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Robin Smith Aviation art prints by aviation
artist Robin Smith. Robin was born in Louth, Lincolnshire in 1949,
and has always been keen on artr from an early
age. His magnificent range of Signed Limited
edition are shown here in one complete collection. Robin Smiths. aviation
art prints are available direct form from the military art company, Cranston
Fine Arts.
Morning Glory by Robin Smith. Resplendent in the morning sunrise, the Avro Lancaster sits
majestically. One could almost believe it is a wild animal sniffing
the air, secure in its natural habitat. Watching the scene, the
total silence is occasionally broken by the chink of a dropped spanner, a
young voice expresses a solved problem, fresh human silhouettes
materialise through the mist from behind a massive wheel, we realise how
many people are actually there. These are not pilots or navigators
or gunners. They are fitters, armourers and mechanics, working as a
team, every individual with his or her own duty fulfilling a common
purpose, to get the aircraft ready for its next sortie that
evening. Signed by John Chatterton ex Lanc pilot 44 Sqn, his
son Mike Chatterton ex BBMF Lanc. pilot and Robin Smith (Artist).
Bombing Up Yorker by Robin Smith
This print depicts a Lancaster Mk. 111 powered by four Merlin engines.
Assigned to 44 (Rhodesia) squadron on 5th February 1944 to Dunholme
Lodge, KM (Yorker) ND 578 was flown by P.O. John Chatterton on its first
fifteen operations after which he received the D.F.C. In fact the whole
crew received the D.F.C after their tour, this being very unusual during
the war, a gesture reflecting the heroism of the equally brave crew.
Y-Yorker completed its 100th sortie in February 1945 with F.O. Hayler as
skipper, surviving to complete its 123rd operation by 17/18th April with
Harold Parkin in the driving seat, by this time stationed at Spilsby.
The significance of the "spade" nose art reflects to the
fact that John Chatterton was a farmer, a career that continued after
the war, and became his logo. Unfortunately, his commander didn't
approve of it, and it only lasted one week before it had to come off!
Robin is very proud to have this print signed by both John Chatterton
(the first skipper) and Harold Parkin (the last skipper). A rare coming
together of two signatures that make this a truly collectable print.
Signed by PO. J.Chatterton (first skipper of Yorker) FO. Harold Parkin
(last skipper of Yorker) and Robin Smith (Artist)
The Mighty Hamilcar by Robin Smith. The largest
wooden glider in the world, the Hamilcar could carry 7 tons of cargo
which would normally be heavy armoured equipment and army personnel. One
of the main dangers apart from crash landings, was the risk that the
glider could tip over on landing, this of course would result in the
cargo falling down on top of the two man crew. Upon landing, the
hydraulic oleo legs would lower down so the vehicles and personnel could
disembark safely. one of the challenges I faced when painting the
airframe, was to catch the effect of the skin of the aircraft at the
nose creasing diagonally under the stress of the load. |
 | The Rail Strike by Robin Smith. | £94.00 |  | Shackleton MR3, 120 Sqdn, Kinloss by Robin Smith. | £60.00 |  | RAF North Coates Strike Wing by Robin Smith. | 2 editions available from £60.00 |  | Morning Glory by Robin Smith. | 2 editions available from £60.00 |  | The Mighty Hamilcar by Robin Smith. | £36.00 |  | A Tigers Tale by Robin Smith. | £80.00 |  | At the Going Down of the Sun by Robin Smith. | £94.00 |  | Sunset Saviours by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |  | Speak, Merlin! by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |  | Thunder at Dawn by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |  | Pups at Play by Robin Smith. | £75.00 |  | Diamonds of the Sky by Robin Smith. | £38.00 |  | Turners Defence by Robin Smith. | £45.00 |  | The Safe Return by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |  | The Dreaded Salvo by Robin Smith. | £105.00 |  | The Fly Past by Robin Smith. | £18.00 |  | Tiger Moth by Robin Smith. | £45.00 |  | Bombing Up Yorker by Robin Smith. | £135.00 |  | The End of the Chase by Robin Smith. | £26.00 |  | Snowbound Lancasters by Robin Smith. | £24.00 |  | Preparing for Action by Robin Smith. | £80.00 |  | Early Morning Preparations by Robin Smith. | £45.00 |  | Seek and Destroy by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |  | 60th Anniversary D-Day Poppy Drop by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |
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The Rail Strike by Robin Smith. The Rail Strike depicts a de-Havilland
Mosquito V of 105 Sqd. attacking the rail yard installation at
Nantes France in June 1944. Eleven Mosquitoes went into action, chosen
aircraft going in at an altitude of 60 feet. Believably, one of the main
dangers encountered during such action was in fact flying through the
smoke caused by previous attacks.
Shackleton MR3, 120 Sqdn, Kinloss by Robin Smith. One of
the true workhorses of the RAF is indeed the Shackleton. Robin's
print depicts on a typical air sea rescue mission. Having dropped a smoke
flair, the aircraft flies down wind / cross wind of the stricken vessel.
Lindholme gear is then released which consists of a 9 man inflatable
dinghy connected by two floating ropes several hundred feet long with
survival packs on the ends. The survivors then wind drift into the ropes
and haul in the gear. Signed by Sqn. Ldr. Dick Woodhead, Sqn. Ldr.
Bryn Lewis, and Sqn. Ldr. Robin Chandler.
The Dreaded Salvo by Robin Smith. Hawker Typhoon of 181 Sqdn, 2nd tactical
airforce. Diamond sin the sky by Robin Smith A tribute to the young pilots of
WW11 who died too early in the conflict to become heroes and household
names. Robin's print depicts Spitfire Mk.1a's flying in vic formation, a
format that proved inflexible and ineffective. Pilots had to quickly
change mental gear at a moments notice to engage in aerial combat. The
aircraft show no markings numbers or letters reflecting the anonymity of
the young pilots.
The End of the Chase by Robin Smith Designed by Geoffrey
de-Havilland, the DH2 was the answer to what was
known as the Fokker scourge, the terrible impact the Fokker Eiendekker had
on British aircraft. The DH2 employed the use of a pusher propeller that
allowed an uninterrupted forward firing Lewis gun. With multi side mounted
magazine pockets, it made a formidable opponent to the once superior
enemy. Geoffrey de-Havilland actually test flew his new creation himself.
The Fly Past by Robin Smith Hurricane MK1 of 85
Sqdn, Debden. Sitting resplendent in the evening
sunset, the Hawker Hurricane rests between sorties. Almost like a wild
animal in its natural habitat it waites patiently to get another bite of
the cherry. Few people realise in fact that the Hurricane shot down twice as many
enemy aircraft as the Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. Being of
traditional construction including wood and fabric it could withstand
tremendous battle damage and keep fighting on. |
| Safe Return
The Boeing B17 Flying Fortress was the prime instrument in the evaluation
of the American strategic bombing and enjoyed a measure of affection from
the aircrew like no other aircraft.
Altogether 12,731 Flying Fortresses were built. While it's principle
function was to drop bombs on the enemy, the fort also performed many
other tasks such as dropping propaganda leaflets, food supplies and even
life boats to ditched aircrews.
During the war the B17s dropped 640,036 US tons of bombs on European
targets alone. This compares 452,508 US tons by the Consolidated
Liberators. Following 1935, when the prototype B17 was built, constant
improvements increased it's bomb load from 22,0001bs to 36,0001bs. The print depicts a B17 arriving at its home base somewhere in Norfolk,
as it's attending P-51 Mustangs continue a short way to there respective
base.
Pups at Play by Robin Smith .During the first world war, more so than ever, flying machines had
their own handling characteristics. The Sopwith Pup was no exception and
was quite a breath of fresh air with regards handling compared to its
similar looking counterpart the Sopwith Camel. This resulted in far less
deaths. The Pup was far more stable and compared to the Camel, a pleasure
to fly.
At the Going Down of the Sun by Robin Smith.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight trio, the flagship Lancaster,
accompanied by the Memorial Flights classic Hurricane and Spitfire,
returning from Norfolk after an air display.
Signing on behalf of the Lancaster, is Sqdn. Ldr. T. Iveson DFC and
bar, oneof the key players in the sinking of the German battleship,
Tirpitz.
On behalf of the Hurricane, Wg. Cdr. P Barthropp DFC. AFC. one of the
most sought after Battle of Britain pilots for his signature in this
country. The present day Memorial Flight Hurricane depicted, was in fact
his personal aircraft for several years after the war.
Representing the Spitfire theme of the print has been signed by
Sqdn. Ldr. D. Nicholls DFC. a surviving Battle of Britain Ace. The final personality signature is that of the present C/O of the
Flight, Sqdn. Ldr. Paul Day adding his mark, famed as the pilot with the
most Spitfire hours under his belt in the world.
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