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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth W  Ward-Hunt, Peter |
Wg Cdr Peter Ward-Hunt DFC
Born 6th December 1916. Joined the RAF in July 1937, with No 106 Sqn flying Hampdens, moving to No.49 Sqn at the end of that year. After a period as an instructor, joined No.207 Sqn flying the Manchester. He was selected to convert others to Lancasters in May 1942, and became a flight commander of No 106 Sqn in February 1943. He died 7th December 2005.
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| Distinguished Flying Cross |
| Wg Cdr Peter Ward-Hunt DFC - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Returning from Caen by Graeme Lothian. Spitfires from 144 Wing RCAF 2nd TAF led by W/c Johnnie Johnson. Supplying air cover to a mixed force of 942 bombers over Normandy on Operation Goodwood, 18th July 1944. SR-Z of 101 (Special) squadron. Lancasters piloted by Flt Lt George Harris DFC. |
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Peter Ward-Hunt signs prints of - Returning from Caen - by Graeme Lothian. |
| Wg Cdr Peter Ward-Hunt DFC Aircraft details |
 Hampden Manufacturer : Handley Page Built : 1500 | Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden was a twin-engine medium bomber built for the Royal Air Force and was used by Bomber Command in the early years of world war two. Along with the other medium bombers the Whitley and Wellington, the Hampden bore the brunt of the early bombing war over Europe, taking part in the first night raid on Berlin and the first 1,000-plane raid on Cologne. The newest of the three medium bombers, the Hampden was known as the Flying Suitcase because of its cramped crew conditions. A total of 226 Hampdens were in service with eight Royal Air Force squadrons by the start of the Second World War. Despite its speed and agility, in operational use the Hampden was no match for the fighters of the Luftwaffe (ME109 and FW 190) and the Hampdens role as a day bomber was brief, but Hampdens continued to operate at night on bombing raids over Germany and in mine laying (code-named gardening) in the North Sea. Almost half of the Hampdens built – 714, were lost on operations, witht he loss of 1,077 crew killed and another 739 missing. German flak accounted for 108; with one Hampden being lost due to German Barrage balloons; 263 Hampdens crashed due to a variety of causes, and 214 others were classed as missing. Luftwaffe pilots claimed 128 Hampdens, shooting down 92 at night. The Hampden soon became obsolete for its roll as a medium modern bomber, after operating mainly at night, it was retired from Bomber Command service in late 1942. but continued with Coastal Command throughout 1943 as a long-range Torpedo Bomber (the Hampden TB Mk I which carried the Mk XII torpedo in an open bomb-bay and a single 500 lb (230 kg) bomb under each wing) The Hampden was also used by the Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal New Zealand Air Force. |
 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. |
 Manchester Manufacturer : Avro | Manchester No profile available |
| Wg Cdr Peter Ward-Hunt DFC Squadron details |
No.106 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 24th May 1963 Known Codes : , ZN, XS, ZM, | No.106 Sqn RAF Pro libertate - For freedom |
No.207 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 30th June 1984 Known Codes : , EM, NJ, | No.207 Sqn RAF Semper paratus - Always prepared |
No.49 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 1st May 1965 Known Codes : , EA, XU, | No.49 Sqn RAF Cave canem - Beware of the dog |
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