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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth Surname A  Atkinson, Sir John |
[UP] - Adam, Ken - Ainley, Phil - Aitken, John - Aldridge, Arthur - Allen, Mike - Anderson, Bill - Anderson, Donald - Appleford, Alexander - Arkell, Peter - Armitage, Dennis - Arndell, Idris - Arrighi, Ted - Atkins, Eric - Atkinson, Sir John - Austin, F H P - Austin, Tom - Auton, Jim - Avey, Charles - Ayerst, Peter |
Flight Lieutenant Sir John Atkinson KCB DFC
John Atkinson joined the RAF from Oxford University in 1938 and completed his pilot training in England. His first operational posting was in 1940 to 234 Squadron at St Eval, Cornwall, flying Spitfires, before moving on to 609 Squadron at Warwell, Dorchester. In 1942 he converted to Typhoons with 609 Squadron at Duxford, and from there to Biggin Hill and Manston, launching fighter operations over France. When his tour of operations ended in 1943 he was awarded the DFC and went on to become a Flying Instructor until the war was over. Released from the RAF in 1945, he went on to have a successful career in the civil service, and was knighted in 1979.
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| Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Flight Lieutenant Sir John Atkinson KCB DFC - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Normandy Sunrise by Gerald Coulson. Here, in the brightening morning sky, Typhoons are prepared for the first sortie of the day. One has already fired up its big, powerful engine, blowing up whirlwinds of Normandy dust, ground crew hover, ready to remove chocks prior to taxi and take-off. A second is readied, while the remainder of the squadron, widely dispersed around the temporary field, are about to set about their deadly missions of the day. |
Closing the Gap by Robert Taylor. As Typhoon Mk1b fighter-bombers of 247 Squadron exit the target area near Falaise at full throttle, the havoc wreaked in their wake bears witness to the devastation of their powerful rockets. Fuel and ammunition from the retreating German column explode with shattering detonations, the savagery of the attack demoralising the enemy into stunned oblivion. The Typhoons will hurtle back to base to re-arm and hastily re-fuel, ready for yet another withering strike on the encircled Wehrmacht columns. This stunning rendition from the the worlds premier aviation artist pays tribute to the brave young RAF fighter pilots of the twenty squadrons of rocket-firing Hawker Typhoons who flew those perilous ground attacks during the Battle of Normandy. |
| Flight Lieutenant Sir John Atkinson KCB DFC Aircraft details |
 Spitfire Manufacturer : Supermarine Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. |
 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. |
| Flight Lieutenant Sir John Atkinson KCB DFC Squadron details |
No.453 Sqn RAAF Country : Australia Disbanded 21st January 1946 Known Codes : , FU, TD, | No.453 Sqn RAAF Ready to strike |
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