Battle of Britain Album #15: No. 87 Squadron RAF

A pilot of No. 87 Squadron stands on the nose of his Hurricane, with one hand on the propeller, Exeter, November 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1641.

 

Flight Lieutenant Ian 'Widge' Gleed of No. 87 Squadron in the cockpit of his Hurricane, pointing at his 'Figaro the Cat' artwork, Exeter, November 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1639.

 

A Hurricane pilot of No. 87 Squadron dons his flying kit, seen from beneath the wings of another aircraft, Exeter, November 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1640.

 

“Tribute to Flt Lt Ian R Gleed” by Ivan Berryman. Flight Lieutenant Ian Widge Gleed is depicted in his personal Hurricane 1 P2798 (LK-A) of 87 Sqn shooting down a Messerschmitt Bf.110 on 15th August 1940. Just visible beneath the cockpit of the Hurricane is his mascot, Figaro, shown kicking a swastika. His aircraft was also easily identifiable by the red flash on its nose, a feature that was retained even when P2798 was painted all black for its night fighter role. Gleed scored many victories before being shot down and killed whilst flying a Spitfire Vc in the Western Desert in April 1943.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #14: No. 85 Squadron RAF

Hawker Hurricane P2923 VQ-R of No. 85 Squadron, flown by Plt Off Albert G Lewis, at Castle Camps, July 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 104510.

 

Hawker Hurricane Mk I P2923 VQ-R of No. 85 Squadron, flown by Pilot Officer Albert G Lewis, taxiing out at Castle Camps, July 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 104493.

 

Two armorers service the machine guns of a Hawker Hurricane Mk I of No. 85 Squadron, while a third unpacks belts of .303 inch ammunition at RAF Debden, 25 July 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 54510.

 

Rear view of a Hurricane of No. 85 Squadron being run up at Castle Camps, July 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 104485.

 

Hawker Hurricanes of No. 85 Squadron RAF, October 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1500.

 

Hawker Hurricanes of No. 85 Squadron in flight, October 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1499.

 

Hawker Hurricane Mk Is of No. 85 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain, 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1512.

 

Hawker Hurricane Mk Is of No. 85 Squadron RAF, October 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1510.

 

Distant view of Hawker Hurricanes of No. 85 Squadron in flight, October 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1498.

 

Squadron Leader Peter Townsend, the CO of No. 85 Squadron (with walking stick) with pilots at Church Fenton, in front of one of the unit’s Hurricanes, 14 October 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 1473.

 

“Defence of the Capital” by Gerald Coulson. High over London, Hurricanes of 85 Squadron engage Me 109s in an intense dogfight during the heavy fighting of August 1940.

 

“Close Combat” by Ivan Berryman. Whilst flying with A Flight of 85 Squadron on 30th July 1940, Geoffrey Allard encountered a pair of Messerschmitt Bf.110s about 40 miles from the coast, apparently patrolling near a convoy. After Squadron Leader Townsend, flying Red 1, had made two unsuccessful attacks, Allard closed to 150 yards and began to fire continuously, eventually closing to just 25 yards, whereupon the starboard engine of the Bf.110 began to disintegrate. This was just one of eight victories that Allard claimed during the Battle of Britain to add to a previous eight that he had scored flying Hurricanes during the Battle of France.

 

“Defence of the Realm” by Robert Taylor. In the azure skies above London and the south-eastern Shires of England during the long, hot summer of 1940, a small band of RAF fighter pilots, substantially out-numbered, and against all odds, flew and fought a savage aerial battle in defense of the Realm. Their success in repelling the might of the Luftwaffe has become legend. They were Churchill's FEW. Fresh from the heat of battle after a dog-fight over the city, No. 85 Squadrons C.O., Peter Townsend, levels off and turns his Hurricane for home to re-fuel, re-arm, and rejoin the fight. A symbolic portrayal paying tribute to the Hawker Hurricane and its legendary pilots who, between them, accounted for four of every five enemy aircraft destroyed during the momentous Battle of Britain.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #13: No. 74 Squadron RAF

Group Captain A G 'Sailor' Malan, a South African who became an ace during the Battle of Britain and finished the war with 35 aerial victories. Photographed in the cockpit of his Supermarine Spitfire at Biggin Hill, Kent. Imperial War Museum photo CH 8119.

 

Adolph Gysbert Malan, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar (3 October 1910 – 17 September 1963), better known as Sailor Malan, was a South African fighter pilot and flying ace in the Royal Air Force (RAF) who led No. 74 Squadron RAF during the Battle of Britain. He finished his fighter career in 1941 with twenty-seven destroyed, seven shared destroyed and two unconfirmed, three probables and sixteen damaged. At the time he was the RAF's leading ace, and one of the highest-scoring pilots to have served wholly with RAF Fighter Command during the Second World War.

 

Color oil painting of Sailor Malan by Cuthbert Orde, 1940. RAF Museum photo.

 

Francis White, Spitfire Mk Ia K9867, CO No 74 Squadron, Hornchurch (UK), May1940. Artist: Gaëtan Marie.

 

“Height of the Battle” by Robert Taylor. Continuing his popular series of Giclee Studio Proofs on canvas, Robert Taylor portrays Squadron Leader 'Sailor' Malan DFC, Commanding Officer of 74 Squadron and one of the great Battle of Britain Aces, in his famous painting Height of the Battle. Having already made one diving attack into the force of Luftwaffe He111 bombers approaching London with their fighter escort, 'Sailor' peels his Spitfire over for a second attack. Another top Ace, Pilot Officer Harbourne Stephen DFC, is hard on his heels. Below them, typifying the scene as it was on the afternoon of Wednesday 11 September 1940, Mk.I Hurricanes from 17 and 56 Squadrons have already joined the fray.

 

“First Flap of the Day” by Nicolas Trudgian. HM Stephen - one of the Battle of Britains top scoring fighter pilots, brings down two Me109s in quick succession over the White Cliffs of Dover, early on August 11, 1940. Flying a Spitfire with 74 Squadron, HM shot down five German aircraft on this day, and damaged a further three. The note in his log book starts ‘First flap of the day at 0600 hrs’. Published 2000.

 

“The Right of the Line” by Graeme Lothian. Sailor Malan leading No. 74 Squadron engaging Me109s of I/JG52 during the Battle of Britain, September 1940.

 

“This Sceptred Isle” by Robert Taylor. For nearly a thousand years the white cliffs of southern England had taunted many a foreign army. These fortress walls of chalk, however, were defended by the moat-like waters of the Channel, and together they had shielded the British from her enemies. Alongside Drake they had defied the armies of Spain and her great Armada and, in 1805, had halted the march of Napoleon's Grand Armee. No enemy force since that of William the Conqueror in 1066 had successfully managed to cross the Channel in anger but, in May 1940, one of the most powerful armies the world had ever seen arrived at Calais. An invasion by Hitler's all-conquering Wehrmacht was imminent - or so it seemed. To cross the Channel and breach the English defenses, the Luftwaffe simply had to gain control of the skies, and with massively superior numbers the outcome seemed inevitable. The fate of Britain lay in the hands of less than 3,000 young airmen from Fighter Command - Churchill's 'Few'. By July the most famous air battle in history was underway and, over the next three months under tranquil summer skies, the 'Few' battled to defend their Scpetred Isle. Impossibly outnumbered and flying daily to the point of exhaustion, by October these courageous young men had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, emerging defiantly victorious. The threat of invasion might be over but a terrible price had been paid - during that long battle for the survival of Britain 544 had been killed and 422 wounded; and of those who survived a further 814 would be killed before the end of the war. This painting pays tribute to the valiant 'Few', portraying a fleeting moment of calm for the pilots of 74 (Tiger) Squadron during the height of the Battle of Britain. With his commanding officer Sailor Malan (ZP-A) to his right, Acting Flight Lieutenant John Freeborn (ZP-C) takes time to reflect on another day of intense combat while passing over the white cliffs and the familiar lighthouse at Beachy Head, as the squadron cross the English coast to head for home.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #12: No. 66 Squadron RAF

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I R6800 LZ-N, flown by the CO of No. 66 Squadron, Sqn Ldr Rupert Leigh, running up its engine at Gravesend, September 1940.

 

Pilots of No. 66 Squadron at Gravesend, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 104508.

 

Supermarine Spitfire Mk I R6800 LZ-N, flown by the CO of No. 66 Squadron, Sqn Ldr Rupert Leigh, being refueled at Gravesend, September 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 104507.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #11: No. 65 Squadron RAF

Line-up of Spitfires of No. 65 Squadron, presented by the East India Fund, 15 July 1940. Imperial War Museum photo CH 594.

 

Three Spitfire Mk Is (including R6712, YT-N, and R6714, YT-M) of No. 65 Squadron, taking off from Hornchurch, August 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 54421.

 

 

Battle of Britain No. 10: No. 64 Squadron RAF

Posed photo of a pilot of No. 64 Squadron running towards his Spitfire during a squadron 'scramble' at Kenley, 15 August 1940. Imperial War Museum photo HU 54420.

 

 

Battle of Britain Album #9: No. 56 Squadron RAF

 

Journalists watch a flight of Hurricanes of No. 56 Squadron RAF taking off for a sortie over France from North Weald, Essex, May 1940. In the foreground Hurricane Mk I P2764 'US-P' stands at its dispersal point near the perimeter track on the south-western edge of the airfield. Imperial War Museum photo CH 158.