Panavia Tornado GR1 of
the Royal Air Force in aviation art prints by aviation artists Keith
Woodcock, Michael Rondot and Geoff Lea, available from Cranston Fine Arts,
the air force art company.
The Marham Wing Over Sandringham by Michael Rondot.
At the beginning of her Golden Jubilee Year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Royal Air Force Marham, the Norfolk airbase close to the Royal familys winter residence at Sandringham. RAF Marham personnel are very proud of their unique association with Her Majesty who became Honorary Air Commodore of the station in 1976. To mark the occasion of her Golden Jubilee Year this magnificent oil painting was commissioned by all ranks of RAF Marham and presented to Her Majesty. The aircraft in Michael Rondots painting represent the five squadrons of The Marham Wing, formed in August 2001 to become the Royal Air Forces largest and most potent fast-jet main operating base. A Canberra PR9 is portrayed leading four Tornado GR4s, one from each squadron with aircraft tail letters specially marked to spell E II R L for the Queens Golden Jubilee, in a formation flown over Sandringham House in Her Majestys honour. In the background, surrounded by beautiful wooded grounds, lawned gardens and 20,000 .........
The unofficial motto of Number 2 Squadron Royal Air Force. It features, in typical Rondot style (and typical British weather!) Two No II (AC) Sqn Tornado GR-1As landing on a rain soaked runway on a typically filthy and wet Friday afternoon just minutes before the bar opens, and their home base at RAF Marham in Norfolk, closes in cross winds and driving rain. (Just in time to get to the mess for a quick one!) The main aircraft illustrated, is ZA400 (T) which was the personal aircraft of Wg Cdr R F Garwood DFC during the Gulf War in which he flew 19 low level night reconnaissance missions over Iraq. Notice the spray shooting off the main and nose wheel undercarriage legs, the distorted reflections of red and green bouncing up from the runway from the Port and Starboard navigation lights, you can almost feel the pressure and the whole weight of the awesome Tornado bearing down on that nose wheel as the aircraft decelerates down from its initial 150kts landing speed to the subtle gentle m.........
A Tornado GR-1 with JP 233 airfield denial weapons taking off at the start of a night low-level mission to attack an airfield target deep within Iraq. The television images of the Gulf War air campaign as a series of precision attacks with laser-guided bombs, dropped from the relative safety of medium altitude, takes no account of the fearsome price that was paid in delivering these early low-level attacks. During the opening nights of Operation Desert Storm hundreds of RAF, US and Coalition aircraft unleashed a tidal wave of low-level bombing attacks on airfield targets in Iraq and in occupied Kuwait. Spearheading the RAF attack were Tornado GR.1 units based at Tabuk and Dhahran in Saudi Arabia and Muharraq, Bahrain. These early missions, flown at low-altitude, often under cover of darkness, were strictly for the brave. Approaching their targets over featureless desert, the aircrews were faced with ferocious barrages of AAA gunfire and missiles defending the airfields. It took a spec.........
In the Air Tonight by Michael Rondot. - Editions Available
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Signed limited edition of 500 prints, with 19 signatures. Full Item Details
Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm)
Artist : Michael Rondot
£95.00
ARTIST PROOF
Signed limited edition of 500 prints, with 19 signatures. Full Item Details
Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm)
Artist : Michael Rondot
£150.00
RAF Tornado- Operation Desert Storm 1991 by Frank Wootton.
at 2200 GMT on 16th January 1991 Tornados were launched from Dhahran, Bahrain and Tabuk on the RAFs first combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. Each Tornado was loaded with two JP23s and all were bound for airfields in Iraq. Taking the defences by complete surprise, the Tornados delivered their weapons over runways and taxiways, then made for home without loss, setting a standard of professionalism that was to be maintained throughout the campaign often in the face of far more serious opposition. The air campaign in which the RAF were engaged was crucial to the Allies overall strategy to free Kuwait. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to say that for the first time in the history of warfare, air power was the determining factor in a major conflict, and that the visions of such men as Trenchard and Harris were at last demonstrated. While the final conclusions must be left to history, the Gulf war remains - as General McPeak, the US Air Force Chief of Staff pointed out - the fir.........
In this remarkably accurate portrayal of low level action at sunset he features a pair of FLIR-equipped Tornado GR4s carrying a TIALD laser designator pod and GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bombs. These weapons, used to such devastating effect during the Gulf War by USAF F-lllF and F-117A Black Jet aircraft, now give the RAF the same capability to attack targets with pinpoint accuracy, both day and night, in adverse weather and from all altitudes.
Item Code : MR0038
Paveway Tornados by Michael Rondot. - Editions Available
Todays RAF Tornados and the aircrew that fly them offer a world-class interdiction/ground attack and reconnaissance package that is second to none. The Tornado GR4 is capable of supersonic speeds and flight at low-level, making it one of the most potent attack aircraft in the world today. New systems and weapons upgrades will ensure that the Tornado remains a versatile, effective and vital platform for many years to come.
Item Code : DHM2289
Tornado Strike by Philip West. (AP) - Editions Available
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Limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with 8 signatures. Full Item Details
The 2nd Squadron of Fighter-Bomber Wing 38 Friesland is the only squadron in Northern Germany to operate the Tornado weapon system. Their main task is to support the Main Defence Forces (HVK) to protect Germany and its Allies. Additionally their crews train co-operation between themselves and reaction forces of NATO and the UN. The 2nd Squadron, the youngest German Tornado squadron, was established in 1988 with the introduction of the Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat Reconnaissance) into the German Air Force. The crews perform the service tests until the ECR achieved operational readiness. With the changing political situation in Europe, the ECRs were transferred in 1994 to FBW 32 at Lechfield. The Squadron then re-equipped with Tornado IDS (Interdiction and Strike) and changed its role to fighter-bombers. At the moment the crews train in all tactical roles except nuclear. As the German Air Force continues its re-organisation, the squadron will close in 1999. In the foreground of this.........
Paper size 23.5 inches x 15.5 inches (60cm x 40cm)
Artist : Robert Tomlin
SOLD OUT
NOT AVAILABLE
Display 25 by Robert Tomlin.
Flt Lt Pete Willy Hackett and his navigator Flt Lt John Shields blast off from the runway at Duxford in the UK. Rolling and turning immediately after leaving the ground, Willy hauls the 25(F) Squadron Tornado F3 into a tight turn at the start of another thrilling, dynamic, display sequence, the thunder of the full re-heat sending vibrations through to the very heart of the viewing public.
On a day in early February 1991, a fourship formation of Tornado GR1s took part in a successful dive bombing attack on a military installation in southern Iraq. This fourship operated together on over 16 sorties from Mubarraq, Bahrain and consisted entirely of crews from the legendary 617 Dambuster Squadron. Depicted here is the third Tornado, flown by Flt Lt Paul Wharmby and his navigator Flt Lt Steve Kennedy climbing hard on max dry power shortly after releasing their payload of five 1000lb free fall bombs.
Item Code : DHM6156
Doors Closed by Mark Postlethwaite. - Editions Available
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Signed limited edition of 500 prints (first 100 with signatures). Full Item Details
Flying beneath an overcast of grey, threatening cloud, two Tornado GRlAs break formation as the lead aircraft turns and accelerates towards a narrow gap in the cloud covered hills. The aircraft are flying a low-level tactical reconnaissance mission, aiming to locate, identify and film a camouflaged target using their sophisticated on-board video recording sensors.
As night falls and low cloud envelops them, they have the capability, unmatched by any other recce aircraft in the world, to fly their mission in darkness, at very low-level, and still locate and record their target. During the Gulf War, Recce Tornados were tasked to fly deep-penetration low-level missions at night into Iraq and the Kuwait Theatre of Operations, searching out troop concentrations, armour, and mobile SCUD missile launchers. Their missions were dangerous and lonely work, flying alone and without fighter escort, often into the most heavily defended areas of Iraq and Kuwait. None were lost on these missions, but.........
Special four copies specially signed by 17 Royal Air Force Tornado Pilots. Full Item Details
Paper size 25 inches x 19 inches (64cm x 48cm)
Artist : Michael Rondot
£160.00
Atlantic Trail by Michael Rondot.
To keep straight in the tankers wingtip vortices you have applied right spoiler and a bootfull of rudder, whilst your death-grip on the stick is inducing a violent porpoiseing motion. Over the radio a calm voice from the tanker clears you in, so with one engine in afterburner and with eyes like saucers you move forward to attempt a controlled mid-air collision. Welcome to the air-to-air refuelling club. Ever wondered what it is like learning to tank? Imagine a fragile basket trailing six feet up and down at the end of a fifty-foot hose as the tanker flexes its wings in turbulence. In your cockpit it feels like the throttles are connected to the engines with knicker elastic. Most military pilots use colourful language to describe their first stabs at air-to-air refuelling with phrases like: it was like a goat taking a running f##k at a rolling doughnut. With practice it gets easier, and phrases like rat up a drain pipe and in like a burglar become the norm, but it is a tricky business, .........
25(F) Squadron of the Royal Air Force, based at Leeming in Yorkshire is one of the premier Defence squadrons. Here, a Tornado F3 makes a dramatic dash for the air in response to a potential threat. The title comes from their motto Striking I Defend. The border contains printed remarques of the first and the latest fighters to serve with 25(F) Squadron, the autographed by Group Captain Phil Goodman, OC 25(F) Squadron.
Item Code : DHM2504
Feriens Tego by Robert Tomlin. - Editions Available
Destination: Libya. Tornado GR.4s of 9 Squadron by Ivan Berryman.
At the start of the No Fly Zone and in support of Libyan rebel forces, Tornado GR.4s of 9 Sqn were despatched from RAF Marham on 19th and 20th March 2011 for two of the longest operational missions since the Falklands campaign of 1982, each aircraft completing an 8 hour, 3000 mile round trip to destroy Libyan army ground weapons that were being used against civilians to quell the uprising. All aircraft returned safely on both occasions.
Item Code : B0476
Destination: Libya. Tornado GR.4s of 9 Squadron by Ivan Berryman. - Editions Available
A 14 Squadron Tornado GR1 based at RAF Bruggen Germany carrying a full JP233 war fit roars into the sky as a Jaguar overshoots to the right of the runway to go around to land. Of all the television and press images of the Gulf War, few were as dramatic as the pictures of the first waves of aircraft taking off to attack Iraqi airfields under cover of darkness. Yet when this print of a Tornado taking off carrying a full warload of JP 233 airfield denial weapons was published, such a scenario was unthinkable. The events of 1991 are foretold in this powerful portrayal of a Tornado taking off in a blast of steam from a rain drenched runway, with a Jaguar strike/attack aircraft breaking into the circuit in the background.
Item Code : MR0050
Panavia Tornado GR1 by Michael Rondot. - Editions Available
During the Air Show Season each year the Royal Air Force provides one of their latest Tornado F3 interceptors to thrill the crowds throughout Europe. The year 2002 represents the second year that the aircraft has been provided by 56 (R) Squadron from RAF Conningsby and is once again crewed by F1t Lt Simon Stevens as pilot and F1t Lt Dave Chadderton as Navigator. This will be their last year as F3 Display Team and so this print is issued to commemorate two fabulous years of thrilling and dynamic displays. Some of their highlights are the several seafront displays that take place around the shores of the UK and none more special to them that the one at Blackpool, close to Daves roots and considered their home display. With the unmistakeable form of Blackpool Tower in the background, Simon pulls the F3 up into a tight turn after a high speed pass.
Item Code : DHM2516
Blackpool Showtime by Robert Tomlin. - Editions Available
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Limited edition of 500 prints, signed by pilot and navigator. Full Item Details
Paper size 15.5 inches x 19.5 inches (40cm x 50cm)
During 2003 RAF Tornado GR4s from RAF Marham and Lossiemouth Wings deployed to the Gulf region as part of Operation TELIC (the UK codename for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM) As the deadline for war in Iraq approached, the detachments al Ali al Salem AB, Kuwait, and Al Udeld AB, Qatar, prepared for action 12 years after the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. This time however, the RAF was much better prepared, with new weapons systems and tactics developed after long years of operational combat experience on Operation SOUTHERN WATCH over Iraq and in the skies over the Balkans. Operation TELIC was a high tech war for the Tornado GR4 uing long range reconnaissance systems and medium altitude attacks. It was exclusively a precison guided weapons conflct in which the ornad GR4 Force, its aircrews, groundcrews and support teams performed with distiction. This striking new painting by artist Michael Rondot depicts a pair of Tornado GR4s on station over the Baghdad killbox. The aircraft are powerf.........
Tornado F3 taking off on a dark and wet afternoon with the characteristic pink and blue afterburner plume blazing from its RB 199 engines. The controversial Tornado F3 replaced both the Lightning and F-4 Phantom in the RAF, and flew operational combat air patrols throughout the Gulf War.
Item Code : MR0049
Tornado F3 by Michael Rondot. (AP) - Editions Available
Famous for the Dambusters raid during the Second World War, RAF 617 Squadron is now based at Lossiemouth in Scotland. With its high-tech Tornados, the squadron today presents a very different picture to that of the 1940s. In 1990 they again found themselves in a combat situation when Iraq invaded Kuwait and their skills flying at high speed - low level were called on once more. This impressive painting by Coulson is a fitting tribute to one of this countrys most famous Squadrons.
Item Code : GC0382
High Speed Intrusion by Gerald Coulson. - Editions Available
Image size 24 inches x 16 inches (61cm x 41cm) Less than 4 prints left.
Artist : Gerald Coulson
SOLD OUT
NOT AVAILABLE
Panavia Tornado GR1 by Michael Rondot
Of all the television and press images of the Gulf War, few were as
dramatic as the pictures of the first waves of aircraft taking off to
attack Iraqi airfields under cover of darkness. Yet when this print of a
tornado taking off carrying a full warload of JP233 airfield denial
weapons was published, such a scenario was unthinkable. The events of 1991
are foretold in this powerful portrayal of a Tornado taking off in a blast
of steam from a rain drenched runway, with a Jaguar strike/attack aircraft
breaking into the circuit background.
Pink Tornados by Geoff Lea A pair of RAF Tornado GRIs at low level during the Gulf War
operation Desert Storm, in their distinctive desert pink camouflage
colour scheme.
Feriens Tego
by Robert Tomlin 25(F) Squadron of the Royal Air Force, based at Leeming
in Yorkshire is one of the premier Defence squadrons. Here, a
Tornado F3 makes a dramatic dash for the air in response to a potential
threat. The title comes from their motto Striking I
Defend. The border contains printed remarques of the first and
the latest fighters to serve with 25(F) Squadron, the autographed by Group
Captain Phil Goodman, OC 25(F) Squadron.
Display 25
by Robert Tomlin A Tornado F3 from 25(F) Squadron based at RAF Leeming
blasts off from the runway at Duxford to begin its display sequence.
Flown for the second year by Glt Lt "Willy" Hackett and
navigated by Flt Lt John Shields, this dramatic limited edition prints is
autographed by the two crew members
Flt Lt John Shields and Flt Lt "Willy"
Hackett
.
Blackpool
Showtime by
Robert Tomlin At one of their favourite locations, pilot Flt Lt Simon
Stevens (now a member of the Red Arrows) and navigator Flt Lt Dave
Chadderton of 56 Squadron RAF display the fabulous Tornado F3 to thrill
the holiday crowds gathered in front of Blackpools famous tower.
Friesland Scorpions by
Robert Tomlin The 2nd Squadron of Fighter-Bomber Wing 38 Friesland is the
only squadron in Northern Germany to operate the Tornado weapon system.
Their main task is to support the Main Defence Forces (HVK) to protect
Germany and its Allies. Additionally their crews train co-operation
between themselves and reaction forces of NATO and the UN. The 2nd Squadron, the youngest German Tornado squadron, was established
in 1988 with the introduction of the Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat
Reconnaissance) into the German Air Force. The crews perform the
service tests until the ECR achieved operational readiness. With the
changing political situation in Europe, the ECR's were transferred in 1994
to FBW 32 at Lechfield. The Squadron then re-equipped with Tornado IDS (Interdiction and
Strike) and changed its role to fighter-bombers. At the moment the
crews train in all tactical roles except nuclear. As the German Air
Force continued its re-organisation, the squadron closed in 1999. In the foreground of this print is a Tornado IDS painted in the special
colours of 2 Squadron. Behind is the last Tornado ECR of FBW 38
"F". They are depicted over the Westerhöven Lighthouse, a
famous landmark on the coastline of the Friesian Islands of Northern
Germany, an area over which the Squadron frequently flies.
High Speed Intrusion by Gerald Coulson Famous for the Dambusters raid during the Second World War, RAF
617 Squadron is now based at Lossiemouth in Scotland. With its high-tech
Tornados, the squadron today presents a very different picture to that of
the 1940s. In 1990 they again found themselves in a combat situation when
Iraq invaded Kuwait and their skills flying at high speed - low level were
called on once more. This impressive painting by Coulson is a fitting tribute to one
of this country's most famous Squadrons.
Tornado Strike by Philip
West Todays
RAF Tornados and the aircrew that fly them offer a world-class
interdiction/ground attack and reconnaissance package that is second to
none. The Tornado GR4 is capable of supersonic speeds and flight at
low-level, making it one of the most potent attack aircraft in the world
today. New systems and weapons upgrades will ensure that the Tornado
remains a versatile, effective and vital platform for many years to
come.
This striking new painting by artist Michael Rondot depicts a pair of
Tornado GR4s on station over the Baghdad killbox. The aircraft are
powerfully set against the ominous background of central Baghdad sprawling
beneath the dark smoke of oil fires deliberately lit in an effort to mask
the city from airborne targeting pods. Many RAF aircraft received
colourful nose art during the conflict and these Tornados were no
exception; ZA542 'DM' and ZA560 'BC' became "Danger Mouse" and
"Brave Coq", and both carried tributes to favourite Scottish
Whiskies alongside their mission markings. With their paint finish
battered and weather beaten by the scars of battle, the aircraft are
portrayed in a typical Interdiction / Close Air Support fit, armed with
Paveway II GPS / laser guided bombs, TIALD pod and RBL-755 cluster bombs
to represent all Tornado GR4 Op TELIC operations.
Tornado F3 by Michael Rondot Signed by Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss KCB KBE this print depicts a
Tornado F3 taking off on a dark and wet afternoon with the characteristic
pink and blue afterburner plume blazing from its RB199 engines. The
controversial Tornado F3 replaced both the Lightning and F4 Phantom in the
RAF, and flew operational combat air patrols throughout the Gulf War.
Shiny II - Tornado Recce by Michael Rondot
Flying beneath an overcast of grey, threatening cloud, two Tornado
GR1As break formation as the lead aircraft turns and accelerates towards a
narrow gap in the cloud covered hills. The aircraft are flying a low-level
tactical reconnaissance mission, aiming to locate, identify and film a
camouflaged target using their sophisticated onboard video recording
sensors. As night falls and low cloud envelopes them, they have the
capability, unmatched by any other recce aircraft in the world, to fly
their mission in darkness, at very low level, and still locate and record
their target. During the Gulf War recce Tornados were tasked
to fly deep-penetration low-level missions at night into Iraq and the
Kuwait Theatre of Operations, searching out troop concentrations, armour,
and mobile SCUD missile launchers. Their missions were dangerous and
lonely work, flying alone and without fighter escort, often into the most
heavily defended areas of Iraq and Kuwait. None were lost on these
missions, but the dangers they faced, and the professionalism displayed by
the aircrews from No.II (AC) Sqn, and No.13 Sqn, were recognised in the
Gulf War Honours List by several awards for bravery in the air, including
the DSO and DFC. Already regarded as one of the finest strike and attack
aircraft in NATO, the Recce Tornado dispenses with conventional cameras
altogether, and instead, features infrared linescan and side-looking
thermal imagers mounted inside the forward fuselage gun bays.
Paveway Tornados by Michael Rondot Low level action at sunset by a pair of
FLIR-equipped Tornado GR4s
carrying a TIALD laser designator pod and GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided
bombs. These weapons, used to such devastating effect during the Gulf War
by USAF F-111F and F117A Black Jet aircraft, now give the RAF the same
capability to attack targets with pinpoint accuracy, both day an night, in
adverse weather and from all altitudes.
In the Air Tonight by Michael Rondot During the opening nights of Operation Desert Storm, hundreds of RAF,
US and Coalition aircraft unleashed a tidal wave of low-level bombing
attacks on airfield targets in Iraq and in occupied Kuwait. Spearheading
the RAF attack were Tornado GR1 units based at Tabuk and Dhahran in Saudi
Arabia and Muharraq, Bahrain. These early missions, flown at low-altitude,
often under cover of darkness, were strictly for the brave.
A Tornado GR1 with JP 233 airfield denial weapons taking off at the
start of a night low-level mission to attack an airfield target deep
within Iraq. The bad weather and dark, overcast evening sky of the first
days of the war add power and atmosphere to the dramatic scene as the
Tornado accelerates along the runway with afterburners blazing. As a
Jaguar pilot working alongside Tornado crews at Bahrain, Michael Rondot
witnessed many scenes like this, and his painting pays tribute to those
who flew the Tornado, some of whom, tragically, did not survive the war. Prints are signed by 19 RAF Tornado aircrew form Operation Desert
Storm, including holders of the Distinguished Service Order and
Distinguished Flying Cross awards for gallantry.
Second to None by Michael Rondot "Second to None" is the unofficial motto of No II (AC)
Squadron Royal Air Force, whose Tornado GR1A aircraft are portrayed by
Michael Rondot in this painting of a pair of aircraft landing on a
typically filthy and rainswept summer afternoon. Signatories: Wg Cdr. R F Garwood
DFC, Air Vice-Marshal G E Stirrup AFC,
Air Commodore T G Thorn AFC, Gp Capt.. R Fowler AFC, Wg Cdr. D C Ferguson
AFC, Gp Capt..
Atlantic Trail by Michael Rondot Ever wondered what it is like learning to tank? Imagine a fragile
basket flailing six feet up and down at the end of a 50 foot hose as the
tanker flexes its wings in turbulence. In your cockpit it feels like the
throttles are connected to the engines with knicker elastic. To keep
straight in the tanker's wingtip vortices you have applied right spoiler
and a bootfull of rudder, whilst your death grip on the stick is inducing
a violent porpoising motion. Over the radio a calm voice from the tanker
clears you in, so with one engine in afterburner and with eyes like
saucers you move forward to attempt a controlled mid-air collision.
Welcome to the air-to-air refuelling club.
In Michael Rondot's remarkably accurate portrayal of refuelling
operations high over an Atlantic panorama, a Tornado moving forward to
refuel makes contact with the basket trailed by a VC10 tanker. In these
last critical moments the Tornado's probe can either move snugly into the
centre of the basket and plug in, or rip through the spokes, sending a
shower of debris into the engine intake. It is all a matter of skill,
judgement, age and luck. N J R Walpole OBE, Air Commodore R H G Weighill CBE
DFC,
Sqn Ldr. RM Pugh AFC.
On Track by Ronald Wong A Tornado GR1 of 12 squadron RAF, carrying a comprehensive array of
weapons and defence measures streaks low on a training sortie.
