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A rare Robert Taylor Limited Edition portfolio carrying the original signature of the former Prime Minister of Australia Sir John Gorton.
Specially commissioned to support the Spitfire Memorial Defence Fellowship at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra and the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and commemorating the gallant Spitfire Wing that defended Australia against the onslaught of the Japanese.
The bombing of Darwin by Japanese aircraft shortly before 10am on the morning of 19 February, 1942, brought the northern region of Australia directly into the war in the South Pacific. The surprise attack caught the Royal Australian Air Force with only a handful of Wirraway trainers and a squadron of Hudson twin engined bombers to defend the Northern Territories, and a Japanese invasion looked a possibility.
Fortunately the USAAF 49th Group were transiting through Darwin at the time, en route to Java and, flying their P-40E fighters, they were able to hold the line until 77 Squadron Kittyhawks arrived to defend the 'Top End' in the latter part of 1942.
At the time Australia's only Spitfire squadrons were operating successfully in Europe as part of RAP's II Group, but Churchill, recognising the Japanese threat to Australia, despatched three Spitfire squadrons to Darwin in the Northern summer of 1942. Simultaneously a group of talented young Australian pilots returned home from service in North Africa and Malta to join the newly formed Wing. Number One Fighter Wing, known as the "Churchill Wing", became operational in January 1943, scoring their first victory on 6 February. Shortly after on 2 March, the Wing's Spitfires led by the legendary Wing Commander Clive Caldwell came up against Zeros - the first time the two types had met over Australian skies. The Spitfire pilots immediately took the upper hand, bringing down two Zeros without loss - a portend of what was to come.
These early encounters were the start of what became a highly successful air defence campaign, and by the end of the year the seasoned fighter pilots of No I Fighter Wing had gained total air superiority, and had claimed over 100 victories. The Japanese withdrew and the attacks of Darwin ceased.
Robert Taylor's beautiful painting, dedicated to the Spitfire Memorial Defence Fellowship, depicts the Mark Vc tropicalised Spitfires of No I Wing RAAF returning from a Scramble over the city of Darwin in early 1943. Flying in loose formation the pilots are able to admire for a few glorious moments the spectacular sunset above the coastal waters of the South Pacific. Commemorative prints from this specially published edition are signed by distinguished Australian fighter pilots who flew both in Europe and in defence of Australia during World War II.
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