Avro Lancaster ED932 Giclée Art Print

High quality art print of Avro Lancaster ED932, an Avro Lancaster B.III (Special) of No. 617 Squadron, specially refitted to take part in Operation Chastise, better known as the Dambusters Raid.

The Dambusters Raid saw nineteen Lancasters of No. 617 Squadron attack several dams in the Ruhr Valley in Germany: the Möhne, Eder, Sorpe, and Edersee dams. Flying on the night of 16/17 May 1943, each of the Lancasters carried an Vickers Type 464 'Upkeep' mine, better known as a bouncing bomb, which Barnes Wallis had designed specifically for the mission. The Lancasters flew in low to avoid detection, and bounced their Upkeep mines along the surface of the water and into the dam.

Lancaster ED932, known as AJ-G within No. 617 Squadron, was Guy Gibson's Lancaster during the Dambuster Raid. Pulford, Taerum, Hutchison, Spafford, Deering, and Trevor-Roper served as the crew.  Flying in the first wave, ED932 was the first aircraft to attack the Möhne Dam, but its bouncing bomb fell short. Gibson and crew remained over the dam, flying alongside the other Lancasters to divert anti-aircraft fire, before making a safe return after the dam had been breached. Gibson was awarded a Victoria Cross, Pulford a DFM, and the other five crew members received DFCs.

Following the raid, four of the crew - Taerum, Hutchison, Spafford and Deering - stayed together. Gibson was assigned to publicity duties, while Pulford and Trevor-Roper were transferred to other crews. Taerum, Hutchison, Spafford and Deering were shot down during a raid on the Dortmind Ems canal in September 1943, and are now buried in the Reichswald Forest war cemetery. Pulford was killed in a crash in the Sussex Downs in February 1944; he was buried next to his father in Hull. Trevor-Roper was a crew member on one of the ninety-five Bomber Command aircraft shot down on 30/31 March 1944, and is now buried in the Durnbach War Cemetery. Gibson, returning from publicity duties, joined No. 627 Squadron, who flew Mosquito fighter-bombers, and in September 1944 crashed and lost his life near Steenbergen in the Netherlands.

After the war, ED932 was briefly moved to No. 61 Squadron, where it was given the code YF-C, before retirement in November 1946.

This illustration by Rob Wisdom is a high-quality Giclée art print on cotton-rich fine art paper.