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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists Modern Era Pilot Signatures UK H  Hubbard, Ken |
[UP] - Hanna, Ray - Harper, Chris - Haven, Dick - Hawker, Jas - Hawkins, Ian - Hazelden, Hedley - Heeps, James - Hewlett, Tim - Higgins, Martin - Hoare, Frank - Hobbs, David - Hopkins, Bruce - Hopkins, Mark - Hoskins, Brian - Howe, John - Howes, G - Hoy, Al - Hubbard, Ken - Humphries, Mark - Hussein, HRH Feisal |
Group Captain Ken Hubbard, OBE DFC AFC
On 15 May 1957 Valiant XD818 captained by Wg Cdr Ken Hubbard, OC No 49 Sqn, dropped Britain's first H-bomb at Christmas Island in the South Pacific. Awarded the DFC during WWII whilst flying Wellington bombers in Italy with No 70 Sqn, he later flew Liberators and commanded No 104 Sqn with Lancasters. He commanded RAF Scampton during the height of the V-Force build-up with the Blue Steel equipped Vulcan B2s and has flown numerous types including the Victor and Vulcan. He died 21st January 2004.
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| Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Group Captain Ken Hubbard, OBE DFC AFC - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Valiant, The Last Valiant by Michael Rondot. The Vickers Valiant was the first four jet bomber of Britains Cold War nuclear strike V-Force whos Valiants, Victors and Vulcans, painted in distinctive anti-flash white, were a familiar sight in the 1950s & 1960s. Widely regarded as the best looking V Bomber and the nicest to fly, the Valiant equipped nine Squadrons during its brief career from 1955 to 1964, dropping bombs in anger during the Suez crisis and Britains first atomic and hydrogen bombs. |
Clipped Signature - Ken Hubbard. Flew Wellington bombers with No.70 Sqn and Liberators and Lancasters with No.104 Sqn. He was the Captain of Vickers Valiant XD818 of No.49 Sqn as it dropped the first British H-Bomb on Christmas Island in 1957. He died in 2004. Please note that this particular signature has been written in pen - not in pencil like most of our signatures. |
| Group Captain Ken Hubbard, OBE DFC AFC Aircraft details |
 Lancaster Manufacturer : Avro Built : 7377 | Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' "Operation Gomorrah" in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. |
 Valiant Manufacturer : Vickers | Valiant No profile available |
 Victor Manufacturer : Handley Page | Victor The Handley Page Victor was a British jet bomber aircraft produced by the Handley Page Aircraft Company. It was the third and final of the "V bombers" which provided Britain's nuclear deterrent. The other two V-bombers were the Avro Vulcan and the Vickers Valiant. The Victor was the last of the V-bombers to enter service and the last to retire, nine years after the last Vulcan (The Handley Page Victor saw service in the Falklands War and 1991 Gulf War as an in-flight refuelling tanker. The only Offensive mission that the Victors was during the Bornio Conflict in 1962 to 1966 where two B.1A Victors flew missions. |
 Vulcan Manufacturer : Avro | Vulcan The Avro Vulcan was the worlds first delta winged heavy bomber. the first prototype flew on the 30th August 1952 and the first production Vulcan flew in February 1955. The first Avro Vulcan's arrived for service with the Royal Air Force with 230 operational Conversion Unit (OCU) at RAF Finningley in May 1956. with the first squadron to receive the Vulcan in July 1957 was 83 squadron. In April 1968 Bomber Command merged into the Newly created Strike Command with eight Squadrons being equipped with Vulcan's. A terrain Hugging variant was introduced (the Vulcan SR2) in 1973, to all squadrons except no. 27 squadron (Flying Elephants) which was a Maritime reconnaissance Sqd. The Last Major role for the Avro Bomber was the bombing of Argentinean Airfields in the Falkland Islands During The Falklands Conflict The Avro Vulcan high Altitude Bomber with a crew of five. Top Speed 650 mph with a ceiling of 60,000 feet. maximum range of 5750 miles (with in flight refuelling). with a conventional bomb load of 21 x 1000 lb bombs |
 Wellington Manufacturer : Vickers | Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a Bomber aircraft and also used for maritime reconnaissance. and had a normal crew of six except in the MKV and VI where a crew of three was used. Maximum speed was 235 mph (MK1c) 255 mph (MK III, X) and 299 mph (MK IIII), normal operating range of 1805 miles (except MK III which was 1470miles) The Wellington or Wimpy as it was known, was the major bomber of the Royal Air Force between 1939 and 1943. The Royal Air Force received its first Wellingtons in October 1938 to 99 squadron. and by the outbreak of World war two there were 6 squadrons equipped with the Vickers Wellington. Due to heavy losses on daylight raids, the Wellington became a night bomber and from 1940 was also used as a long range bomber in North Africa. and in 1942 also became a long range bomber for the royal Air Force in India. It was well used by Coastal Command as a U-Boat Hunter. The Wellington remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1953. Probably due to its versatile use, The aircraft was also used for experimental work including the fitting of a pressure cabin for High altitude tests. The Vickers Wellington could sustain major damage and still fly, probably due to its construction of its geodesic structure and practical application of geodesic lines. Designed by Sir Barnes Wallis |
| Group Captain Ken Hubbard, OBE DFC AFC Squadron details |
No.104 Sqn RAF Country : UK The squadron was again reformed - as No. 104 (Strategic Missile) Squadron - on 22 July 1959, one of 20 squadrons associated with Project Emily. Known Codes : , EP, PO, | No.104 Sqn RAF Strike hard |
No.49 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st May 1965 Known Codes : , EA, XU, | No.49 Sqn RAF Cave canem - Beware of the dog |
No.70 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , DU, SJ, | No.70 Sqn RAF Usquam - Anywhere |
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