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Cranston Fine Arts Aviation Art and Artists Modern Era Pilot Signatures UK S Severne, John de

John de Severne

Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Severne, who has died aged 90, was a Cold War fighter pilot before becoming Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh; after a series of senior command posts in the RAF he was appointed Captain of the Queens Flight. Ever since he was a small boy building model aeroplanes, Severne had been passionate about flying. His career in the RAF ranged from post-war fighters and jet trainers to the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft. He won the Kings Cup Air Race in 1960 and became the British Air Racing Champion the same year, flying a Turbulent aircraft entered by the Duke of Edinburgh. In addition to the 32 service aircraft types, he flew 39 different civilian light aircraft. The son of a Royal Flying Corps observer and doctor, John de Milt Severne was born in London on August 15 1925 and educated at Marlborough, where he served in the Officer Training Corps and Home Guard. He was a light aircraft enthusiast from his first flight in a Gipsy Moth at the age of 10. He joined the RAF in April 1944 and completed his training as a pilot in October 1945. He first flew the Mosquito night fighter with 264 Squadron for two years, before leaving for the Central Flying School (CFS) . He trained as a flying instructor and spent the next few years teaching student pilots before returning to CFS to train instructors. In 1952, while still serving at CFS, Severne was able to participate for the first time in the Kings Cup Air Race, an annual event that had fascinated him from his school days. In January 1954, he joined No 98 Squadron, flying Venom day fighter/ground attack aircraft based in northern Germany close to the Iron Curtain. He was soon appointed a flight commander. On November 1 1954 he was carrying out a looping manoeuvre when the engine of his Venom caught fire. A few days earlier a colleague had suffered the same failure and had died when he tried to land the aircraft. Severne would have been justified in ejecting from his single-engine fighter but elected to crash land so that investigations into the incident could be carried out. He landed alongside the runway with the wheels retracted as the fire continued to burn, and managed to scramble clear. For his gallantry he was awarded the AFC. He converted to the Hunter fighter and in January 1956 took command of No 26 Squadron, also based in northern Germany. Following the 1957 Defence White Paper, which stated that air-defence missiles would replace manned fighters, Severne had the distasteful task of telling his men that their squadron was to be disbanded. After a year in the personnel department of the Air Ministry, Severne was appointed to be Equerry to the Duke of Edinburgh. Among other duties he was responsible for making all travel arrangements for the Duke and accompanying him on many trips. This allowed him to travel with the Queens Flight and he took the opportunity to learn to fly helicopters. In 1959 Severne entered Kings Cup Air Race flying a Turbulent painted in the Dukes colours. After a creditable performance, the aircraft was entered again the following year. A number of modifications were made, which resulted in Severne winning the coveted Kings Cup while wearing his daughters riding hat as a crash helmet. After two years, and promotion to wing commander, Severne was appointed LVO and returned to RAF service. After completing the RAF Staff College course, he flew Javelin and Lightning fighters during his appointment as wing commander flying at RAF Middleton St George (now Teesside Airport). With the closure of the RAF airfield, he became the chief instructor of the Lightning Operational Conversion Unit at Coltishall in Norfolk. Severnes next appointment was a very different affair. He left for Aden in January 1966 as the political situation in the Protectorate worsened. He was responsible for the operations of fighter and maritime reconnaissance aircraft, and helicopters working in co-operation with the Army. Hunter aircraft, which he flew on operations, were kept very busy patrolling the Yemen border and attacking dissidents. The Shackleton maritime patrol aircraft were heavily engaged in the Beira Patrol, the implementation of the Rhodesian oil embargo. As the dissident and terrorism activity increased, Severne was also heavily involved in the planning for the withdrawal from Aden of British forces scheduled for November 1967. On November 28 he was one of the last RAF officers to leave Aden. For his services he was appointed OBE. Severnes already varied flying career took another turn in January 1971 when he was appointed to command the RAFs largest maritime base at Kinloss in Scotland. His three squadrons of Nimrods patrolled the North Atlantic shadowing Soviet submarines and powerful surface fleets. He accumulated almost 500 hours flying time in two years and once commented: Flying low over the sea at 200 ft, at night, in bad weather, 1,000 miles over the North Atlantic, concentrates the mind no end. He also flew the Shackleton in the airborne early warning role. During his command of Kinloss, the station was awarded the Wilkinson Sword of Peace for 1971, which he accepted from the Duke of Edinburgh. In 1972 he was appointed as an ADC to the Queen. After attending the Royal College of Defence Studies, Severne returned to the Central Flying School as Commandant. This provided him with a wide variety of flying opportunities with the RAF, including having the Red Arrows under his command . After leaving CFS in February 1976 Severne spent two years responsible for all flying training in the RAF before taking over as Commander, Southern Maritime Region, an appointment that also carried two senior Nato war appointments. He controlled all British and Nato maritime aircraft, when operating out of British bases, south of a line from southern Ireland to Greenland. He also controlled the Rescue Co-ordination Centre, which included air-sea rescue helicopters. His last flight in the RAF was piloting a Whirlwind helicopter during a training air-sea rescue sortie. He retired from the RAF in 1980. In 1982 he was recalled to be Captain of the Queens Flight and a member of the Royal Household. Severne travelled worldwide with members of the Royal family. After seven years, he finally retired, at which point he was advanced to KCVO. His retirement to Somerset was almost as busy as his service life. He served as a Deputy Lieutenant of the county from 1991 to 2001 and was Honorary Air Commodore of No 3 Maritime Headquarters of the Royal Auxiliary Air Force. He was president of the SW Region of the Royal Air Force Association and also president of the Queen's Flight Association and of the Central Flying School Association. A man of great charm, he was a keen photographer and took a close interest in local affairs. He was Chapel Warden at Ditcheat Church and raised £25,000 for the restoration of the churchs Alhampton Chapel, a project completed in 2011. He wrote his autobiography Silvered Wings in 2007. He never lost his love of flying and a week before his 90th birthday, and 80 years after his first flight in a Gypsy Moth, he took the controls of a Tiger Moth. John Severne married Katharine Kemball in November 1951. She and their three daughters survive him. Air Vice-Marshal Sir John Severne, born August 15 1925, died October 4 2015.

John de Severne - Signed Aviation Art

Queens Flight by Robert Taylor. This single edition is sold out. The edition features 2 additional signatures.

Text for the above items :

Queens Flight by Robert Taylor. A specially commissioned study of her Majesty The Queens Flight on the occasion of its 50th Anniversary. Featured are all the main aircraft to have been in service with the flight.

Hunter Manufacturer : Hawker Built : 1972

Hunter Hawker Hunter F-1 to Fr-10 jet fighter and fighter reconnaissance aircraft first flew with No43 squadron Royal Air Force in July 1954. The Hawker Hunter continued service until 1971. The Hunters were used by two RAF display units, the "Black Arrows" of No. 111 Squadron who set a record by looping and barrel rolling in formation 22 Hunters, and later the "Blue Diamonds" of 92 Squadron that used 16 Hunters. A total of 1,972 Hunters were produced by Hawker Siddeley and under licence.

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Javelin

Javelin No profile available

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Lightning (UK) Manufacturer : BAC Built : 278

Lightning (UK) English Electric (later BAC) Lightning. Originally designed by W F Petter (the designer of the Canberra) The first Lighting Prototype was first flown on the 4th August 1954 by Wing Commander R P Beamont at Boscombe Down. The second prototype P1A, The name of Lightning was not used until 1958) (WG763) was shown at the Farnborough show in September 1955. The Third prototype was flown in April 1957 and was the first British aircraft ever to fly at Mach 2 on the 25th November 1958 The first production aircraft made its first flight on 3rd November 1959 and entered operational service with the RAF on the 29th June 1960with |NO. 74 squadron based at Coltishall. The F1 was followed shortly after by the F1A which had been modified to carry a in-flight refueling probe. The Lightning F2 entered service in December 1962 with no 19 and 92 squadrons. a total of 44 aircraft F2 were built. The F3 came into service between 1964 and 1966 with Fighter Command squadrons, re engined with the Roll's Royce Avon 301 turbojets. The Lightning T Mk 5 was a training version Lightning a total of 22 were built between August 1964 and December 1966. The BAC Lighting F MK 6 was the last variant of the lightning, base don the F3, this was the last single seat fighter and served the |Royal Air Force for 20 years. First Flown on 17th April 1964, and a total of 55 F6 saw service with the Royal Air Force, and the last Lightning F6 was produced in August 1967. A Total of 278 lightning's of all marks were delivered. In 1974 the Phantom aircraft began replacing the aging Lightning's, but 2 F6 remained in service up to 1988 with Strike Command until finally being replaced with Tornado's. Specifications for MK1 to 4: Made by English Electrc Aviation Ltd at Preston and Samlesbury Lancashire, designated P1B, All Weather single seat Fighter. Max Speed: Mach 2.1 (1390 mph) at 36,000 feet Ceiling 55,000 feet Armament: Two 30mm Aden guns and Two Firestreak infra red AAM's. Specificaitons for MK 6: Made by English Electrc Aviation Ltd at Preston Lancashire, designated P1B, All Weather single seat Fighter. Max Speed: Mach 2.27 (1500 mph) at 40,000 feet Ceiling 55,000 feet Range: 800 miles. Armament: Two 30mm Aden guns and Two Firestreak infra red AAM's. or Two Red Top. or two retractable contain 24 spin-stabilized rockets each.

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Mosquito Manufacturer : De Havilland Built : 7781

Mosquito Used as a night fighter, fighter bomber, bomber and Photo-reconnaissance, with a crew of two, Maximum speed was 425 mph, at 30,300 feet, 380mph at 17,000ft. and a ceiling of 36,000feet, maximum range 3,500 miles. the Mosquito was armed with four 20mm Hospano cannon in belly and four .303 inch browning machine guns in nose. Coastal strike aircraft had eight 3-inch Rockets under the wings, and one 57mm shell gun in belly. The Mossie at it was known made its first flight on 25th November 1940, and the mosquito made its first operational flight for the Royal Air Force as a reconnaissance unit based at Benson. In early 1942, a modified version (mark II) operated as a night fighter with 157 and 23 squadron's. In April 1943 the first De Haviland Mosquito saw service in the Far east and in 1944 The Mosquito was used at Coastal Command in its strike wings. Bomber Commands offensive against Germany saw many Mosquitos, used as photo Reconnaissance aircraft, Fighter Escorts, and Path Finders. The Mosquito stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1955. and a total of 7781 mosquito's were built.

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Nimrod

Nimrod No profile available

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Shackleton Manufacturer : Avro

Shackleton The first prototype flew on 9th March 1949. The Shackleton was a development of the famous Avro Lancaster Bomber. and the Shackleton was designed for use for coastal Command. The First RAF squadrons to be equipped with the aircraft were NO. 120 squadron at Kinloss in 1951 followed by another 7 squadrons by 1953. The MR2 mark aircrafts began replacing the mK1's in 1954.. These aircraft saw long service with the last MR3 being retired in 1971 but a Airborne early warning variant joined no 8 squadron in January 1972. Crew: six to ten. Speed: 302 mph. range: 4215 at 200 mph at 1500 feet. Service ceiling 19,200 feet. Armament: two 20mm Hispano cannon in nose, two 20mm Hispano cannon in B.17 dorsal turret. Two .50in machine guns in tail

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Venom

Venom No profile available

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Whirlwind

Whirlwind No profile available

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John de Severne Squadron details

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