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On a Wing and a Prayer by Philip West.
The venerable Fairy Swordfish was the Fleet Air Arms premier torpedo-bomber at
the outbreak of World War II. It may have looked archaic in appearance, but its
courageous crews proved time and time again that it was a potent fighting
machine. Stringbags as they were affectionately known, served in several
important roles and theatres including Coastal Command, the Mediterranean and
flying from MAC-ships protecting North Atlantic and Arctic convoys. |
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On a Wing and a Prayer by Philip West.
The venerable Fairy Swordfish was the Fleet Air Arms premier torpedo-bomber at the outbreak of World War II. It may have looked archaic in appearance, but its courageous crews proved time and time again that it was a potent fighting machine. Stringbags as they were affectionately known, served in several important roles and theatres including Coastal Command, the Mediterranean and flying from MAC-ships protecting North Atlantic and Arctic convoys.
Paper size 27 inches x 16 inches (69cm x 41cm) . Price £95.00 Signed by Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR.
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 27 inches x 16 inches (69cm x 41cm). Price £135.00 Signed by Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR and Lieutenant Commander John William Jock Moffat RN.
ITEM CODE DHM2675
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On a Wing and a Prayer by Philip West
- The Signatures
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 | Sub Lieut (A) Stanley T Brand RNVR
Although in a reserved occupation volunteered on his 18th birthday to train as pilot in the Fleet Air Arm. He flew open cockpit biplane Swordfish aircraft from Merchant Aircraft Carriers called "Macships". These were 8000 ton grain ships or oil tankers fitted with a flight deck, carrying their usual cargo and manned by a Merchant Navy Master and crew. They sailed in convoy back and forth across the North Atlantic in all the extreme weather conditions experiened on that ocean. The oil tankers lacked a hangar, so maintenance was carried out on open deck exposing the aircraft, ground crew and aircrew to the fury of the sea, ice and gales. By keeping U-boats submerged instead of allowing them free range on the surface, in 24 months only two merchant ships were sunk by the enemy in convoys protected by Macships. This was in spite of there being greater numbers and more efficient U-boats at sea in this period than at the time of our greatest losses in the Battle of the Atlantic.
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 | Lieutenant Commander John William Jock Moffat RN
John Moffat was born in Kelso in 1919 and at the outbreak of WWII, was sent to Sydenham, Belfast where a training school, set up by Short Brothers, was based. John learnt to fly in a Miles Magister. During 1939, he was sent to No.1 Flying Training School at Netheravon and here he was taught to fly advanced open-cockpit aircraft such as Hawker Hinds and Audaxes. Commissioned into the RNVR as a sub-lieutenant he was moved to Eastlee (now Southampton Airport) to the Naval Fighter School, learning fighter techniques in Blackburn Skuas and Rocs and the well-known Gloster Gladiator. In 1940, John was moved to Sanderling, the Royal Naval air station at Abbotsinch (now known as Glasgow Airport). In 1941, on board HMS Ark Royal stationed at Gibraltar, they were ordered to assist in the hunt for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. The aircraft headed first to HMS Sheffield who gave them signals by Aldis Lamp on the position of the Bismarck. John Moffat served on HMS Ark Royal, HMS Argus, HMS Furious and HMS Formidable, and served with 759 Sqn, 818 Sqn, 820 Sqn and 824 Sqn.
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