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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Squadrons UK and Commonwealth No.77 Sqn to No.105 Sqn  No.99 Sqn |
[UP] - No.77 Sqn RAAF - No.78 Sqn - No.79 Sqn - No.80 Sqn - No.81 Sqn - No.83 Sqn - No.85 Sqn - No.87 Sqn - No.88 Sqn - No.89 Sqn - No.90 Sqn - No.91 Sqn - No.92 Sqn - No.97 Sqn - No.99 Sqn - No.101 Sqn - No.102 Sqn - No.103 Sqn - No.104 Sqn - No.105 Sqn |
Quisque tenax - Each tenacious
July 1940, based at Newmarket Heath.
| No.99 Sqn Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Prints |
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| Text for the above items : |
Overdue by Gerald Coulson. The Vickers-Armstrong Wellington entered service life in the RAF in 1938 as a medium bomber. As the mainstay of the Bomber Command, it bore the initial brunt of the RAFs night offensive during 1940. Without the benefit of sophisticated navigation aids, the bomber crews had difficulty locating and hitting targets and also contending with rapidly improving German defences. The picture depicts an incident at sunrise on the morning of 26th July 1940. A Wellington 1c of 99 Squadron, based at Newmarket Heath, returns from a raid over Dortmund. An engine fails over the North Sea and the aircraft, captained by Squadron Leader Sarll, struggled almost to its home base and crashed just south of Cambridge. The crew survived. |
Merlins Thunder by Gerald Coulson. The Avro Lancaster bomber of Bomber Command flies low over occupied Europe at speed thanks to the Merlin engines. |
Wellington Dispersal by Michael Turner Ground crews prepare 99 Squadron Wellington bombers on their snow covered airfield at Waterbeach during the bitter winter of 1940. |
Globemaster III by Ivan Berryman. Reformed in November 2000, 99 Squadron, based at Brize Norton, is now the operator of the RAF's new heavy transport, the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III, an example of which is shown on the newly extended concrete runway at Camp Bastion in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The C-17s have become the mainstay of the RAF's supply train, shuttling between the UK and Afghanistan, as well as providing specialist aeromedical evacuation and humanitarian relief duties. |
| No.99 Sqn RAF Aircraft details |
Heyford Manufacturer : Handley Page | Heyford No profile available |
Stinger | Stinger AC-119K |
 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 |
| No.99 Sqn RAF Pilot and aircrew signature details |
  Group Captain Graham Baptie Blacklock OBE DFC Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2011 | Group Captain Graham Baptie Blacklock OBE DFC On completion of a tour of operations on the Wellington in July 1940, Blacklock joined three other pilots at Boscombe Down to form the Stirling Development Flight. Once they had become used to flying the ungainly aircraft, the small team left for an airfield in Yorkshire as the nucleus of No 7 Squadron, as it was re-equipping with the Stirling. On February 10 1941 three of the bombers took off to attack oil storage tanks at Rotterdam, the RAF's first bombing operation in the Second World War by a four-engine bomber. Blacklock flew as a second pilot, but all his subsequent operations were as a captain. He bombed Berlin on the night of April 9th, but most of No 7 Squadron's operations during this period were in daylight, sometimes with a fighter escort but on other occasions relying on cloud cover to mask their outbound route. On June 28th three Stirlings took off for a daylight attack on Bremen. One soon turned back, but Blacklock and his flight commander pressed on despite the lack of cloud. As they approached the target, they were attacked by nine enemy fighters. Blacklock skilfully manoeuvred his aircraft to allow his gunners to engage the enemy; at least one was shot down, and probably a second. On the return flight, he realised that the second Stirling had been severely damaged and he turned back to escort it. Eventually the crippled aircraft was forced to ditch near the Frisian Islands, and, despite the threat of more enemy fighters appearing on the scene, Blacklock orbited the spot for 10 minutes looking for survivors. The Stirling had, however, disappeared along with its crew. Blacklock was awarded an immediate DFC. On July 23rd there was a report that the battlecruiser Scharnhorst had left Brest for La Pallice, and three Stirlings – flown by the three original pilots to join No 7 Squadron – were sent to attack with armour-piercing bombs. They encountered heavy flak and were attacked by fighters, forcing an escape at very low level. This was the last daylight raid by the Stirlings, and Blacklock completed his tour of operations at night attacking industrial centres in the Ruhr. On August 28th, after his last operation to Duisburg, he was rested, having completed two full tours. Graham Baptie Blacklock, always known as Gerry, was born on June 23rd 1914 near Skipton, Yorkshire, and educated at Queen Mary's Royal Grammar School, Clitheroe. In 1931 he joined the RAF as an aircraft apprentice and trained as a metal rigger. After service in England and at the RAF's aircraft depot at Aboukir, near Alexandria, he volunteered for pilot training during the rapid expansion of the Service prior to the Second World War. He was posted to No 99 Squadron to fly the Heyford, a biplane bomber he described as 'a mechanical praying mantis'. In 1938 it was replaced by the Wellington, and on the outbreak of war the squadron moved to the Rowley Mile on Newmarket racecourse. Operations during the Phoney War were limited, but an attack on December 14th 1939 met with disaster when six of the 12 Wellingtons were shot down. Blacklock, however, returned safely. He continued to fly North Sea sweeps and also dropped leaflets on German cities. After the German invasion of Norway he attacked Stavanger airfield, and on May 10th bombed the recently captured airfield at Rotterdam. On May 23rd his squadron was diverted to support the retreating British Expeditionary Force, before attacks were resumed against oil targets in Germany. At the end of his tour he was awarded a DFM. After completing his time on the Stirling, Blacklock, as an ex-aircraft apprentice, was well-qualified to establish the formal training of a new aircrew category, the flight engineer. For the remainder of the war he filled numerous technical training appointments. After the war he was an instructor on bombers before being appointed to the Far East to survey potential staging posts on the Indian Ocean islands of Gan, Diego Garcia and Christmas Island. At the works and finance branch of the Air Ministry in 1956, he helped to relocate RAF forces from Egypt to Cyprus. In October 1958 he conducted a survey of Ascension Island. On promotion to group captain, Blacklock commanded the RAF airfield at Hullavington, where the RAF's air electronic officers were trained. He took retirement in 1961. In addition to his gallantry awards, Blacklock was appointed OBE in 1953. Group Captain Blacklock died on 28th April 2011. |
Squadron Leader Lawrence Curtis DFC* Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2008 | Squadron Leader Lawrence Curtis DFC* Joining the RAF in 1939, he was posted as a wireless operator firstly to 149 Squadron and then 99 Squadron on Wellingtons. He then joined OTU on Whitleys before moving firstly to 158 Squadron, and then 617 Squadron on Lancasters, where he was Unit Signals Leader for 18 months. After bomber operations he joined Transport Command in 1944. He died on 21st June 2008. |
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