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Cranston Fine Arts  Aviation Art World War Two Veteran Signatures UK and Commonwealth H  Hodges, Jack |
Warrant Officer Jack Hodges DFC
Jack Hodges joined the RAF in late 1940, and after completing his pilot training in Canada he returned to England and was then briefly sent to a Photo Reconnaissance Unit flying Spitfires. He moved to a OTU in Annan, Scotland on Hurricanes before finally moving to a holding unit in Redhill, flying Typhoons. In 1944 he was posted to join 175 Squadron. Shortly after this he moved to 174 Squadron at Westhampnett. He served on operations throughout occupied Europe until the end of the war, being awarded the DFC in 1945 for successfully leading a group of Typhoons against a German Armoured Division.
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| Distinguished Flying Cross |
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| Warrant Officer Jack Hodges DFC - Signed Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
Wing Commander J R Baldwin - The Spoils of War by Ivan Berryman. Britain's highest scoring Typhoon ace, Wing Commander J R Baldwin climbs from the cockpit of his personalised Typhoon at a makeshift airfield in northern France after a sortie in support of the Allied forces' drive into mainland Europe following D-Day in June 1944. Baldwin was instrumental in the capture of a German General's Mercedes, a prize which he employed as his personal transport for the duration of his time in France. |
Winter Warriors by Ivan Berryman. The Winter of 1943-44 saw Hawker Typhoons operating from Tangmere, equipped with 500lb or 1000lb bombs against radar installations and V1 sites in northern France. Wing Commander J R Baldwin is depicted getting airborne with others of his squadron for just such a mission early in 1944, before the squadron moved to Needs Oar Point in readiness for the D-Day landings. |
Striking Back by Gerald Coulson. Conceived initially by Hawkers (of Hurricane fame) as a fast powerful fighter, the Typhoons performance in this role proved to be disappointing in the respect of rate of climb, and at height. They did however eventually come into their own as a superlative very fast ground attack aircraft, and combined with the skill of their pilots became one of the most potent weapons of World War Two. This painting conveys something of the drama of a pair of typhoons at take-off, each loaded with two 1000lb bombs. Normandy dust contributes to the backdrop. |
Clipped Signature - Frank Wheeler. Frank Wheeler trained as a pilot and served as an instructor from 1941 until he joined No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons in 1944. After his tour of operations he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He died in 2013. Clipped alongside the signatures of Jack Hodges and Douglas Oram - Jack Hodges joined the RAF in 1940, serving in a number of roles before flying Typhoons with No.175 Sqn then No.174 Sqn from 1944. He flew in the ground attack role until the end of the war, gaining a Distinguished Flying Cross leading an attack against a German armoured division. Douglas Oram joined the RAF in 1942, training in the USA before being posted to No.174 Sqn flying Typhoons where he completed a year on operations. He left after the war but rejoined in 1947 until retiring in 1967. |
Give Us Spitfires by Ivan Berryman. A solo spitfire flies through the clouds over southern England. |
Typhoon Scramble by Stephen Brown. RAF Hawker Typhoon Mk IBs of 609 Squadron embark on a ground attack mission, head for targets in Northern France. Once initial problems with the tail section were resolved the Typhoon proved to be extremely rugged and reliable and was ideally suited to the ground attack role. |
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