Description
Commemorating D-Day & the Normandy Invasion
Elizabeth had a brief but exciting wartime career, or, more precisely, Mk.IX Spitfire NH341 did. She’d arrived gleaming and fresh on 12 June 1944 at the makeshift airfield B4 located at Beny-sur-Mer a couple of miles inland from Juno beach and liberated by Canadian troops on D-Day.
The squadron receiving NH341 was 411 (Grizzly Bear) Squadron RCAF and it wasn’t long before her first pilot, Flt Lt A.B. ‘Bruce’ Whiteford, had named her Elizabeth after his wife.
Less than 48 hours after her arrival and adorned with full black and white invasion stripes, Whiteford was at the controls in the late afternoon of 14 June as Elizabeth set out on her first combat mission as the squadron helped to escort a force of over 220 Lancasters on a raid to bomb the heavily-defended docks at Le Havre harbouring German E-boats.
This is the scene beautifully depicted in Anthony Saunders’ compelling painting Escort to Normandy which is now available as a superb artist-signed limited edition print to commemorate the efforts of all allied airmen on D-Day and throughout the Normandy Campaign. The raid on Le Havre was Bomber Command’s largest daylight raid of the war so far with Leonard Cheshire’s 617 Squadron dropping their Tallboys moments before the main force arrived. Whiteford, who would fly Elizabeth on more missions than anyone else, described the operation as ‘bags of flak and fire’.
Eight other pilots besides Whiteford flew Elizabeth on her 27 combat flights over Normandy and one of them, Flt Lt H.C. ‘Charlie’ Trainor DSO DFC, scored two air victories in her, both against Bf109s. Flying another Spitfire Trainor gained ‘ace’ status on 4 July when he destroyed two more Bf109s but that was two days after Elizabeth had sadly met her end – or had she?
On 2 July 1944 whilst being flown by W/O J.S. ‘Jimmy’ Jeffrey, Elizabeth was attacked by an Fw190 during an engagement south-east of Caen. With oil covering his windscreen, Jeffrey was forced to bail out but landed unscathed near the small town of Orbec. Hidden by farmers and the local Resistance, ‘Jimmy’ Jeffrey was soon reunited with his squadron but what became of Elizabeth?
She’d crashed, obviously, yet despite her ordeal a significant amount of her still remained – enough to be put on display, first at the Musée Mémorial de la Bataille de Normandie at Bayeux and later at the Canadian Juno Beach Museum at Courseulles- sur-Mer.
In July 2015 Elizabeth arrived at Duxford to undergo restoration to flying condition and this time reconfigured as a two seater. Elizabeth’s colour scheme, markings and equipment, however, mirror NH341 exactly as she was when flying with the brave Canadian pilots of 411 Squadron.
Today she forms the backbone of premier flight experiences with Aero Legends where her two seat configuration allows enthusiasts the opportunity to experience life in the cockpit of perhaps the most iconic British aircraft in history – a Supermarine Spitfire.
Overall print size: 26 ½” wide x 19 ¼” high
Image Size: 20 ¾” wide x 12 ¾” high
Each print in the edition has been personally signed by artist Anthony Saunders and serves as a fitting tribute to both the brave airmen who flew Elizabeth during WWII and all those who fought to liberate Europe.
The Limited Edition & Artist Proofs
Each print is exclusively hand-numbered and personally signed by the artist Anthony Saunders.
The Remarque
Widely considered as some of the best and largest in the industry, Anthony’s unique pencil remarques are individually created in the lower margin of the print. The first edition, consisting of 25 single sized remarques, are a perfect way to collect original art.
The Double Remarque
Created specially for the serious collector, these dramatic pieces are much bigger than a standard remarque and exclusively restricted to just 10 copies worldwide. The demand for these superb creations is such that we urge collectors to reserve their remarques early to avoid disappointment.
Giclée Studio Proof
Using the most sophisticated digital Giclée technology, each Studio Proof is printed directly on to fine canvas creating a stunning piece which has all the look and feel of an original painting. Fully authorised, stamped on the back, hand numbered and titled, each canvas proof is supplied pre-stretched ready to simply drop into a frame of your choice.
Mainland UK orders sent stretched – overseas orders sent rolled ready for stretching
Overall stretched canvas size: 36″ wide x 24″ high
THE LIMITED EDITION – Edition Size – 275
THE ARTIST PROOFS – Edition Size – 25
THE REMARQUES – Edition Size – 25
THE GICLEE STUDIO PROOFS – Edition Size – 75
THE DOUBLE REMARQUES – Edition Size – 10
