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The Battle for the Skies Over Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Graeme Lothian. (E) - Direct Art
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The Battle for the Skies Over Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Graeme Lothian. (E)


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The Battle for the Skies Over Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Graeme Lothian. (E)

A large umbrella of Spitfire Wings covered most of the sky over Dieppe during the Allied attack Operation Jubilee on 19th August 1942. Squadron leader Johnnie Johnson leads 610 (County of Chester) Squadron down from top cover support to lend a hand to Spitfires of 485 Squadron (New Zealand) and 411 Squadron (Canadian) which made up the 12 Group Wing, led by W/C Pat Jameson. The enemy being made up of a huge mixed force of Fw190 and Me109 fighters from JG2 and JG26. 12 Group Wing flew four times that disastrous day and in the end the Royal Air Force lost 106 aircraft compared to the Luftwaffe losses of 48.
Item Code : DHM1159EThe Battle for the Skies Over Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Graeme Lothian. (E) - This EditionAdd any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout! Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price!
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
PRINT Alex Thom signature edition of 50 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints.

Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Thom, Alex
+ Artist : Graeme Lothian


Signature(s) value alone : £50
£40 Off!Now : £110.00

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Other editions of this item : The Battle for the Skies Over Dieppe, 19th August 1942 by Graeme Lothian.DHM1159
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
PRINTSigned limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm)Artist : Graeme Lothian£45 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £75.00VIEW EDITION...
ARTIST
PROOF
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Pujji, Mahinder
Blair, Ian
+ Artist : Graeme Lothian


Signature(s) value alone : £85
£80 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £145.00VIEW EDITION...
PRINT Blair signature edition of 300 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Blair, Ian
+ Artist : Graeme Lothian


Signature(s) value alone : £50
£40 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £110.00VIEW EDITION...
PRINTDonnett signature edition of 200 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Donnet, Mike
+ Artist : Graeme Lothian


Signature(s) value alone : £45
£35 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £135.00VIEW EDITION...
PRINTTaussig signature edition of 100 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Taussig, Kurt
+ Artist : Graeme Lothian


Signature(s) value alone : £45
£85 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £110.00VIEW EDITION...
PRINTThom / Taussig signature edition of 100 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Thom, Alex
Taussig, Kurt
+ Artist : Graeme Lothian


Signature(s) value alone : £95
£70 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £130.00VIEW EDITION...
GICLEE
CANVAS
Limited edition of 50 giclee canvas prints. Image size 36 inches x 22 inches (91cm x 56cm)Artist : Graeme Lothian
on separate certificate
£100 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £500.00VIEW EDITION...
GICLEE
CANVAS
Limited edition of 50 giclee canvas prints. Image size 30 inches x 18 inches (76cm x 46cm)Artist : Graeme Lothian
on separate certificate
£100 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £400.00VIEW EDITION...
PRINT Jones / Ayerst / Thom Signature edition of 100 prints from the signed limited edition of 1150 prints.
Great value : Value of signatures exceeds price of item!
Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Jones, Richard L
Ayerst, Peter V
Thom, Alex
+ Artist : Graeme Lothian


Signature(s) value alone : £140
£35 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £120.00VIEW EDITION...
ORIGINAL
PAINTING
Original painitng by Graeme Lothian. Image size 40 inches x 26 inches (102cm x 66cm)Artist : Graeme Lothian£1000 Off!Now : £3000.00VIEW EDITION...
POSTCARDCollector's Postcard - Restricted Initial Print Run of 40 cards.Postcard size 6 inches x 4 inches (15cm x 10cm)none£2.70VIEW EDITION...
PRINT
(BORDER
DAMAGE)
Signed limited edition of 1150 prints. Image size 25 inches x 17 inches (64cm x 43cm) Artist : Graeme Lothian£100 Off!Now : £50.00
Better Than
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VIEW EDITION...
General descriptions of types of editions :





Extra Details :
About this edition :


Alexander Thom signing this edition of the print

Signatures on this item
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo


The signature of Flight Lieutenant Alexander Henry Thom DFC (deceased)

Flight Lieutenant Alexander Henry Thom DFC (deceased)
*Signature Value : £50

Born in Perth, Scotland, Alex Thom joined the RAFVR on June 24th 1939 and flew at the weekends at 11 EARFTS Perth. At the outbreak of World War Two, Thom was called up for full time service with the Royal Air Force and was posted to 3 ITW at Hastings on October 2nd 1939, moving to 15 EFTS at Redhill on April 29th 1940 and on June 15th moved again to 15 FTS, initially at Brize Norton and later to Chipping Norton. Alex Thom went to 6 OTU on September 29th at Sutton Bridge where he converted to Hawker Hurricanes and joined 79 squadron stationed at Pembury only for a short period when he was transferred to 87 Squadron on October 6th 1940, moving with the squadron on the 31st of October to their new base at Exeter. He achieved the rank of Pilot Officer on the 3rd of December 1941. During his time at Exeter he was also based on the Scilly Isles and on one occasion after shooting down an enemy bomber the crew bailed out over the sea. Alex Thom circled the downed German crew who were in a life raft until a motor launch came and picked them up. Thom would later meet the crew and was given a flying helmet by the German pilot, an item he still has today. Alex Thom was appointed B Flight commander on 10th July 1942 and was awarded the DFC on the 14th August 1942. At this time he was credited with two enemy aircraft destroyed and a probable He111. On the 19th of August 1942 while supporting the ground forces at Dieppe, his Hurricane (LK - M) was hit by ground fire and lost oil pressure. He managed to limp back to England where he made a forced landing at East Den. Thom managed to get back to his airfield as a passenger in a Master flown by Flt Sgt Lowe and immediately took off again in Hurricane (LK - A) back to Dieppe where he proceeded to strafe enemy positions. On the 1st of October 1942 he became F/O. In November 1942, 87 Squadron was transferred to North Africa. They were transported by ship to Gibraltar where the squadron flew sorties, and then onto North Africa. Thom was posted away from the squadron to be a flying control officer at Bone. He returned to 87 Squadron which was then based at Tongley and took command on June 27th 1943. He was again posted away from the squadron on September 27th returning to the UK with the Rank of Flight Lt. Thom became an instructor with 55 OTU at Annan on November 17th moving to Kirton in Linsay on March 12th 1944 to join 53 OTU. He was appointed Flight Commander Fighter Affiliation Flight at 84 (Bomber) OTU at Husbands Bosworth on May 19th 1944 and remained there until October 10th when he went to RAF Peterhead as Adjutant. His final posting was to HQ13 Group, Inverness on May 8th 1945 as a Staff Officer and retired from the RAF on December 4th 1945 as a Flight Lt. He died on 10th January 2016.



Alexander Thom DFC signing some of our art prints in 2010.

Cranston Fine Arts offer our warmest thanks to Alexander Thom for taking the time to meet with us and add his signature to some of our artwork.


Citation for the Distinguished Flying Cross :

This officer has been engaged on operational flying for a long period, both by day and by night. Throughout he has displayed great keenness and devotion to duty. He has destroyed two enemy aircraft both of which he shot down after pursuing them out to sea for more than 50 miles. On one occasion, he engaged a Heinkel 111 in extremely hazardous flying weather and probably destroyed it. Recently, Pilot Officer Thom has completed several successful intruder operations. He has invariably displayed initiative and courage.
The Aircraft :
NameInfo
SpitfireRoyal 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.
Me109Willy Messerschmitt designed the BF109 during the early 1930s. The Bf109 was one of the first all metal monocoque construction fighters with a closed canopy and retractable undercarriage. The engine of the Me109 was a V12 aero engine which was liquid-cooled. The Bf109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and flew to the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons. During the Battle of Britian the Bf109 was used in the role of an escort fighter, a role for which it was not designed for, and it was also used as a fighter bomber. During the last days of May 1940 Robert Stanford-Tuck, the RAF ace, got the chance to fly an Me109 which they had rebuilt after it had crash landed. Stanford-Tuck found out that the Me109 was a wonderful little plane, it was slightly faster than the Spitfire, but lacked the Spitfire manoeuvrability. By testing the Me109, Tuck could put himself inside the Me109 when fighting them, knowing its weak and strong points. With the introduction of the improved Bf109F in the spring of 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the invasion of Yugoslavia and during the Battle of Crete and the invasion of Russia and it was used during the Siege of the Mediteranean island of Malta. The Bf109 was the main fighter for the Luftwaffe until 1942 when the Fw190 entered service and shared this position, and was partially replaced in Western Europe, but the Me109 continued to serve on the Eastern Front and during the defence of the Reich against the allied bombers. It was also used to good effect in the Mediterranean and North Africa in support of The Africa Korps. The Me109 was also supplied to several German allies, including Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia. The Bf109 scored more kills than any other fighter of any country during the war and was built in greater numbers with a total of over 31,000 aircraft being built. The Bf109 was flown by the three top German aces of the war war. Erich Hartmann with 352 victories, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories and Gunther Rall with 275 kills. Bf109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen Luftwaffe Aces scored more than 200 kills. Altogether this group of pilots were credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills, of which the Messerschmitt Bf109 was credited with over 10,000 of these victories. The Bf109 was the most produced warplane during World War II, with 30,573 examples built during the war, and the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945. Bf109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf109s until 1955. The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s.
Fw190The Focke-Wulf 190 development project began in 1937. Conceived as a hedge against total dependence on the Messerchmitt 109, the 190 was designed by Kurt Tank utilizing a radial engine. This was against generally accepted design criteria in Germany, and many historians believe that the decision to produce a radial engine fighter was largely due to the limited manufacturing capacity for in-line, water-cooled engines which were widely used on all other Luftwaffe aircraft. Despite these concerns, Tanks design was brilliant, and the 190 would become one of the top fighter aircraft of WWII. The first prototype flew in mid-1939. The aircraft had excellent flying characteristics, a wonderful rate of acceleration, and was heavily armed. By late 1940 the new fighter was ordered into production. Nicknamed the butcher bird, by Luftwaffe pilots, early 190s were quite successful in the bomber interceptor role, but at this stage of the war many Allied bombing raids lacked fighter escort. As the war dragged on, Allied bombers were increasingly accompanied by fighters, including the very effective P-51 Mustang. The Allies learned from experience that the 190s performance fell off sharply at altitudes above 20,000 feet. As a result, most Allied bombing missions were shifted to higher altitudes when fighter opposition was likely. Kurt Tank had recognized this shortcoming and began working on a high-altitude version of the 190 utilizing an in-line, water-cooled engine. Utilizing a Jumo 12-cylinder engine rated at 1770-HP, and capable of 2,240-HP for short bursts with its methanol injection system, the 190D, or Long Nose or Dora as it was called, had a top speed of 426-MPH at 22,000 feet. Armament was improved with two fuselage and two wing mounted 20mm cannon. To accommodate the changes in power plants the Dora had a longer, more streamlined fuselage, with 24 inches added to the nose, and an additional 19 inches added aft of the cockpit to compensate for the altered center of gravity. By mid 1944 the Dora began to reach fighter squadrons in quantity. Although the aircraft had all the right attributes to serve admirably in the high altitude interceptor role, it was not generally focused on such missions. Instead many 190Ds were assigned to protect airfields where Me-262 jet fighters were based. This was due to the latter aircrafts extreme vulnerability to Allied attack during takeoff and landing. The 190Ds also played a major role in Operation Bodenplatte, the New Years Day raid in 1945 which destroyed approximately 500 Allied aircraft on the ground. The High Command was impressed with the 190Ds record on this raid, and ordered most future production of the Doras to be equipped as fighter-bombers. In retrospect this was a strategic error, and this capable aircraft was not fully utilized in the role for which it was intended.

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