The Avro Lancaster B MkIII ED932(G), AJ-G, of Wing Commander Guy Gibson was the first aircraft to make an attempt at breaching the Möhne Dam on the night of 16/17th of May 1943 as Operation Chastise got underway. Having already made one 'sighting' run over the target, Gibson turned and began his second run, the flak and 20mm fire from the shore and from the towers of the dam now throwing up a hail of fire. Undeterred, the Upkeep mine was released, skipping across the water as planned, but striking the dam wall off centre with no visible effect. Gibson made several passes over the Möhne, each time escorting the attacking aircraft in an attempt to draw the enemy fire. With the Möhne finally breached, he led the remaining aircraft on to the Eder dam with similar success before returning safely to Manston.
Item Code : B0520
First Strike by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
Watched by keen eyes, an Upkeep bomb arrives on the threshold to be loaded onto the special cradle beneath a Lancaster of 617 Dambusters Squadron on the eve of their perilous journey to the Ruhr Valley on the night of 16th May 1943 when the Möhne and Eder dams were breached under the codename Operation Chastise.
On 12th November 1944, the mighty Tirpitz was finally destroyed by a combined force of Lancasters from No 9 and No 617 Squadrons. LM220, an aircraft of 9 Sqn is shown here making its run toward the target at approximately 09.40 hours on that fateful day.
Item Code : B0310
Raid on the Tirpitz by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
The Night They Broke the Dams - Operation Chastise by Ivan Berryman.
Guy Gibsons Lancaster having unsuccessfully dropped its bomb, draws enemy fire from the aircraft of Sqn Ldr Young as his bomb explodes spectacularly on the Mohne Dam during the audacious Dams Raids of 16th/17th May 1943.
Item Code : B0158
The Night They Broke the Dams - Operation Chastise by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
On the night of 7th-8th June 1944, a Lancaster of No.207 Sqn piloted by Wing Commander John Grey was part of a force of 112 bombers and 10 Mosquitoes sent to attack a tank storage park near Cerisy-la-Foret. With the D-Day landings just 48 hours old, it was considered too risky to leave the tank park intact, should the Germans try to launch a counter thrust from this position, just 20 miles from the French coast near Bayeux. Shortly after crossing the coast, Greys aircraft was attacked by a JU.88 and both the mid upper gunner Sutherland and tail gunner McIntosh opened fire on their pursuer and sent it down in flames. No sooner had they recovered from this fright when a second JU.88 closed in on them. Again, both gunners combined their fire and destroyed the enemy aircraft in mid air. Grey pressed on to the target where their bombs fell on the enemy tank depot, also destroying some fuel dumps and an important road junction. Returning to the French coast to begin their journey home, t.........
In one of the finest portrayals of the Avro Lancaster, Moonlight Run depicts the aircraft of Fl. Lt. Mickey Martin (ED909 AJ-P) at the moment of release of the Wallace Bomb during the Dams raid on the Ruhr in 1943. With only the gentlest of moonlight rippling over the dark water of the Mohne, this dramatic picture plays homage to the impossible low altitudes and high speeds that were necessary to complete successfully their heroic mission. A stark and refreshing treatment of a subject at the hearts of all aviation historians.
Item Code : B0021
Moonlight Run (Dambusters) by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
Amid a hail of defensive fire, Flt Lt D J H Maltby holds Lancaster ED906/G AJ-J steady for his bomb aimer John Fort to perfectly choose his moment to release the Upkeep Bomb that would ultimately breach and destroy the Mohne Dam during the famous Dambuster raids on the Ruhr on the night of 16th / 17th May 1943.
Item Code : B0314
The One That Broke The Dam by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
The Lancaster B MkIII of Flt Lt J V Hopgood was the second aircraft to make an attempt at breaching the Mohne Dam on the night of 16/17th of May 1943, ED925(G) (AJ-M) encountering intense flak and 20mm fire from the shore and from the towers of the dam itself. Just moments from the release of the Upkeep bomb, both of Hopgood's port engines took direct hits and burst into flames as other rounds ripped through the starboard wing. Despite these fatal strikes, the brave crew pressed home their attack, but released their bomb just seconds too late to be effective. The bomb bounced over the dam wall, landing on the power station below where it exploded with devastating results. With blazing fuel now engulfing the wing of his crippled aircraft, Hopgood climbed to about 500ft where the wing failed, sending ED925 into a dive from which it would never recover. By jumping clear just moments before impact, two of her crew survived to become prisoners of war.
Item Code : B0418
Determined to the Last by Ivan Berryman. (GS) - Editions Available
When Roy Chadwick first drew the Avro 679 Manchester bomber for the RAF, he could little have known that from this rather lacklustre machine would evolve the classic 683 Lancaster. This painting is not a record of any single event in the Lancasters illustrious history, rather a portrait of a fine aeroplane and a tribute to the many crews who flew and serviced them.
Item Code : B0016
Chadwicks Masterpiece by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
R5689 (VN-N) - a Lancaster B.1 of 50 Squadron based at Swinderby. This aircraft crash-landed in Lincolnshire while returning from a mission on 19th September 1942, after both port engines failed as the aircraft was preparing to land. The aircraft never flew again. The crew on the final mission were : Sgt E J Morley RAAF, P/O G W M Harrison, Sgt H Male, Sgt S C Garrett, Sgt J W Dalby, Sgt J Fraser and Sgt J R Gibbons RCAF, the sole member of the crew killed in the crash.
Item Code : DHM1719
Avro Lancaster B.1 by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
En route to the Ruhr Dams on the night of 16/17 May 1943, P/O W C Townsend, demonstrating great skill, flew his aircraft, ED886(G) 'O'- Orange below tree-top height through a forest firetrap on his way to the Ennepe Dam, a feat carried out by moonlight alone. AJ-O made it successfully to its target where the Upkeep bomb was observed to hit the dam, but with no effect, before returning safely to base the following morning.
Despite crippling damage to their Lancaster ED925 (G), the crew of AJ-M continued to press home their attack on the Mohne Dam on the night of 16th/17th May 1943. With both port engines ablaze, Flt Lt J V Hopgood forced his blazing aircraft on, releasing the Upkeep bomb just precious seconds too late to strike the dam, the mine instead bouncing over the wall and onto the power station below with devastating results. ED925 attempted to recover from the maelstrom, but the fuel fire was too intense and the aircraft was tragically lost, just two of her crew managing to escape the impact to spend the rest of the war as PoWs.
Item Code : B0417
No Way Back by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
Bill Townsends Lancaster O for Orange, returns safely on the morning of 17th May 1943 after the success of the daring raids on the dams of the Ruhr Valley.
Item Code : B0315
O Safe Home by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
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