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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Squadrons UK and Commonwealth No.151 Sqn to No.222 Sqn  No.201 Sqn |
[UP] - No.151 Sqn - No.152 Sqn - No.154 Sqn - No.156 Sqn - No.157 Sqn - No.158 Sqn - No.161 Sqn - No.166 Sqn - No.174 Sqn - No.175 Sqn - No.1770 Sqn FAA - No.181 Sqn - No.182 Sqn - No.185 Sqn - No.193 Sqn - No.197 Sqn - No.198 Sqn - No.199 Sqn - No.201 Sqn - No.207 Sqn - No.210 Sqn - No.213 Sqn - No.217 Sqn - No.218 Sqn - No.222 Sqn |
Hic et ubique - Here and everywhere
201 Squadron is one of the oldest squadrons in the RAF. It began as No. 1 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) on 17 October 1914, and reformed on under that designation on 6 December 1916,and being renumbered to 201 Squadron on the formation of the RAF on 1 April 1918
No 201 reformed with Southampton flying boats and based at Calshot. These had been replaced by Londons by the time of World War II, and the unit found itself patrolling the Shetland-Norway gap. The following year, No 201 received Sunderlands and commenced anti-submarine patrols over the Atlantic until the U-boat menace had been defeated. The Squadron also joined the successful Channel blockade prior to the D-Day it also had the distinction of carrying the final Coastal Command patrol of the War on 3 June 1945.
The Sunderlands soldiered on, even taking part in the Berlin Airlift, until 1957 when the Squadron was disbanded. No 201 reformed at St Mawgan on 1 October 1958 with the new Shackleton Mk3s and moving to Kinloss in 1965. The 'Shacks' remained until 1970 when the unit received its first Nimrods, and these have seen action in both the South Atlantic, Gulf (twice) and Balkans conflicts.
| No.201 Sqn Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Short Sunderland Mk.5 ML778 NS-Z by G Henderson. A Short Sunderland of No.201 Sqn. |
Atlantic Patrol by Keith Woodcock. A Short Sunderland Mark III of 201 sqn. Coastal Command above an allied convoy in the North Atlantic as it continues to search for marauding German U-Boats. |
By Dawn's Light by Ivan Berryman. The Consolidated Model 28 PBY Catalina was so successful in its definitive form that it went on to become the most extensively built flying boat of all time. Here, a 210 Squadron Catalina Mk IVA from RAF Sullom Voe, Shetland, has located two weary downed aircrew, drained but grateful after a long night in the North Atlantic swell. |
Short Sunderland Mk.V RN273 of 201 Sqn RAF by Keith Woodcock. No text for this item |
The Final Curtain by Ivan Berryman. On the 20th of April 1918, just one day before his death, the legendary Red Baron, Mannfred von Richthofen, claimed his final victory. His famous Flying Circus was engaged in battle by Sopwith Camels of No.3 and No.201 Squadron. Claiming his 79th victory, he had shot down Major Richard Raymond-Barker earlier in the dogfight - the British pilot being killed in the resulting crash. However, it is his 80th and final victory that is depicted here. In the centre of the painting, the Sopwith Camel of David Lewis has been brought into the firing line of von Richthofen, and is about to be sent down in flames from the sky - Lewis was fortunate to survive the encounter relatively unscathed. Meanwhile the chaos of the dogfight is all around this duel, with aircraft of both sides wheeling and diving in combat. The other pilots depicted are Weiss, Bell, Riley, Steinhauser, Mohnicke, Hamilton and Wenzl. |
Good Morning, Spartan by Robert Barbour. Nimrod MR2P from 201 squadron based at RAF Kinloss, climbs away under full power during NATO exercises off the west coast of Scotland. The Nimrod has just completed simulated depth charge attacks on the fleet submarine HMS Spartan and is returning to Kinloss for breakfast. Spartan turns and heads for the Clyde Submarine Base at Faslane on the Gareloch. |
Signing Off by Keith Hill. On 3rd June Sunderland Z-Zebra of 201 escorts an inbound convoy, signing off with the last operational sortie of WW2 in Europe. |
| No.201 Sqn RAF Aircraft details |
London | London No profile available |
 Nimrod | Nimrod No profile available |
 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 |
 Sunderland Manufacturer : Short Built : 749 | Sunderland The Short Sunderland, Patrol and Reconnaissance Flying Boat. normal crew level 10. maximum speed of 210mph for Mark I, 205mph Mark II and Mark III, and 213mph Mark V. ceiling 17,900 feet and range of 2110 miles (mk I) 2880 miles for Mark V. endurance in the air 13.5 hours. The Sunderland carries 1 .303 machine gun in the nose, (mark I) and four .303 browning machine guns in the Tail Turret. Also in the Mark II four Vickers .303 inch machine guns were used in the body positions. and four browning machineguns in the nose flanks in the Mark III. Maximum bomb load of 4960 lbs. Based on the design of the Civil Empire class flying boat. The Short Sunderland entered service with the Royal Air Force in June 1938 with 230 squadron. and by the end of the war, 20 squadrons of the Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force were equipped with Sunderland's. By the end of the production in 1946 a total of 749 were built, The roles the Short Sunderland played, mainly were in Maritime and anti Submarine duties, especially in the battle of the Atlantic, The Sunderland accounted for 58 U-Boats sunk or badly damaged. The Sunderland was also used in other theatres of the war and in the Mediterranean helped in the evacuation of troops from Crete and Greece, as well as helping in the evacuation of troops in Burma. The Short Sunderland remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1959. used during the Korean War, The Berlin Air Lift, and during Operation Firedog, , The Malayan Emergency. |
| No.201 Sqn RAF Pilot and aircrew signature details |
Flt. Lt. John Bishop Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Flt. Lt. John Bishop Joined the RAF in April 1943 from Edinburgh University Air Squadron and trained as a pilot in Rhodesia. In August 1944 he was posted to Diego Suarez to fly Catalina flying boats on anti-submarine patrols. He converted to Sunderlands at Mombassa on 209 Sqdn. and 57 MU also on Sunderlands until 1953. This included the Berlin airlift in 1948, flying from the river in Hamburg to Havel Lake, and flew in an anti-shipping role in Burma. At the end o fthe war in the Far East he flew form Hong Kong and Singapore until returning to the UK in Spetember 1946. He continued on 201 Sqd. Flying Boats until 1953. Thereafter he was mainly employed on V.I.P. duties flying from Malta, Northolt, Fontainebleau, Bovingdon and White Waltham. He flew 173 ops and 1800 hours on Sunderlands and 1800 hours on Devons out of a total of 6250 flying hours. The last fiver years of his service was as an Air Traffic Controller at R.A.F. Benson and RAF Abingdon. |
Flt Lt Ian de Hamel Our estimated value of this signature : £25 Died : 2003 | Flt Lt Ian de Hamel Flt Lt Ian de Hamel flew Sunderlands with Coastal Command, 1944-1945. His introduction to flying was with the University Air Squadron whilst at Oxford, and he volunteered as a pilot in the RAF in 1942. His request to be allowed to serve on flying boats was granted due to his experience and skill in sailing, and he trained with the US Navy at Pensacola. However, due to the RAFs insistence that all flying boat pilots must also be fully trained navigators, he flew on Oxfords for a while before starting operations on Sunderlands with 228 Sqn at Pembroke Dock. These consisted of long and exhausting patrols hunting U-Boats in the Bay of Biscay and the North Atlantic before his transfer, as Captain, to 201 Sqn, also at Pembroke Dock. His flying career ended with this unit at Calshot in 1945 when he left the RAF. He died in 2003. |
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