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Stalwart of the Battle of Britain, the Hawker Hurricane equipped the majority of the RAF squadrons that defended Britain during that epic and decisive air battle in the summer of 1940. At the forefront of the air fighting over the southern counties of England, the young Hurricane pilots of 501 Squadron covered themselves in glory.
Following Germany's invasion of the Low Countries, 501 Squadron was ordered to France on 10 May 1940, claiming its first victories - two Dornier 17's and four Messerschmitt 110's - the following day. Involved daily in the desperate fighting as the Wehrmacht pushed the British Expeditionary Force back towards Dunkirk, the squadron chalked up 30 air victories before being forced to retire across the Channel. Back at Croydon with the French campaign over, 501 Squadron rebuilt to full strength for the forthcoming defence of Britain, and as the German air armadas gathered momentum in July, the squadron moved to Gravesend to take part in the heaviest of the air fighting. Throughout August and September the pilots of 501 Squadron were making three and four scrambles each day against the attacking German formations, and as one of the RAF squadrons that served right through the Battle of Britain, 501 had notched up no fewer than 149 enemy aircraft destroyed before the Luftwaffe retreated to France to lick its wounds.
The towns and villages in southeast England had found themselves in the front line as the air battle raged high above in the clear blue summer sky. With circling contrails tracing the paths of desperate dogfights, as trails of smoke from burning aircraft and blossoming parachutes studded the landscape, an anxious populace became spectator to the most decisive air battle in history. The roar of aircraft and the sound of combat was everywhere, no part of this picturesque corner of old England escaping the turmoil of battle. Nicolas Trudgian's new painting sets the scene: a victim of yesterday's aerial conflicts, a crash-landed German Ju88 of KG30 lies on the edge of a Sussex field; the attention of two members of the local Home Guard is drawn to the Hurricanes of 501 Squadron as the fighters race back at low-level to Gravesend for fuel and ammunition. Within minutes they will scramble aloft again to rejoin the fray. This superb new collector limited edition print, each signed by pilots who flew with 501 Squadron, movingly captures the surreal atmosphere that pervaded this short but vital episode in military history.
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