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron, standing by the cockpit of his Hurricane at Duxford, 26 September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1405. |
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| Flight Lieutenant Eric Ball, Squadron Leader Douglas Bader and Pilot Officer William 'Willie' McKnight of No. 242 Squadron admire the nose art on Bader's Hurricane at Duxford, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1412. |
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| Three pilots of No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron standing outside the Officers' Mess at Duxford, 20 September 1940. They are (left to right): Pilot Officer William 'Willie' McKnight, Squadron Leader Douglas Bader and Flight Lieutenant George Ball. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1342. |
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| Three decorated fighter pilots of No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron RAF, standing outside the Officers' Mess at Duxford, Cambridgeshire. They are (left to right): Pilot Officer W L McKnight, Acting Squadron Leader D R S Bader (Commanding Officer), and Acting Flight Lieutenant G E Ball. By the date this photograph was taken these pilots had, between them, shot down over thirty enemy aircraft. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1342. |
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| Pilot Officer William 'Willie' McKnight of No. 242 Squadron outside the Officer's Mess at Duxford, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1339. |
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| Pilot Officer William 'Willie' McKnight of No. 242 (Canadian) Squadron, Duxford, September 1940 Between May and November 1940, McKnight achieved 16.5 victories in combats over France and England. He was shot down and killed during a low level intruder sortie ('Rhubarb') over France, on 12 January 1941. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1321. |
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| Flying Officer Marvin K 'Ben' Brown of No. 242 Squadron at Duxford, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1408. |
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| Flight Lieutenant P S Turner of No. 242 Squadron RAF, rests on the tail elevator of his Hawker Hurricane Mk I, after landing at Fowlmere, near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1376. |
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| Hawker Hurricane Mk Is of No. 242 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain, 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1430. |
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| “High Patrol” by Ivan Berryman. Hawker Hurricane Mk 1s of No 242 Sqn patrol a glorious September sky as the Battle of Britain reaches its climax in the Summer of 1940. The nearest aircraft is that of Sqn Ldr Douglas Bader, flying V7467 in which he claimed four victories, plus two probables and one destroyed. P/O W L McKnight (LE-A) and P/O D W Crowley-Milling (LE-M) are in close attendance. |
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| “Assault on the Capital” by Robert Taylor. Robert Taylors final painting in his 60th Anniversary trilogy features a scene from the attacks on the afternoon of September 7, 1940. Led by Herbert Ihlefeld, Me109Es of II/LG 2 dive through the bomber formation giving chase to Hurricanes of 242 Squadron as Ju88s of KG30, having unloaded their bombs, head for home. One Ju88 has been hit and is already losing height, and will not return. Following behind He111s of KG53 try to keep formation as they fly through flak. The sky is alive with action. |
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| “Into the Fray” by Richard Taylor. Squadron Leader Douglas Bader leads the Hurricanes of 242 Squadron in an aggressive diving attack upon a large force of Heinkel 111s approaching the Kent coast, whilst Spitfires from 66 Squadron tangle with the escorting Bf109s of JG52. It is September 1940, and the climax of the Battle of Britain. Throughout those critical months in 1940, the RAF engaged opposing pilots of the Luftwaffe time and time again and this atmospheric new painting depicts one such frantic engagement as one of the most legendary fighter Aces of the war, Douglas Bader leads his unit into battle. |