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Cranston Fine Arts Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth Surname A Adam, Ken

Flight Lieutenant Ken Adam OBE

One of only two German nationals (the other was his brother) to fly operationally for the RAF, Klaus Hugo Adam was a German national, born in Berlin, who left Germany in 1934 to escape the Nazi persecution. He joined the RAF in August 1942 and after flying training, mostly in the USA, joined 609 Squadron flying Typhoons in October 1943. Known to everyone in the Squadron as Heinie, he served with the squadron until the end of the war, the hazards of operational flying increased for him by the knowledge that capture as a POW would certainly end in death. Demobilised in 1946 he went on to a very successful career as an art director in the film industry and is best known, perhaps, for his work on the Bond films. -- I think what affected me most and I will remember for the rest of my life, was the aftermath of the battle for the Falaise Gap. After it was all over, 609 Squadron were given a day off and we decided to drive into the Falaise area to get a first hand view from the ground of the results of our rocket attacks. Unfortunately our truck was trapped in an armoured column moving at a snails pace, since the road or what was left of it was choked with wreckage, swollen corpses of men of the SS divisions, dead cattle and horses. The stench of death was everywhere. We tried to breath through our handkerchiefs which we knotted over our mouths and noses, to little avail. The sickly sweet smell of death stuck to our uniforms and bodies for days to come. This was my first contact on the ground with the dead and what had been the enemy. Attacking a target from the air, one felt strangely removed from the realities and horror on the ground. This was our first decisive defeat of the German army, in which 609 Squadron and other rocket Typhoon squadrons of 84 Group played such a vital role, but my feelings of elation at this victory were muted by the carnage of dead bodies and even more so the grotesque spectacle of countless dead horses with their limbs rigidly sticking up in the air. It was an experience I will never forget. He died on 10th March 2016.

Flight Lieutenant Ken Adam OBE - Signed Aviation Art

Rocket Firing Typhoons at the Falaise Gap - Normandy 1944 by Frank Wootton. One edition. The edition features 10 additional signature(s). £250.00

Text for the above items :

Rocket Firing Typhoons at the Falaise Gap - Normandy 1944 by Frank Wootton. Perhaps the most historically significant painting by Frank Wootton, painted onthe site of the battle just a few days after it took place.

Typhoon Manufacturer : Hawker Built : 3330

Typhoon Single engine fighter with a maximum speed of 412 mph at 19,000 feet and a ceiling of 35,200 feet. range 510 miles. The Typhoon was armed with twelve browning .303inch machine guns in the wings (MK1A) Four 20mm Hispano cannon in wings (MK!B) Two 1000ilb bombs or eight 3-inch rockets under wings. The first proto type flew in February 1940, but due to production problems the first production model flew in May 1941. with The Royal Air Force receiving their first aircraft in September 1941. Due to accidents due to engine problems (Sabre engine) The Hawker Typhoon started front line service in December 1941.The Hawker Typhoon started life in the role of interceptor around the cost of England but soon found its real role as a ground attack aircraft. especially with its 20mm cannon and rockets. This role was proved during the Normandy landings and the period after. The total number of Hawker typhoons built was 3,330.

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Flight Lieutenant Ken Adam OBE Squadron details

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