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Cranston Fine Arts Aviation Art and Artists Aviation Artists Anthony Saunders British Aviation

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Pathway to the Ruhr by Anthony Saunders. 3 of 4 editions available. All 4 editions feature up to 4 additional signatures. £110.00 - £475.00

Strike on Berlin by Anthony Saunders. 5 editions. 4 of the 5 editions feature up to 3 additional signatures. £2.00 - £475.00

Approach to the Möhne Dam by Anthony Saunders. 2 editions. Both editions feature up to 2 additional signatures. £120.00 - £195.00

Final Briefing by Anthony Saunders. 4 editions. All 4 editions feature an additional signature. £95.00 - £475.00

Low Pass Over the Möhne Dam by Anthony Saunders. 3 of 4 editions available. All 4 editions feature up to 3 additional signatures. £110.00 - £475.00

Salute the Few by Anthony Saunders. (APB) 4 editions. 2 of the 4 editions feature up to 2 additional signatures. £60.00 - £500.00

The Breach by Anthony Saunders. 4 editions. All 4 editions feature an additional signature. £95.00 - £475.00

Night Hunters by Anthony Saunders. 5 editions. 4 of the 5 editions feature up to 3 additional signatures. £2.00 - £475.00

Over Grand Harbour by Anthony Saunders. 4 editions. One edition features an additional signature. £25.00 - £400.00

Dawn Return by Anthony Saunders. (APB) 5 editions. 2 of the 5 editions feature an additional signature. £60.00 - £4000.00

The Big Push - Passchendaele 1917 by Anthony Saunders. 5 editions. £110.00 - £475.00

Decisive Blow by Anthony Saunders. 5 editions. All 5 editions feature up to 5 additional signature(s). £110.00 - £550.00

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Text for the above items :

Pathway to the Ruhr by Anthony Saunders. The words from Air Vice-Marshal the Hon. Ralph Cochrane., newly appointed as AOC of No.5 Group, to the young Wing Commander were simple enough. I can't tell you the target he continued but you've got to fly low-level, on the deck, and at night. As far as aircrews are concerned, I want the best - you choose them. And by the way... I want to see your aircraft flying on four days. Guy Gibson, the highly decorated Wing Commander concerned, had 173 operations behind him and was due to be rested when the unexpected call to see Cochrane had come. Would you like to do one more trip? he'd been asked. What kind of trip? he replied. An important one was all Cochrane would say and now, two days later, he was being asked to form a squadron. What the special target might be Gibson could only speculate but, whatever it was, he realised it would be dangerous. Cochrane had given him four days. Within an hour he'd selected the aircrew; he knew most of them personally and had flown with several before. There was no doubt they were the very best in Bomber Command. Exactly four days later Squadron X - soon to become 617 Squadron - was ready at RAF Scampton. Many familiar faces were there to meet him : amongst the pilots he spotted Hoppy Hopgood, Dave Shannon from Australia, and Canadian Lewis Burpee from his own 106 Squadron. together with Dinghy Young whom he'd chosen as a flight commander. The tall, lugubrious figure of New Zealander Les Munro was there along with two other pilots from 97 Squadron, David Maltby and the big, beefy, American pilot Joe McCarthy with his Bomb-Aimer George Johnny Johnson. His B flight commander, Henry Maudsley was there, as was Australian Mick Martin, the expert in low-level flying. Every one of the nineteen crews who would fly the mission was there and seven weeks of intensive low-level flying lay ahead before, on the afternoon of 16th May 1943, Gibson finally revealed the target - that night they were to attack the mighty dams of the Ruhr valley.

Strike on Berlin by Anthony Saunders. The swaggering figure of the Reichsmarshal swept imperiously into the Air Ministry on Berlin's Wilhemstrasse, his jewel-encrusted baton and extravagant uniform as flamboyant as ever. This was Saturday, 30th January 1943, the tenth Anniversary of the Nazi Party coming to power, and Goering was about to deliver the main speech in tribute to the Party and its leader, the Fuhrer - Adolf Hitler. The Royal Air Force had other plans for the anniversary. In stark defiance of the imagined air security safeguarding Berlin, brave pilots of 105 and 139 Sqn's took to the air in de Havilland Mosquitoes, on course for Germany. Their mission: RAF Bomber Command's first daylight raid on Berlin! The raid was timed to perfection and three Mosquitoes of 105 Sqn raced headlong, low level towards their target - the Haus des Rundfunks, headquarters of the German State broadcasting company. It was an hour before Goering could finally be broadcast. He was boiling with rage and humiliation. A few hours later, adding further insult, Mosquitoes from 139 Sqn swept over the city in a second attack moments before Goebbels addressed a Nazi mass rally in the Sportpalast. Goering's promise that enemy aircraft would never fly over the Reich was broken, the echo of that shame would haunt him for the rest of the war. This dramatic painting pays tribute to this pivotal moment in the war, capturing the Mosquito B.Mk.IVs of 105 Sqn departing the target area, following their successful strike on the Haus des Rundfunk.

Approach to the Möhne Dam by Anthony Saunders. With the threat from Hitler's increasingly belligerent regime growing, minds within Britain's Air Ministry had already identified potential targets should the unthinkable happen and war with Germany become a reality. The list included the great dams of western Germany, some of the largest in the world. On 9 September 1939 Hitler's armies invaded Poland and, as Britain once again found herself at war with Germany, plans to attack the dams became a reality. Three were chosen as primary targets; the Möhne, Eder and Sorpe dams which between them controlled the vast supplies of water to the factories and manufacturing industries of the Ruhr. If these dams could be destroyed, the beating heart of industrial Germany would be dealt a heavy blow. But there were problems; the range and dam defences were too great for a low-level attack by existing aircraft and commando raids were thought suicidal, with little chance of success. Barnes Wallis, however, had an idea - a cylindrical 'bouncing bomb' codenamed Upkeep - a mine designed to skip across the surface of the water clearing the torpedo nets, and explode against a dam wall at a depth that would cause maximum destruction. To deliver his weapon, however, would require men of extraordinary flying skills, and an aircraft big enough for the job. By March 1943 all the criteria had been met; Upkeep was ready and tested, a new special squadron numbered 617 had been formed under Wing Commander Guy Gibson, and Avro's mighty Lancaster bomber was up to the task. On the evening of 16 May 1943, after weeks of intensive training, Gibson led the first wave of bombers away from RAF Scampton and set course for the Möhne dam. The Dambuster raid had begun. Following three attempts and the tragic loss of one aircraft the dam still held; it is now the turn of Flight Lieutenant David Maltby at the controls of Lancaster AJ-J to press home his attack. With Mick Martin drawing the enemy's fire to port and Guy Gibson to starboard, Maltby holds his aircraft steady and true as bomb aimer John Fort releases their Upkeep mine. The time was 00.49hrs on the morning of 17 May 1943 and the mine bounced to perfection, hit the target, sank, and detonated against the already damaged stone wall. Immeasurable pressure forced water through the groaning, already cracking blocks of granite until the dam could stand no more. The wall shuddered and then surrendered. 'There was a breach 100yds across,' Gibson wrote later, 'and the water, looking like stirred porridge in the moonlight, was gushing out and rolling into the Ruhr valley....'

Final Briefing by Anthony Saunders. RAF Scampton: 16 May 1943 20.55 hrs. Everyone at Scampton suspected that something big was about to happen. The crews of the recently formed 617 Squadron, hand-picked by their CO Wing Commander Guy Gibson, had been training hard for weeks and the rumour on the grapevine suggested it might be the Tirpitz they were after. But then, late in the afternoon of 16 May 1943 came the call over the station tannoy that they had all been waiting for: 'All crews of 617 Squadron to report to the briefing room - immediately.' The buzz of excited conversation dropped into silence as Gibson addressed them, and the secret was shared: their small force was about to attack the major dams of western Germany. It was what they had been waiting for and they would go that night. Final Briefing is the first in Anthony Saunders' pair of prints to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Dambuster Raid and depicts the moment at dispersal as Guy Gibson readies his crew to climb inside their waiting Lancaster - AJ-G 'George'. A red flare will soon curl skywards, burning brightly against the sun's fast-fading rays; it is the signal to start engines and at 21.39 G-George will get airborne, leading the first wave of three aircraft. For the crews of 617 Squadron the weeks of intensive training were now over - Operation Chastise was underway.

Low Pass Over the Möhne Dam by Anthony Saunders. Operation Chastise, the plan to destroy the mighty Ruhr dams, was bold, audacious and dangerous. It was also set to become one of the most legendary combat missions ever undertaken in the history of aviation warfare. In late February 1943 a unique decision was taken by the RAF to form the now legendary 617 Squadron, a highly specialised unit within Bomber Command. Its task was to be the destruction of the huge Möhne, Sorpe and Eder dams, which provided vital services to German industry. Tasked with providing the crews for this new squadron was the young, outstanding, bomber and night-fighter pilot Wing Commander Guy Gibson, already a veteran of 174 bomber operations. On 21st March 1943 the unit was formed at RAF Scampton under his command, and the chosen men had just eight weeks to prepare for the task in hand.

Salute the Few by Anthony Saunders. (APB) A poignant scene from the Battle of Britain, as a pair of battle weary Hurricanes return from a mission, young children play in the afternoon sun.

The Breach by Anthony Saunders. The Möhne Dam: 17 May 1943, 00.49 hrs. The journey had been eventful, flying low they had crossed the Dutch coast and headed inland, skimming along canals and the countryside at tree-top height and meeting heavy flak at various points along the route. Yet now the first two waves of Lancasters had reached the Möhne Dam and, as the enemy flak opened up, the six aircraft began to circle their target. First Gibson in AJ-G attacked, his bomb exploding successfully, 'Hoppy' Hopgood crashed after being hit by gunfire, and then 'Mick' Martin in Lancaster AJ-P made his bomb run, yet despite being hit twice, the dam still held. Next Gibson called in 'Dinghy' Young in AJ-A, he too scored a direct hit but it seemed the dam was still un-breached. Things were looking bad as David Maltby in AJ-J made his run into the target but the top of the wall was starting to crumble. Young's bouncing bomb had in fact cracked the dense granite wall and Maltby finished the job with a direct hit - the Möhne Dam was doomed. The second in Anthony Saunders' pair of Dambuster 70th Anniversary commemorative paintings, The Breach depicts the scene as Guy Gibson engages enemy flak positions whilst Lancaster AJ-J, with pilot David Maltby at the controls, banks steeply away after delivering the coup-de-grace. A huge explosion and towering pillar of water marks the breach where a vast torrent begins to flood the valley below.

Night Hunters by Anthony Saunders. In a desperate attempt to save what remained of the once-proud, now ruined city of Berlin, the remnants of the Luftwaffe's beleaguered night-fighter units fought boldly till the end. Short on fuel, spares and ammunition, the pilots of NJG11 faced the impossible task of protecting the shattered capital from the far-reaching arm of the RAF Bomber Command. As the climax of the inevitable defeat approaches, Leutnant Jorg Cypionka of 10./NJG11 engages a powerful incoming force of fast, high-flying RAF Mosquitos from 139 (Jamaica) Squadron (PFF) in one of his unit's few remaining ME262A jets. The Mosquito crews, however, know the dangers of these hotly contested skies over Berlin only too well. From the night of 20/21 February the aircraft of 139 Squadron will run the deadly gauntlet of flak and night-fighters on 36 consecutive night attacks on the city.

Over Grand Harbour by Anthony Saunders. P40 Kittyhawks of No.3 Squadron RAAF based at Ta Qali Airfield, Malta.

Dawn Return by Anthony Saunders. (APB) A Wellington returns low over the calm, dawn water of the North Sea, vainly struggling to maintain both height and speed.

The Big Push - Passchendaele 1917 by Anthony Saunders. Swamped by mud amidst a desolate, shattered landscape, men and horses of the Royal Field Artillery drag their 18 pounder field-gun towards a new position on 15 November 1917, during the final days of the Battle of Passchendaele. Whilst the army continues its grim fight on the ground, overhead Sopwith Camels from 45 Squadron Royal Flying Corps tangle in an equally deadly duel with German Albatros fighters of Jasta 6. Flying the lead Sopwith Camel is the RFC Ace, 2nd Lt Kenneth Montgomery who scored the last of his 12 victories in this dogfight when he shot down the German Ace Leutnant Hans Ritter von Adam, the Commanding Officer of Jasta 6 with an impressive 21 victories to his name. To commemorate one of the most significant anniversaries in history, Anthony Saunders has created a powerful painting portraying the bleak sacrifice made by so many heroic young men. The names of the bitter battles they endured, however, still live on a hundred years later - Ypres, the Somme, Vimy Ridge, Arras, Loos - and one of the most savage - Passchendaele.

Decisive Blow by Anthony Saunders. The Luftwaffe had done everything in its power to pummel London into submission but they failed. By the end of September 1940 their losses were mounting. For weeks since the early days of September, London had been the main target for the Luftwaffe and during that time Luftwaffe High Command had grown increasingly despondent as their losses steadily mounted. Far from being on the brink of collapse RAF Fighter Command, though vastly outnumbered, had shown an incredible resilience. The fighting had reached a dramatic climax on Sunday 15th September when, bloodied and bruised, the Luftwaffe had lost the upper hand on a day of intense combat that had culminated with a humiliating retreat. Almost every day that had passed since then had seen the Luftwaffe do everything in its power to pummel London and regain the initiative, but the daylight raids were becoming increasingly costly. On Friday 27th September, 80 days after the Battle of Britain had officially begun, the Luftwaffe came once more, this time concentrating on the fastest bombers they had - Ju88s and Bf110s. And they came in force, principally targeting London and Bristol. Anthony Saunders' superb painting depicts one of these raids, this time by bombers from KG77 as they head over the Medway Estuary, east of the City of London, in an attempt to attack the capital's warehouses and docks. Among the many units defending the capital that day was 92 Squadron from Biggin Hill and Anthony portrays the Spitfire of Pilot Officer Geoffrey Wellum in his dramatic piece. With a deft flick of the rudder Wellum banks his fighter away to port seconds after sharing in the destruction of a Ju88. It was just one of more than 50 German aircraft destroyed by the RAF during the day.