|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Don't Miss Any Special Deals - Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
| |||||||||||||||
| CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL NICOLAS TRUDGIAN PRINTS BY TITLE |
|
Wing Commander George W Swanwick
George Swanwick was born on 10th November 1915 and was an air-gunner on Wallaces and Hinds with 504 squadron at RAF Hucknall during the 1930s. In May 1936, 504 became part of the Auxiliary Air Force, and in October 1938 converted to a fighter unit, equipped with Gauntlets. In 1938 George re-trained as a pilot, and was promoted to Sergeant Pilot in August 1939. In May 1940 George Swanwick joined 7 BGS, and on 7th September was posted to 54 Squadron at Catterick flying Spitfires. He then went to 41 Squadron at Hornchurch. Commissioned in late 1941, he was posted to 222 Squadron at North Weald in April 1942 as a Flight Commander. In July George Swanwick joined 603 Squadron in Malta and in September 1942, George was posted to 7 OTU at Port Sudan as Flight Commander. In July 1943, he joined 81 Squadron in Malta as a supernumerary. George was invalided back to the UK and following his discharge from hospital in 1944, George held various staff appointments until the end of the war. George Swanwick was granted a Permament Commission in 1949 and retired on 30th April 1970, as a Wing Commander. Sadly, George Swanwick passed away on 4th January 2011.
| Wing Commander George W Swanwick - Signed Nicolas Trudgian Aviation Art Prints Pilot and Aircrew Signatures |
|
| Text for the above items : |
Their Finest Hour by Nicolas Trudgian. Situated on the south eastern tip of Kent, RAF Hawkinge was the most forward airfield in Fighter Command. It was not surprising therefore that when Reichmarshal Goering began his fierce attacks on airfields - part of his softening up campaign in preparation for Hitlers Adler Tag (Eagle Day) - Hawkinge would be among the first in his sights. The Luftwaffe were putting up massive raids - over 1700 aircraft crossed the coast on August 16th - and RAF bases in the south-east were taking a pounding. Hawkinge, a satellite of Biggin Hill sector station, and vital to front line defences, lay right in the path of the raiding Luftwaffe hordes. When on August 12th it was bombed for the first time, its effect was only to harden the resolve of its pilots and groundstaff. MkI Spitfires of No.610 County of Chester Squadron are seen scrambling out of RAF Hawkinge in late August 1940. refuelled and re-armed, with scarlet patches covering the gunports, all serviceable aircraft roar off the grass strip and head back to the fray. With aerial battles raging all the way from 2000 to 20,000 feet, within minutes they will be back in the action. Ground crews in the foreground work frantically to get more Spitfires airworthy. In the background Hurricanes from No.32 Squadron are at readiness, and will be called into action as the primitive radar picks up the next incoming raid. |
| Wing Commander George W Swanwick Squadron details |
No.41 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , EB, PN, | No.41 Sqn RAF Seek and destroy |
No.54 Sqn RAF Country : UK Known Codes : , KL, DL, HF, | No.54 Sqn RAF Audax omnia perpeti - Boldness to endure anything |
No.603 Sqn RAF Country : UK Disbanded 10th March 1957 Known Codes : , XT, RL, | No.603 Sqn RAF City of Edinburgh (Auxiliary) Gin ye daur - If you dare |
| Wing Commander George W Swanwick Aircraft details |
 Spitfire Manufacturer : Supermarine Built : 20351 | Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954. |
|
Contact Details |
|
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com |
 |
