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Flight Lieutenant Des Curtis DFC Signed Naval Art
Flight Lieutenant Des Curtis DFC
Originally a Wireless Operator / Gunner with No.235 Sqn on Beaufighters before converting to Mosquitos as a Navigator. He helped form 618 Sqn for ops against the Tirpitz, and then had success against U-boat pens om the French coast. In September 1944 he joined 248 Sqn Banff Strike Wing in Scotland.
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| Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Flight Lieutenant Des Curtis DFC - Signed Naval Art Naval Crew Signatures |
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Return of the Pathfinders by Anthony Saunders. Never had there been an aircraft like the de Havilland Mosquito; constructed almost entirely of wood with two Merlin engines bolted under each wing it could outrun any other piston-engine fighter in the world. Only when the Luftwaffe's Me262 jet came on the scene did the enemy have anything of such speed but, unlike the Me262, the Mosquito - nicknamed the 'Wooden Wonder' - was perhaps the most versatile aircraft of World War II. Allied squadrons operated Mosquitos in a huge number of roles including both day and night-bombers, night-fighter, as a ship-buster with Coastal Command, bomber support, photo-reconnaissance and, thanks to its speed and manoeuvrability as one of the finest intruders of the war. Mosquitos carried out some of the most dangerous and daring low-level pinpoint precision strikes ever seen and, of course, as part of the RAF's elite Pathfinder force. Formed in 1942 and led by the inspirational Don Bennett, perhaps the finest navigator in aviation history who became the youngest Air Vice-Marshal in the RAF, the Pathfinders were Bomber Command's specialist target-marking squadrons who, flying ahead of the main bomber force, located and identified their assigned targets with flares. Return of the Pathfinders depicts the Pathfinder Mosquitos of 139 (Jamaica) Squadron, a unit that had joined Bomber Command's No 8 (Pathfinder) Group in July 1943. Dawn breaks over a crisp, icy landscape in a burst of colour that illuminates the Mosquitos as they follow the course of the River Great Ouse on their return to RAF Upwood after a long overnight trip to Germany in early 1944. During a period that began on the night of 20 / 21st February 1944 this particular squadron undertook a series of 36 consecutive night attacks on Berlin. |
Strike and Strike Again by Robert Taylor. By the spring of 1945, Germanys once all-conquering submarine fleet, driven by allied forces from its bases in estern France, had fled to the relative safety of the Norwegian fjords - territory still remaining under German occupation since 1940. In one of Hitlers last stands, more than 100 U-Boats, merchant freighters, flakships, and other military vessels were hathered in the narrow fjords, laying up by day and sailing undercover of darkness. They were a menace that had to be dealt with. Tasked with the difficult job of eliminating this force were the Beaufighters and Mosquitos of RAF Coastal Commands Strike Wings based in Scotland. - Our job was to go after this shipping and sink it - recalled Wing Commader Colin Milson, C.O. of No. 455s Beaufighters. - The fjords were often just 200 - 300 yards across with cliffs rising vertically up 2000 feet, the deep water allowing the German shipping to get in beneath these high overhanging cliffs. This made for difficult and dangerous flying, exacerbated by the heavy flak and machine gun fire that always welcomed us. |
Devastating Strike by Robert Taylor. It was one of the fastest operational aircraft in the world, one of the most envied - and one of the most feared. Built almost entirely of wood and assembled by carpenters, the beautifully streamlined de Havilland Mosquito, or Wooden Wonder was a triumph of ingenuity at a time when resources of light alloys were in short supply. Its greatest attribute was speed. Powered by two phenomenal Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, the Mosquito became the finest multi-role combat aircraft of World War II. No other Allied military aircraft was built in so many versions for so many roles - a fast bomber which could carry a huge 4,000lb payload; a day or night fighter; a fighter-bomber; trainer; torpedo bomber; photo reconnaissance aircraft; maritime strike aircraft and U-boat hunter were just some of the 43 different variants produced during a long and distinguished career. Mosquitos had pioneered the role of daring precision attacks with the September 1942 raid on the Gestapo Headquarters in Oslo and were involved in the first unescorted high-speed bombing raids on Germany. It was the Mosquito strike wings of Coastal Command, however, that endured some of the fiercest battles of the war. Flying over the unforgiving icy waters of the North Sea to attack enemy shipping along the coasts of Norway, Denmark and Hollad meant that precision flying was essential for survival; especially in the deep, sheer fjords where even the slightest lapse in concentration could result in instant destruction. In this painting, Mosquito Mk.VIs from No.143 Sqn, part of the famous Banff Strike Wing, come under intense defensive fire whilst delivering a blistering strike on enemy shipping off the Norwegian coast in early 1945. Their salvo of rockets, however, will likely be enough to penetrate the hulls of the ships. |
Dangerous Coast by Robert Taylor. Mosquitoes from RAF Coastal Command's Banff Strike Wing race through a deep-sided Norwegian fjord following a successful rocket strike against enemy coastal shipping. The de Havilland Mosquito was arguably the finest multi-role combat aircraft of World War II and, remarkably, one of the few front-line aircraft constructed almost entirely of wood - few other warbirds were built for so many different duties. Amongst its countless roles it formed the core of Coastal Command's legendary anti-shipping strike force, and it is this role that is the subject of this painting, paying tribute to the Mosquito crews of World War II. A large force of Mosquitoes from RAF Coastal Command's Banff Strike Wing exit a deep-sided fjord along Norway's rugged, heavily defended mountainous coast. In the distance, smoke and explosions reverberate from their successful rocket strike against enemy coastal shipping, destroying yet another cargo of iron ore destined for the furnaces of Germany's industrial war machine. Above them P-51 Mustangs provide top cover support should any patrolling enemy fighters decide to make an appearance. |
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