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Aircraft Index |
Squadron Index |
Aviation Art by Country |
Aviation Signatures Index |
Aviation Artists Index |
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| Flight Lieutenant Fred Watts DFC Fred Watts joined the RAF in 1940, and qualifying as a pilot was posted to 630 Squadron in 1943 flying 15 operations on Lancasters out of East Kirby. He joined 617 Squadron in April 1944 and took part in many of the precision operations that the Squadron was renowned for, including raids on V1 sites, V2 rocket bases, and all three attacks on the Tirpitz. He left 617 Squadron in March 1945 to join 83 Pathfinder Squadron for Far East deployment with Tiger Force but VJ-day brought disbandment of the Force before it could be despatched. He stayed on in the RAF after the end of the war, retiring in 1964. He died 6th August 2007. |
| Flight Lieutenant Fred Watts DFC - Signed Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Pilot and Aircrew Signatures |
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| Aircraft for : Flight Lieutenant Fred Watts DFC (deceased) | |||
| A list of all aircraft associated with Flight Lieutenant Fred Watts DFC (deceased). A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
| Squadron | Info | ||
Manufacturer : Avro Production Began : 1942 Retired : 1963 Number Built : 7377 | Lancaster The Avro Lancaster arose from the avro Manchester and the first prototype Lancaster was a converted Manchester with four engines. The Lancaster was first flown in January 1941, and started operations in March 1942. By March 1945 The Royal Air Force had 56 squadrons of Lancasters with the first squadron equipped being No.44 Squadron. During World War Two the Avro Lancaster flew 156,000 sorties and dropped 618,378 tonnes of bombs between 1942 and 1945. Lancaster Bomberss took part in the devastating round-the-clock raids on Hamburg during Air Marshall Harris' Operation Gomorrah in July 1943. Just 35 Lancasters completed more than 100 successful operations each, and 3,249 were lost in action. The most successful survivor completed 139 operations, and the Lancaster was scrapped after the war in 1947. A few Lancasters were converted into tankers and the two tanker aircraft were joined by another converted Lancaster and were used in the Berlin Airlift, achieving 757 tanker sorties. A famous Lancaster bombing raid was the 1943 mission, codenamed Operation Chastise, to destroy the dams of the Ruhr Valley. The operation was carried out by 617 Squadron in modified Mk IIIs carrying special drum shaped bouncing bombs designed by Barnes Wallis. Also famous was a series of Lancaster attacks using Tallboy bombs against the German battleship Tirpitz, which first disabled and later sank the ship. The Lancaster bomber was the basis of the new Avro Lincoln bomber, initially known as the Lancaster IV and Lancaster V. (Becoming Lincoln B1 and B2 respectively.) Their Lancastrian airliner was also based on the Lancaster but was not very successful. Other developments were the Avro York and the successful Shackleton which continued in airborne early warning service up to 1992. | ||
| Squadrons for : Flight Lieutenant Fred Watts DFC (deceased) | ||
| A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Flight Lieutenant Fred Watts DFC (deceased). A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
Country : UK Founded : 23rd March 1943 Apres mois, le deluge - After me, the flood | No.617 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 15th November 1943 Fate : Disbanded 18th July 1945 Nocturna mors - Death by night | No.630 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
Country : UK Founded : 7th January 1917 Fate : Disbanded 31st August 1969 Strike to defend | No.83 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. | |
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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 |
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