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Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC Tom Neil was born on 14th July 1920 in Bootle, Lancashire. Tom Neil (also to become known in the RAF as 'Ginger') joined the RAFVR in October 1938 and began his flying training at 17 E and RFTS, Barton, Manchester. Tom Neil was called up on the 2nd os September 1939 being sent to 4 ITW, Bexhill in early November. On 1st December 1939, he was posted to 8 FTS and on completion of the course he was commissioned and posted to 249 Squadron in May 1940 flying Hurricanes just before the start of the Battle of Britain flying from North Weald. On 7th September 1940, Tom Neil encountered and claimed a Bf109 destroyed. On the 11th an He111, on the 15th two Bf109s and a Do17 destroyed and another Do17 shared, on the 18th an He111 damaged and on the 27th a Bf110 and a Ju88 destroyed, a Bf110 probably destroyed and a Ju88 shared. On 6th October Tom Neil shared a Do17, on the 25th claimed a Bf109 destroyed, on the 27th a Do17 probably destroyed, on the 28th a Ju88 shared and on 7th November a Ju87 and two Bf109s destroyed. He was awarded a DFC on 8 October, but on 7 November, after claiming 3 victories over the North Sea off the Essex coast, he collided in mid-air with Wing Commander Francis Beamish and his aircraft lost its tail. He baled out of his Hurricane unhurt, Beamish force-landing unscathed. Tom received a Bar to his DFC on 26 November, and on 13 December was promoted flight Commander. The squadron was posted to Malta in May 1941, flying off HMS Ark Royal on the 21st. During a summer of frequent scrambles, he claimed one further victory in June, while on 7th October he led a fighter-bomber attack on Gela station, Sicily. He departed the island in December 1941, returning to the UK via the Middle East, South and West Africa, and Canada, finally arriving in March 1942, when he became tactics officer with 81 Group. A spell as an instructor at 56 OTU, before being posted as a flying liaison officer with the 100th Fighter Wing of the US 9th Air Force in January 1944. He managed to get some flying in over France with this unit, claiming a share in 6 aircraft destroyed on the ground before D-Day, and a dozen or so more later, plus a number of other ground targets. In January 1945 he was sent to the school of Land/Air Warfare as an instructor. In March 1945 he was posted out to Burma, where he undertook some operations with 1 Wing, Indian Air Force, to gain experience of the operations in this area. Returning to the UK in April, he resumed instructing at the school until the end of the year. In January 1946 he attended the Empire Test Pilots School, undertaking No.4 short course and No.5 course, a total of 18 months. Posted briefly to Farnborough, he sought a move to Boscombe Down, where he stayed for some 3 years. In 1948 in went to Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio, to take part in the first high altitude pressure suit experiments, as a precursor to the aerospace programme. 1950-51 he was a staff officer at HQ, Fighter Command, while in 1952 he attended the staff college at Bracknell. He was then given command of 208 Squadron in Egypt, which he led until 1956, leaving just before the Suez operation. He returned to the UK to become W/Cdr Operations, Metropolitan sector, until 1958, when he attended the flying college at Manby. He went to the British Embassy in Washington for 3 years from 1959, returning to the Ministry of Defence but retiring from the service as a Wing Commander in 1964. Meanwhile he had added the US Bronze Star to his decorations in august 1947, and an AFC in January 1956. Tom Neil died on 11th July 2018.

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Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC - Signed Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Pilot and Aircrew Signatures

Tribute to Flying Officer Count Manfred Beckett Czernin by Ivan Berryman. 7 editions. 2 of the 7 editions feature up to 3 additional signatures. £2.90 - £1100.00

Hurricane Patrol by Graeme Lothian. 15 editions. 13 of the 15 editions feature up to 3 additional signatures. £70.00 - £3000.00

Spitfire Scramble by Philip West. 2 editions. Both editions feature up to 3 additional signatures. £145.00 - £190.00

Undaunted by Odds by Robert Taylor. 4 editions. All 4 editions feature up to 16 additional signature(s). £210.00 - £425.00

Hornchurch Scramble by Robert Taylor. 2 of 4 editions available. All 4 editions feature up to 23 additional signatures. £215.00 - £295.00

Victory Over Gold by Nicolas Trudgian. 4 of 6 editions available. 3 of 5 editions featuring up to 4 additional signatures are available. £120.00 - £250.00

Glorious Summer by Robert Taylor 2 of 3 editions available. All 3 editions feature up to 21 additional signatures. £260.00 - £635.00

Dornier's Demise by Ivan Berryman. 4 editions. All 4 editions feature up to 4 additional signature(s). £60.00 - £550.00

The Hard Way Home by Robert Taylor. 3 of 6 editions available. All 6 editions feature up to 39 additional signatures. £210.00 - £395.00

We All Stand Together by Robert Taylor. 2 editions. Both editions feature up to 9 additional signatures. £125.00 - £210.00

Tribute to Fl Off Tom Neil by Ivan Berryman. 9 editions. 4 of the 9 editions feature up to 5 additional signatures. £2.90 - £1200.00

Channel Sweep by Richard Taylor. 5 editions. All 5 editions feature up to 20 additional signature(s). £80.00 - £625.00

Churchills Few by David Pritchard One edition. The edition features 10 additional signature(s). £190.00

Fighter Pilot of the Royal Air Force by Graeme Lothian. 7 editions. 6 of the 7 editions feature up to 16 additional signatures. £170.00 - £3500.00

Clipped Signature - Tom Neil. One edition. £35.00

Revenge of the Raider by Ivan Berryman. 4 editions. All 4 editions feature up to 4 additional signature(s). £60.00 - £500.00

Into the Schwarm by Ivan Berryman. 4 editions. All 4 editions feature up to 3 additional signature(s). £60.00 - £400.00

41 Sqn Scramble by Ivan Berryman. 3 of 4 editions available. All 4 editions feature up to 4 additional signatures. £60.00 - £300.00

Normandy Breakout by Nicolas Trudgian. 5 of 7 editions available. All 7 editions feature up to 8 additional signatures. £140.00 - £280.00

Beurling's Day by Ivan Berryman. 3 of 4 editions available. All 4 editions feature up to 4 additional signatures. £60.00 - £280.00

The Struggle for Malta by Ivan Berryman. 12 of 13 editions available. All 5 editions featuring up to 8 additional signatures are available. £2.90 - £500.00

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Aircraft for : Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC
A list of all aircraft associated with Wing Commander Tom Neil DFC* AFC. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Squadron	Info
Hurricane Click the name above to see prints featuring Hurricane aircraft. Manufacturer : Hawker Production Began : 1936 Number Built : 14533	Hurricane Royal Air Force Fighter, the Hawker Hurricane had a top speed of 320mph, at 18,200 feet and 340mph at 17,500, ceiling of 34,200 and a range of 935 miles. The Hurricane was armed with eight fixed wing mounted .303 browning machine guns in the Mark I and twelve .303 browning's in the MKIIB in the Hurricane MKIIC it had four 20mm cannon. All time classic fighter the Hurricane was designed in 1933-1934, the first prototype flew in June 1936 and a contract for 600 for the Royal Air Force was placed. The first production model flew ion the 12th October 1937 and 111 squadron of the Royal Air Force received the first Hurricanes in January 1938. By the outbreak of World war two the Royal Air Force had 18 operational squadrons of Hurricanes. During the Battle of Britain a total of 1715 Hurricanes took part, (which was more than the rest of the aircraft of the Royal air force put together) and almost 75% of the Victories during the Battle of Britain went to hurricane pilots. The Hawker Hurricane was used in all theatres during World war two, and in many roles. in total 14,533 Hurricanes were built.
Mustang Click the name above to see prints featuring Mustang aircraft. Manufacturer : North American	Mustang The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace.
Spitfire Click the name above to see prints featuring Spitfire aircraft. Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number 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.

Known Claims : 18

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