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Inbound to Target - Dambusters by Robert Taylor.
The crews of 617 Squadron that took part in the epic Dambusters raid on the
night of 16/17 May 1943 were among the finest in the RAF. They were the elite of
Bomber Command, and when they left RAF Scampton that night, the skills of their
pilots – some of the finest of the Second World War, would be tested to the
limit. First, they must guide their aircraft across heavily defended enemy
territory at altitudes often as low as fifty feet, dodging flak, trees,
buildings and power lines. And then they must attack their targets with a
precision unmatched in the annals of the RAF. Of all the pilots who took to the
skies that night, no-one was more accomplished at low-level flying than Flight
Lieutenant Mick Martin, and it is his aircraft, Lancaster AJ-P that is the
subject of this artwork. In company with Flight Lieutenant John Hopgood in the
distance, they follow one of the many canals of Holland, wingtips barely missing
the sails of the windmills, en-route to the Mohne Dam. |
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Inbound to Target - The Dambusters by Robert Taylor.
The crews of 617 Squadron that took part in the epic Dambusters raid on the night of 16/17 May 1943 were among the finest in the RAF. They were the elite of Bomber Command, and when they left RAF Scampton that night, the skills of their pilots – some of the finest of the Second World War, would be tested to the limit. First, they must guide their aircraft across heavily defended enemy territory at altitudes often as low as fifty feet, dodging flak, trees, buildings and power lines. And then they must attack their targets with a precision unmatched in the annals of the RAF. Of all the pilots who took to the skies that night, no-one was more accomplished at low-level flying than Flight Lieutenant Mick Martin, and it is his aircraft, Lancaster AJ-P that is the subject of this artwork. In company with Flight Lieutenant John Hopgood in the distance, they follow one of the many canals of Holland, wingtips barely missing the sails of the windmills, en-route to the Mohne Dam.
Limited edition of 225 prints Paper size 22 inches x 14.5 inches (56cm x 37cm) Image size 18.5 inches x 10.5 inches (45cm x 26cm). Price £135.00 Signed by :
Sergeant Raymond E. Grayston (deceased) ,
Squadron Leader George L. Johnson DFM ,
Squadron Leader Les Munro DSO DFC RNZAF ,
Sergeant Frederick E. Sutherland RCAF ,
Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF
and
Corporal Kenneth Lucas.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs Paper size 22 inches x 14.5 inches (56cm x 37cm) Image size 18.5 inches x 10.5 inches (45cm x 26cm). Price £225.00 Signed by :
Sergeant Raymond E. Grayston (deceased) ,
Squadron Leader George L. Johnson DFM ,
Squadron Leader Les Munro DSO DFC RNZAF ,
Sergeant Frederick E. Sutherland RCAF ,
Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF
and
Corporal Kenneth Lucas.
Limited edition of 50 publishers proofs, supplied matted. Matted size 25.5 inches x 21 inches (65cm x 53cm) Image size 18.5 inches x 10.5 inches (45cm x 26cm). Price £ Signed by :
Sergeant Raymond E. Grayston (deceased) ,
Squadron Leader George L. Johnson DFM ,
Squadron Leader Les Munro DSO DFC RNZAF ,
Sergeant Frederick E. Sutherland RCAF ,
Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF
and
Corporal Kenneth Lucas
and features the matted signatures of :
Squadron Leader Ken Brown CGM RCAF (deceased) ,
Flight Lieutenant Bill Townsend CGM DFM (deceased) ,
Flight Lieutenant Edward Johnson (deceased) ,
Flight Lieutenant Edward Johnson (deceased) ,
Squadron Leader David J Shannon DSO* DFC* RAAF (deceased)
and
Flying Officer Dave Rodger DFC RCAF (deceased) ,
.
ITEM CODE DHM1833
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Inbound to Target - Dambusters by Robert Taylor
- The Signatures
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 | Sergeant Raymond E. Grayston (deceased)
Ray Grayston had been serving in 50 Squadron when he was posted to 617 Squadron in March 1943. The flight engineer of Les Knight’s Lancaster AJ-N, they attacked and successfully breached the Eder Dam, Ray was shot down on 16th September 1943, and was taken to Stalag Luft III as a POW. Sadly, we have learned that Ray Grayston passed away on 15th April 2010.
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 | Squadron Leader George L. Johnson DFM
Joining the RAF in 1940, George Johnson served with 97 Squadron before joining 617 Squadron. Bomb aimer on American Joe McCarthy’s Lancaster AJ-T, they attacked the Sorpe Dam, for which he was awarded the DFM. Commissioned a few months later, George retired from the RAF in 1962.
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 | Squadron Leader Les Munro DSO DFC RNZAF
New Zealander Les Munro was the Captain and pilot of Lancaster AJ-W assigned to attack the Sorpe Dam, but was forced to turn back en-route to the target after heavy flak damage over Holland had rendered his aircraft unable to carry on with the operation.
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 | Sergeant Frederick E. Sutherland RCAF
‘Doc’ Sutherland was the front gunner on Les Knight’s Lancaster AJ-N that went to the Mohne Dam, and then successfully attacked and breached the Eder Dam. Shot down four months later, he managed to evade capture and escape back to England with the help of the Resistance movements, returning through Holland, France and Spain.
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 | Flight Sergeant Grant S McDonald RCAF
Grant McDonald was the rear gunner on Lancaster AJ-F flown by Ken Brown. On the way to the Ruhr, the gunners shot up and damaged three trains in an eventful trip before reaching the Sorpe Dam.
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Corporal Kenneth Lucas
Ken Lucas joined the RAF in June 1940, and trained as ground crew for bomber Command. He was sent first to 49 Squadron at RAF Scampton, before transferring to 617 Squadron upon its formation, Involved in all the major servicing of the aircraft before the raid including fitting the motors that drove the belt that spun the bomb, and attaching the critical lamps to the underside of the aircraft.
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Squadron Leader Ken Brown CGM RCAF (deceased)
Born 20th August 1920. Joined the Canadian Air Force in 1941, and joined No.617 Sqn in 1943. Pilot and Captain of Lancaster AJ-F, he attacked the Sorpe Dam. Ken Brown died 23rd December 2002.
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Flight Lieutenant Bill Townsend CGM DFM (deceased)
Pilot and Captain of Lancaster AJ-O, he attacked the Ennepe Dam. Transferring to the RAF from the Army in 1941, Bill Townsend served a tour as a pilot with 49 Squadron, before joining 617 Squadron, at the time a Flight Sergeant. As part of 617 Squadron Bill Townsend flew Lancaster ED-886 codenamed AJ – O for Orange in the famous dambuster raid of May 1944. Flight Sergeant Townsend flew his bomber and crew in the third wave of the famous raid. After the first two dams (Mohne and Eder) were breached, O for Orange was tasked to attack the Ennepe dam. With no anti-aircraft firing at them, they had time to do three trial runs before they released their bomb, but it failed to damage the dam. Forced to fly back at tree top level by enemy action, his Lancaster was the last to return. It limped home short of one engine. He was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his courageous actions in the raid. Bill Townsend was later promoted to Flight Lieutenant. He had been a pupil at Monmouth and after the war studied at Lincoln College, Oxford. He became a business man and a civil servant after his studies. FLt/Lt Townsend passed away in April 1991 , there with a flypast by 617 Tornadoes at his cremation on the 15th April 1991
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Flight Lieutenant Edward Johnson (deceased)
He joined the RAFVR early in the war, serving with 50 and 106 Squadrons. When he joined 617 Squadron in 1943 he was the bomb aimer on Lancaster AJ-N piloted by Les Knight on the Dambusters raid. During that raid they first attacked the Mohne Dam and then went on to attack and actually breach the Eder Dam, for which he was awarded the DFC. Later in 1943 he was shot down but evaded capture and during a two month journey returned to England via Holland, France, Spain and Gibraltar. Sadly, Edward Johnson died 1st October 2002.
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 | Air Marshal Sir Harold (Mick) Martin KCB CB DSO* AFC RAAF (deceased)
Born 27th February 1918, Australian Mick Martin joined the RAF in 1940 and had flown tours with 455 Squadron RAAF and 50 Squadron RAF before joining Guy Gibson at 617 Squadron. Pilot of AJ-P, Mick Martin was Deputy Leader of the Dams Raid and flew in Gibsons lead group. Third aircraft to attack the Mohne Dam, he was awarded the DSO for his part in the raid. Mick Martin later served with Leonard Cheshire, and went on to a distinguished career after the war. ADC to the Queen in 1963, he eventually retired from the RAF as an Air Marshal in 1974. Mick Martin died 3rd November 1988.
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 | Squadron Leader David J Shannon DSO* DFC* RAAF (deceased)
Born 27th May 1922 in Australia, Dave Shannon joined the RAAF in 1941, and trained as a pilot. He flew an extended tour of 36 operations with 106 Squadron RAF before being chosen for 617 Squadron. Pilot of Lancaster AJ-L in Gibsons group, he was called off as he began his run on the Mohne Dam after the breach became apparent; but flew on and was the first pilot to attack the Eder Dam. Awarded a DSO for the Dams operation, he later served as Deputy to Leonard Cheshire, flying Mosquitos on what was by then his third tour. He later served with 511 and 246 Squadrons, and returned to Australia after the war. David Shannon died in 1993.
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Flying Officer Dave Rodger DFC RCAF (deceased)
Canadian Dave Rodger joined the RCAF in 1941, and was posted to 97 Squadron before joining 617 Squadron in March 1943. He was rear gunner in the Lancaster of Joe Mccarthy, AJ-T, that attacked the Sorpe Dam. Sadly, Dave Rodger died on 1st September 2004.
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