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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth W  Wadsworth, R |
Squadron Leader R G Bob Wadsworth DSO DFC
Flying as Captain of a Mosquito with No.692 Sqn, he completed 46 sorties on targets in Germany, culminating in a daring and accurate raid on a well defended railway tunnel in difficult terrain for which he received the Distinguished Service Order to add to his Distinguished Flying Cross. He died on 31st July 2011.
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| Distinguished Service Order | Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Squadron Leader R G Bob Wadsworth DSO DFC - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Winter Ops by Gerald Coulson. Up to 1942 Bomber Command operations were beset by many problems. The means they had to accurately pinpoint the target and assault it were totally lacking, in fact their Commander in Chief, Air Marshall Arthur Harris later wrote : It was glaringly obvious that the average crew in average weather could not find their way to the target. Between February and August 1942 an effort was made to rectify this through the development of a specialised target finding and target marking force, which became known as the Pathfinders. Activated on August 15 this new group was formed under the leadership of their AOC Air Commodore Don Bennett, himself a very experienced pre war pilot with exceptional navigational skills. The aircrews of No. 8 (PFF) Group were tasked with marking out the designated targets but the formation of this group was initially opposed by Harris. He felt that the ranks of his Main Force could be weakened if a high number of experienced and highly skilled crews were taken by this specialist unit, leading to a lessening of skills within the other bomber groups. He agreed however for an alternative scheme whereby complete units were assigned to the Pathfinder Force and the stage was then set for what was to become the Main Offensive of Bomber Command. The first four Squadrons - Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) - were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. In the absence of any specialist Target Markers the crews were initially forced to operate using standard flares and the early raids produced variable results, with cloud cover often proving the main obstacle in accurate marking. However during the winter of 1942 the introduction of the ground guided marking system, OBOE, marked a quantum leap in accurate target marking and by mid 1943 Pathfinder techniques had been developed for all forms of weather conditions, including nights when complete overcast existed.Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment such as H2S to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. This third and final painting in Gerald Coulsons Tribute to Bomber Command depicts Lancaster Bombers of No.8 (PFF) Group returning late after a gruelling operation over Berlin. It is Christmas 1943 and the winter landscape reflects the early morning sunrise as the weary crews approach the safety of their Cambridgeshire base. |
Clipped Signature - Bob Wadsworth. Flying as Captain of a Mosquito with No.692 Sqn, he completed 46 sorties on targets in Germany, culminating in a daring and accurate raid on a well defended railway tunnel in difficult terrain for which he received the Distinguished Service Order to add to his Distinguished Flying Cross. He died in 2011. |
| Squadron Leader R G Bob Wadsworth DSO DFC Aircraft details |
| Squadron Leader R G Bob Wadsworth DSO DFC Squadron details |
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