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Short Stirling bomber of the Royal Air
Force shown in aviation art prints by leading aviation artists, Ivan
Berryman, Keith Woodcock and Geoff Lea. Short Stirling bomber art prints
available from Cranston Fine Arts.
These prints are
available at these great website order special prices which are 20% below
our gallery prices.
The
Royal Air Force's first four engined monoplane Bomber, the Short Stirling
first flew in May 1939 and entered front line service in August 1940 with
no. 7 squadron. Due to its poor operational ceiling the aircraft sustained
heavy losses and by mid 1942 the Stirling was beginning to be replaced by
the Lancaster. Improved versions of the Short Stirling were built
for Glider towing, paratroopers and heavy transport. also from 1943 many
of the Stirling's were used for mine laying. A total of 2381 Stirling's
were built for the Royal air Force and from this total 641 Stirling
bombers were lost to enemy action.
Crew
7 or 8:
Speed: 260 mph (MK1) 275mph (MKIII) and 280mph (MKV)Service ceiling
17,000
feet Range:
2330 miles. (MK1) 2010 miles (MKIII) and 3,000 miles (MKV)
Armament: two .303 Vickers machine guns.
in nose turret, two .303 in browning machine guns in dorsal
turret , Four .303 Browning machine guns in tail turret. Bomb
Load 14,000 Lbs Engines: four 1150 Hp Bristol Hercules II
(MK1) four 1650 hp Bristol Hercules XVI (MK111 and MKV)
Tugs of War (Stirling & Gliders) by Ivan Berryman
Wearing the distinctive black and white identification stripes of the
D-Day operations of June 1944. Airspeed Horsa MkII assault gliders,
towed by their Short Stirling MkIV tugs of No.620 Squadron, make their
way across a moody English Channel en route for Normandy during the
tumultuous Operation Overlord.
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| Tribute to the Crews of the Stirling by Graeme Lothian
Outward bound, Stirling III of 199 Squadron based at
Lakenheath,
Suffolk, heads out on another night of operations in August 1943.
EE953, Sqd letters EX - E of 100 group is piloted by F/L Tom Austin DFC
who finished his tour by the end of October 1944, winning the DFC with
his bomb aimer F/O Jack Lawrence. Nicknamed the "Queen of the
Skies", the Stirling was the 1st four engined bomber to enter
service with the RAF in 1941. The cockpit stood a massive 22.5
feet from the ground and had an operational ceiling of only 12,000 feet,
well within the range of the enemy AA guns. By September 1944
other bombers were taking the brunt of the attack to the Germans and the
Stirlings were used mainly for glider towing especially for D-day and
Arnhem.
Stirling Service by Philip West
The Short Stirling won the distinction as the RAFs first purpose
built four engine monoplane bomber. A strong, highly complex
design it gained a reputation as a pilots aircraft to fly being agile
for a big bomber and demonstrating great character. Well over 2000
Stirlings provided stout service for the RAF in a variety of extremely
important roles throughout WW2.
Teamwork by Philip West
As night falls, Short Stirlings of XV Squadron based at
Mildenhall, Cambridgeshire, await their crews for yet another nocturnal mission. One
of the almost forgotten Bomber Command aircraft that made a very
significant contribution to the war effort.
Close Encounter by Iain Wyllie
On
the 10th of June 1941 en route to Emden Short Stirling D-MG of 7 squadron
was intercepted by 2 Me-109's. the aircraft piloted by Flying Officer G B
Blacklock DFM returned safely to base after shooting down on of the
fighters.
Aircraft side view by M A Kinnear
Short Stirling MkI R9257 MG - C.
Aircraft History:
R9257
was one of a batch of 150 Mk I Stirlings delivered to the RAF by Short
Brothers between January 1942 and January 1943. Initially with
Telecommunications Flying Unit, R9257 went to No.7 Squadron, where it
eventually became the personal aircraft of Hamish Mahaddie and his crew
from 8th February 1943 until he completed his operational tour with the
PFF (Path Finder Force) at the end of March 1943. The aircraft then went
on to No.1657 Heavy Conversion Unit at Stradishall, before being sent to
No.214 Squadron. On 12th August 1943, whilst leaving RAF Chedburgh for a
raid against Turin, R9257 swung on take off and the undercarriage
collapsed. The aircraft was categorised as damaged beyond repair (DBR).
R9257 replaced Hamish and his crew's earlier Stirling MK I, R9273 also MG-
C which had been attacked six days earlier by a Ju88 nightfighter. After
evading the attack, they managed to bring the aircraft home. Next morning,
Hamish counted 174 cannon shell holes in the aircraft - which he named 'C
for Colander'.Group Captain
Thomas G "Hamish" Mahaddie DSO, DFC, AFC, CzMC: Born
in Keith, Edinburgh on 19th March 1911, he joined the RAF as part of the
17th Entry at Halton in January 1928 and trained as a metal rigger, after
which he was posted to Cranwell on ground servicing duties. In 1933 he
boarded a troopship bound for the Middle East where he joined No.4 FTS at
Abu Suier for pilot training. Gaining his wings in 1935, his first air
crew posting was to No.55 Squadron at Hinaidi flying Westland Wapitis and
on his return to England in 1937, he joined No.77 Squadron flying Whitleys
from Driffield. During World War II he completed a tour of operations with
No.77 Squadron before moving to Kinloss to instruct with No.14 OTU. On
completing another tour, this time with No.7 Squadron (which he joined on
2nd August 1942) at Oakington on Stirlings, he joined HQ Staff of No.8
(Pathfinder) Group and Group Captain Mahaddie finished the war as Station
Commander at RAF Warboys, home of PFF Navigation Training Unit. In June
1945 he was appointed to command No.111 Wing in Germany followed by a
spell at the Staff College, Haifa in 1947. His postwar duties also
included two tours of duty at the Air Ministry, as OC Flying Wing at
Binbrook, and also as Station Commander at Sylt and Butzweilerhof in
Germany. He finally retired from the RAF in March 1958 and became involved
with the film industry as an aviation consultant working on many films
including the "Battle of Britain" - for which he amassed an
incredible number of Spitfires, Hurricanes, Messerschmitts and Heinkels.
Thomas "Hamish" Mahaddie passed away on 16th January 1997.
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