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Aviation art prints of the Royal Air
Force Panavia Tornado fighter aircraft. Tornado GR1's by aviation artists Geoff
Lea and Frank Wootton. Aviation art prints available from Cranston Fine
Arts.
PANAVIA TORNADO Twin seat multi role combat jet fighter with a
maximum speed of 1320 mph ceiling of 50,000 feet and a maximum range
with in flight refuelling of 3,000 miles (normal range 1,000 miles)
Build by European consortium of British ,German and
Italian Manufacturers. The Tornado was the first swing wing aircraft to
enter service with the royal Air Force. Training commenced on the
Tornado in 1981 at RAF Cottesmore. and has become a major part of the
Royal Air Force of the 1980' and 1990's.
Pink Tornados by Geoff Lea A pair of RAF Tornado GRIs at low level during the Gulf War
operation Desert Storm, in their distinctive desert pink camouflage
colour scheme.
High Speed Intrusion by Gerald Coulson Famous for the Dambusters raid during the Second World War, RAF
617 Squadron is now based at Lossiemouth in Scotland. With its high-tech
Tornados, the squadron today presents a very different picture to that of
the 1940s. In 1990 they again found themselves in a combat situation when
Iraq invaded Kuwait and their skills flying at high speed - low level were
called on once more. This impressive painting by Coulson is a fitting tribute to one
of this country's most famous Squadrons. |
| Operation TELIC by Michael Rondot. (AP) During 2003 RAF Tornado GR4s from RAF Marham and Lossiemouth Wings deployed to the Gulf region as part of Operation TELIC (the UK codename for Operation IRAQI FREEDOM) As the deadline for war in Iraq approached, the detachments al Ali al Salem AB, Kuwait, and Al Udeld AB, Qatar, prepared for action 12 years after the end of the first Gulf War in 1991. This time however, the RAF was much better prepared, with new weapons systems and tactics developed after long years of operational combat experience on Operation SOUTHERN WATCH over Iraq and in the skies over the Balkans. Operation TELIC was a high tech war for the Tornado GR4 uing long range reconnaissance systems and medium altitude attacks. It was exclusively a precison guided weapons conflct in which the ornad GR4 Force, its aircrews, groundcrews and support teams performed with distiction. This striking new painting by artist Michael Rondot depicts a pair of Tornado GR4s on station over the Baghdad killbox. The aircraft are powerfully set against the ominous background of central Baghdad sprawling beneath the dark smoke of oil fires deliberately lit in an effort to mask the city from airborne targeting pods. Many RAF aircraft received colourful nose art during th conflict and these Tornados were no exception; ZA542 DM and ZA560 BC became Danger Mouse and Brave Coq, and both carried tribtes to favourite Scottish Whiskies alongside their mission markings. With their paint finish battered and weather beaten by the scars of battle, the aircraft are portrayed in the typical interdiction/Close Air Support fit, armed with Paveway II GPS/laser guided bombs, TIALD pod and RBL-755 cluster bomb to represent all Tornado GR4 Op TELIC operations Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 27 inches x 20 inches (69cm x 51cm). Price £120.00
Limited edition of 25 remarques. Paper size 27 inches x 20 inches (69cm x 51cm). Price £ ITEM CODE MR0059 |
| Tornado F3 by Michael Rondot. (AP) Tornado F3 taking off on a dark and wet afternoon with the characteristic pink and blue afterburner plume blazing from its RB 199 engines. The controversial Tornado F3 replaced both the Lightning and F-4 Phantom in the RAF, and flew operational combat air patrols throughout the Gulf War. Limited edition of 20 artist proofs. Paper size 30 inches x 20 inches (76cm x 51cm) Sold Out Edition. Four secondary market prints available.. Price £150.00 Signed by Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss KCB KBE. ITEM CODE MR0049 |
| On Track by Ronald Wong. A Tornado GR1 of 12 squadron RAF, carrying a comprehensive array of weapons and defence measures streaks low on a training sortie. Signed limited edition of 750 prints. Image size 14 inches x 22 inches (36cm x 56cm). Price £80.00 ITEM CODE LR0002 |
| Second to None by Michael Rondot. (AP) The unofficial motto of Number 2 Squadron Royal Air Force. It features, in typical Rondot style (and typical British weather!) Two No II (AC) Sqn Tornado GR-1As landing on a rain soaked runway on a typically filthy and wet Friday afternoon just minutes before the bar opens, and their home base at RAF Marham in Norfolk, closes in cross winds and driving rain. (Just in time to get to the mess for a quick one!) The main aircraft illustrated, is ZA400 (T) which was the personal aircraft of Wg Cdr R F Garwood DFC during the Gulf War in which he flew 19 low level night reconnaissance missions over Iraq. Notice the spray shooting off the main and nose wheel undercarriage legs, the distorted reflections of red and green bouncing up from the runway from the Port and Starboard navigation lights, you can almost feel the pressure and the whole weight of the awesome Tornado bearing down on that nose wheel as the aircraft decelerates down from its initial 150kts landing speed to the subtle gentle momentum of taxi. But what makes it for me is the second ship just behind and to the left of Zulu Alpha 400 bringing up the rear, braking hard, landing lights full on in an naive attempt to try to carve out a tunnel of vision for the Pilot in an absolute impossible wall of spray behind the leader. (Try this one, Michael Schumacher?) Limited edition of 100 artist proofs. Paper size 27 inches x 19 inches (69cm x 48cm). Price £150.00 ITEM CODE MR0041 |
| Feriens Tego by Robert Tomlin. 25(F) Squadron of the Royal Air Force, based at Leeming in Yorkshire is one of the premier Defence squadrons. Here, a Tornado F3 makes a dramatic dash for the air in response to a potential threat. The title comes from their motto Striking I Defend. The border contains printed remarques of the first and the latest fighters to serve with 25(F) Squadron, the autographed by Group Captain Phil Goodman, OC 25(F) Squadron. Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Image size 13 inches x 20 inches (33cm x 51cm). Price £70.00 ITEM CODE DHM2504 |
| Pink Tornados by Geoff Lea. A pair of RAF Tornado GRIs at low level during the Gulf War operation Desert Storm, in their distinctive desert pink camouflage colour scheme. Signed limited edition of 1000 prints. Image size 23 inches x 15 inches (58cm x 38cm). Price £63.00
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Image size 23 inches x 15 inches (58cm x 38cm). Price £135.00 ITEM CODE DHM0284 |
| Blackpool Showtime by Robert Tomlin. During the Air Show Season each year the Royal Air Force provides one of their latest Tornado F3 interceptors to thrill the crowds throughout Europe. The year 2002 represents the second year that the aircraft has been provided by 56 (R) Squadron from RAF Conningsby and is once again crewed by F1t Lt Simon Stevens as pilot and F1t Lt Dave Chadderton as Navigator. This will be their last year as F3 Display Team and so this print is issued to commemorate two fabulous years of thrilling and dynamic displays. Some of their highlights are the several seafront displays that take place around the shores of the UK and none more special to them that the one at Blackpool, close to Daves roots and considered their home display. With the unmistakeable form of Blackpool Tower in the background, Simon pulls the F3 up into a tight turn after a high speed pass. Limited edition of 500 prints, signed by pilot and navigator. Paper size 15.5 inches x 19.5 inches (40cm x 50cm). Price £60.00 ITEM CODE DHM2516 |
| Paveway Tornados by Michael Rondot. In this remarkably accurate portrayal of low level action at sunset he features a pair of FLIR-equipped Tornado GR4s carrying a TIALD laser designator pod and GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bombs. These weapons, used to such devastating effect during the Gulf War by USAF F-lllF and F-117A Black Jet aircraft, now give the RAF the same capability to attack targets with pinpoint accuracy, both day and night, in adverse weather and from all altitudes. Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm). Price £75.00
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm). Price £120.00 ITEM CODE MR0038 |
| Spirit of 617 Squadron by Michael Turner. A Tornado follows a Lancaster over the Derwentwater Dam. Open edition print. Paper size 20 inches x 17 inches (52cm x 43cm). Price £36.00 ITEM CODE GT0072 |
| RAF Tornado- Operation Desert Storm 1991 by Frank Wootton. at 2200 GMT on 16th January 1991 Tornados were launched from Dhahran, Bahrain and Tabuk on the RAFs first combat missions in Operation Desert Storm. Each Tornado was loaded with two JP23s and all were bound for airfields in Iraq. Taking the defences by complete surprise, the Tornados delivered their weapons over runways and taxiways, then made for home without loss, setting a standard of professionalism that was to be maintained throughout the campaign often in the face of far more serious opposition. The air campaign in which the RAF were engaged was crucial to the Allies overall strategy to free Kuwait. Indeed, it is not an exaggeration to say that for the first time in the history of warfare, air power was the determining factor in a major conflict, and that the visions of such men as Trenchard and Harris were at last demonstrated. While the final conclusions must be left to history, the Gulf war remains - as General McPeak, the US Air Force Chief of Staff pointed out - the first time that a field army had been defeated by air power. The plan for the Allied air campaign was divided into a succession of phases, beginning with the obtaining of air superiority and ending with the direct engagement of the enemy ground forces. To carry out this plan the Allies had built up a formidable air power force. By 16th January it numbered some 2430 aircraft based either within the Gulf region or close enough to project air power into it. The RAF contribution was 135 aircraft: 18 Tornado F3 fighters, 46 TornadoGR1 and 1A attack and recce aircraft, 12 Jaguar fighter-bombers, 17 tabkers, 3 Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, 31 Chinook and Puma support helicopters, one BAe 125 and 7 Hercules transport aircraft. The strength of the Allied air forces continued to grow as the campaign progressed, and by the start of the land attack (G Day) it had reached 2790. RAF reinforcements during this period included 12 Buccaneers and additional Tornado GR1s. Signed limited edition of 850 prints. Image size 17 inches x 24 inches (43cm x 61cm). Price £120.00 Signed by Air Marshal Sir William Wratten KBE, CB, AFC, FRAeS. ITEM CODE LI0032 |
| Shiny II - Tornado Recce by Michael Rondot. Flying beneath an overcast of grey, threatening cloud, two Tornado GRlAs break formation as the lead aircraft turns and accelerates towards a narrow gap in the cloud covered hills. The aircraft are flying a low-level tactical reconnaissance mission, aiming to locate, identify and film a camouflaged target using their sophisticated on-board video recording sensors.
As night falls and low cloud envelops them, they have the capability, unmatched by any other recce aircraft in the world, to fly their mission in darkness, at very low-level, and still locate and record their target. During the Gulf War, Recce Tornados were tasked to fly deep-penetration low-level missions at night into Iraq and the Kuwait Theatre of Operations, searching out troop concentrations, armour, and mobile SCUD missile launchers. Their missions were dangerous and lonely work, flying alone and without fighter escort, often into the most heavily defended areas of Iraq and Kuwait. None were lost on these missions, but the dangers they faced, and the professionalism displayed by the aircrews from No. II (AC) Sqn, and No. 13 Sqn, were recognised in the Gulf War Honours List by several awards for bravery in the air, including the DSO and DFC. Already regarded as one of the finest strike and attack aircraft in NATO, the Recce Tornado dispenses with conventional cameras altogether, and instead, features infrared linescan and side-looking thermal imagers mounted inside the forward fuselage gun bays. These high-resolution sensors enable Tornado to identify pinpoint targets from tree-top height, by day or by night, even in the most appalling weather conditions. Signed limited edition of 650 prints. Paper size 25 inches x 19 inches (64cm x 48cm). Price £95.00
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 25 inches x 19 inches (64cm x 48cm). Price £135.00
Two Artist proofs. signed by 17 pilots. Paper size 25 inches x 19 inches (64cm x 48cm). Price £185.00
Special four copies specially signed by 17 Royal Air Force Tornado Pilots. Paper size 25 inches x 19 inches (64cm x 48cm). Price £160.00 ITEM CODE MR0042 |
| The Marham Wing Over Sandringham by Michael Rondot. At the beginning of her Golden Jubilee Year, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Royal Air Force Marham, the Norfolk airbase close to the Royal familys winter residence at Sandringham. RAF Marham personnel are very proud of their unique association with Her Majesty who became Honorary Air Commodore of the station in 1976. To mark the occasion of her Golden Jubilee Year this magnificent oil painting was commissioned by all ranks of RAF Marham and presented to Her Majesty. The aircraft in Michael Rondots painting represent the five squadrons of The Marham Wing, formed in August 2001 to become the Royal Air Forces largest and most potent fast-jet main operating base. A Canberra PR9 is portrayed leading four Tornado GR4s, one from each squadron with aircraft tail letters specially marked to spell E II R L for the Queens Golden Jubilee, in a formation flown over Sandringham House in Her Majestys honour. In the background, surrounded by beautiful wooded grounds, lawned gardens and 20,000 acres of estate, stands the fine red brick and sandstone house built in 1870 for Prince Edward (later King Edward VII) and Princess Alexandra. Signed limited edition of 300 prints. Paper size 27 inches x 20 inches (69cm x 51cm). Price £80.00 Signed by Air Vice-Marshal Glen Torpy CBE DSO, Group Captain Dick Garwood DFC ADC, Wing Commander Ken Smith, Wing Commander Paddy Teakle OBE, Wing Commander Moose Poole, Wing Commander Derek Watson and Wing Commander Phil Osborn.
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 27 inches x 20 inches (69cm x 51cm). Price £120.00 Signed by Air Vice-Marshal Glen Torpy CBE DSO, Group Captain Dick Garwood DFC ADC, Wing Commander Ken Smith, Wing Commander Paddy Teakle OBE, Wing Commander Moose Poole, Wing Commander Derek Watson and Wing Commander Phil Osborn.
Limited edition of 25 remarques. Paper size 27 inches x 20 inches (69cm x 51cm). Price £ Signed by Air Vice-Marshal Glen Torpy CBE DSO, Group Captain Dick Garwood DFC ADC, Wing Commander Ken Smith, Wing Commander Paddy Teakle OBE, Wing Commander Moose Poole, Wing Commander Derek Watson and Wing Commander Phil Osborn. ITEM CODE MR0057 |
| Dawn Thunder by Keith Woodcock. A Royal Air Force Tornado GR1 takes off on a training mission into a dawn sky. Signed limited edition of 300 prints. Image size 16 inches x 10 inches (41cm x 25cm). Price £50.00 ITEM CODE DHM2415 |
| In the Air Tonight by Michael Rondot. A Tornado GR-1 with JP 233 airfield denial weapons taking off at the start of a night low-level mission to attack an airfield target deep within Iraq. The television images of the Gulf War air campaign as a series of precision attacks with laser-guided bombs, dropped from the relative safety of medium altitude, takes no account of the fearsome price that was paid in delivering these early low-level attacks. During the opening nights of Operation Desert Storm hundreds of RAF, US and Coalition aircraft unleashed a tidal wave of low-level bombing attacks on airfield targets in Iraq and in occupied Kuwait. Spearheading the RAF attack were Tornado GR.1 units based at Tabuk and Dhahran in Saudi Arabia and Muharraq, Bahrain. These early missions, flown at low-altitude, often under cover of darkness, were strictly for the brave. Approaching their targets over featureless desert, the aircrews were faced with ferocious barrages of AAA gunfire and missiles defending the airfields. It took a special kind of determination to press home attacks in the face of the full fury of Iraqs air defenses flying straight and level through curtains of tracer fire to deliver JP 233 weapons. Afterwards, some of the pilots were icily matter-of-fact about these missions: You could see the AAA from over twenty miles away but from five miles out at 200 feet you could steer a path through the lines of tracer to the target. It was a bit scary, but we were more concerned about being forced off track and laying down our weapons a hundred yards right or left of the intended impact path, than we were about bullets going past the window. Others were more sombre about their experiences, perhaps realising that running a gauntlet of enemy fire and surviving unscathed owed more than a little to luck and the Iraqi gunners tactics of hosing the sky with unaimed fire
Signed limited edition of 500 prints, with 19 signatures. Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm). Price £95.00
Signed limited edition of 500 prints, with 19 signatures. Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm). Price £150.00 19 RAF Tornado aircrew from Operation Desert Storm, including holders of the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross awards for gallantry. ITEM CODE MR0026 |
| Tornado Strike by Philip West. Todays RAF Tornados and the aircrew that fly them offer a world-class interdiction/ground attack and reconnaissance package that is second to none. The Tornado GR4 is capable of supersonic speeds and flight at low-level, making it one of the most potent attack aircraft in the world today. New systems and weapons upgrades will ensure that the Tornado remains a versatile, effective and vital platform for many years to come. Signed limited edition of 350 prints. Paper size 28 inches x 18 inches (71cm x 46cm). Price £95.00 Signed by Wing Commander Alistair J. Byford MA RAF, Sqn. Ldr. Andrew Arnold, Flt. Lt. Helen Dawson, Flt. Lt. Tom Boyle, Major Matteo Omura and Flt. Lt. Neil Pappini.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with 8 signatures. Paper size 28 inches x 18 inches (71cm x 46cm). Price £135.00 Signed by Wing Commander Alistair J. Byford MA RAF, Sqn. Ldr. Andrew Arnold, Flt. Lt. Helen Dawson, Flt. Lt. Tom Boyle, Major Matteo Omura, Flt. Lt. Neil Pappini, Flt. Lt. James Heeps and Lt. Mark Humphries. ITEM CODE DHM2289 |
| Panavia Tornado GR1 by Michael Rondot. A 14 Squadron Tornado GR1 based at RAF Bruggen Germany carrying a full JP233 war fit roars into the sky as a Jaguar overshoots to the right of the runway to go around to land. Of all the television and press images of the Gulf War, few were as dramatic as the pictures of the first waves of aircraft taking off to attack Iraqi airfields under cover of darkness. Yet when this print of a Tornado taking off carrying a full warload of JP 233 airfield denial weapons was published, such a scenario was unthinkable. The events of 1991 are foretold in this powerful portrayal of a Tornado taking off in a blast of steam from a rain drenched runway, with a Jaguar strike/attack aircraft breaking into the circuit in the background. Signed limited edition of 450 prints. Paper size 36 inches x 22 inches (91cm x 56cm). Price £120.00
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 36 inches x 22 inches (91cm x 56cm). Price £155.00 ITEM CODE MR0050 |
| Display 25 by Robert Tomlin. A Tornado F3 from 25(F) Squadron based at RAF Leeming blasts off from the runway at Duxford to begin its display sequence. Flown for the second year by Glt Lt Willy Hackett and navigated by Flt Lt John Shields, this dramatic limited edition prints is autographed by the two crew members. Signed limited edition of 750 prints. Special Promotion : This print is HALF PRICE for a limited time only! Image size 13 inches x 20 inches (33cm x 51cm). Price £42.00 ITEM CODE DHM2505 |
| High Speed Intrusion by Gerald Coulson. Famous for the Dambusters raid during the Second World War, RAF 617 Squadron is now based at Lossiemouth in Scotland. With its high-tech Tornados, the squadron today presents a very different picture to that of the 1940s. In 1990 they again found themselves in a combat situation when Iraq invaded Kuwait and their skills flying at high speed - low level were called on once more. This impressive painting by Coulson is a fitting tribute to one of this countrys most famous Squadrons. Limited edition of 617 prints. Image size 24 inches x 16 inches (61cm x 41cm) Less than 4 prints left.. Price £ ITEM CODE GC0382 |
| Atlantic Trail by Michael Rondot. To keep straight in the tankers wingtip vortices you have applied right spoiler and a bootfull of rudder, whilst your death-grip on the stick is inducing a violent porpoiseing motion. Over the radio a calm voice from the tanker clears you in, so with one engine in afterburner and with eyes like saucers you move forward to attempt a controlled mid-air collision. Welcome to the air-to-air refuelling club. Ever wondered what it is like learning to tank? Imagine a fragile basket trailing six feet up and down at the end of a fifty-foot hose as the tanker flexes its wings in turbulence. In your cockpit it feels like the throttles are connected to the engines with knicker elastic. Most military pilots use colourful language to describe their first stabs at air-to-air refuelling with phrases like: it was like a goat taking a running f##k at a rolling doughnut. With practice it gets easier, and phrases like rat up a drain pipe and in like a burglar become the norm, but it is a tricky business, especially at night or in turbulent cloud. Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm). Price £75.00
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 28 inches x 20 inches (71cm x 51cm). Price £120.00 ITEM CODE MRX0001 |
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Pink Tornados by Geoff Lea A pair of RAF Tornado GRIs at low level during the Gulf War
operation Desert Storm, in their distinctive desert pink camouflage
colour scheme.
Display 25
by Robert Tomlin A Tornado F3 from 25(F) Squadron based at RAF Leeming
blasts off from the runway at Duxford to begin its display sequence.
Flown for the second year by Glt Lt "Willy" Hackett and
navigated by Flt Lt John Shields, this dramatic limited edition prints is
autographed by the two crew members.
Blackpool
Showtime by
Robert Tomlin At one of their favourite locations, pilot Flt Lt Simon
Stevens (now a member of the Red Arrows) and navigator Flt Lt Dave
Chadderton of 56 Squadron RAF display the fabulous Tornado F3 to thrill
the holiday crowds gathered in front of Blackpools famous tower.
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Friesland Scorpions by
Robert Tomlin The 2nd Squadron of Fighter-Bomber Wing 38 Friesland is the
only squadron in Northern Germany to operate the Tornado weapon system.
Their main task is to support the Main Defence Forces (HVK) to protect
Germany and its Allies. Additionally their crews train co-operation
between themselves and reaction forces of NATO and the UN.
The 2nd Squadron, the youngest German Tornado squadron, was established
in 1988 with the introduction of the Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat
Reconnaissance) into the German Air Force. The crews perform the
service tests until the ECR achieved operational readiness. With the
changing political situation in Europe, the ECR's were transferred in 1994
to FBW 32 at Lechfield.
The Squadron then re-equipped with Tornado IDS (Interdiction and
Strike) and changed its role to fighter-bombers. At the moment the
crews train in all tactical roles except nuclear. As the German Air
Force continued its re-organisation, the squadron closed in 1999.
In the foreground of this print is a Tornado IDS painted in the special
colours of 2 Squadron. Behind is the last Tornado ECR of FBW 38
"F". They are depicted over the Westerhöven Lighthouse, a
famous landmark on the coastline of the Friesian Islands of Northern
Germany, an area over which the Squadron frequently flies.
Tornado Strike by Philip
West Todays
RAF Tornados and the aircrew that fly them offer a world-class
interdiction/ground attack and reconnaissance package that is second to
none. The Tornado GR4 is capable of supersonic speeds and flight at
low-level, making it one of the most potent attack aircraft in the world
today. New systems and weapons upgrades will ensure that the Tornado
remains a versatile, effective and vital platform for many years to
come.
RAF Tornado- Operation Desert Storm 1991 by Frank Wootton |
| Operation TELIC by Michael Rondot
Royal Air Force Tornado GR4s in action over Baghdad during Operation TELIC
During February 2003, Tornado
GR4s from the Royal Air Force Marham and Lossiemouth Wings deployed to the
Gulf region as part of Operation TELIC (the UK code name for Operation
Iraqi Freedom). As the deadline for war in Iraq approached, the
detachments at Ali al Salem AB, Kuwait, and Al Udeid AB, Qatar, prepared
for action 12 years after the end of the first Gulf War in 1991.
This time, however, the RAF was much better prepared, with new weapons
systems and tactics developed after long years of operational combat
experience on Operation Southern Watch over Iraq and in the skies over the
Balkans. Operation TELIC was a high-tech air war for the Tornado GR4
using long-range reconnaissance systems and medium altitude attacks.
It was almost exclusively a precision-guided weapons conflict in which the
Tornado GR4 Force, its aircrews, groundcrews and support teams performed
with distinction.
This striking new painting by artist Michael Rondot depicts a pair of
Tornado GR4s on station over the Baghdad killbox. The aircraft are
powerfully set against the ominous background of central Baghdad sprawling
beneath the dark smoke of oil fires deliberately lit in an effort to mask
the city from airborne targeting pods. Many RAF aircraft received
colourful nose art during the conflict and these Tornados were no
exception; ZA542 'DM' and ZA560 'BC' became "Danger Mouse" and
"Brave Coq", and both carried tributes to favourite Scottish
Whiskies alongside their mission markings. With their paint finish
battered and weather beaten by the scars of battle, the aircraft are
portrayed in a typical Interdiction / Close Air Support fit, armed with
Paveway II GPS / laser guided bombs, TIALD pod and RBL-755 cluster bombs
to represent all Tornado GR4 Op TELIC operations.
Panavia Tornado GR1 by Michael Rondot Of all the television and press images of the Gulf War, few were as
dramatic as the pictures of the first waves of aircraft taking off to
attack Iraqi airfields under cover of darkness. Yet when this print of a
tornado taking off carrying a full warload of JP233 airfield denial
weapons was published, such a scenario was unthinkable. The events of 1991
are foretold in this powerful portrayal of a Tornado taking off in a blast
of steam from a rain drenched runway, with a Jaguar strike/attack aircraft
breaking into the circuit background.
Tornado F3 by Michael Rondot Signed by Air Marshal Sir John Curtiss KCB KBE this print depicts a
Tornado F3 taking off on a dark and wet afternoon with the characteristic
pink and blue afterburner plume blazing from its RB199 engines. The
controversial Tornado F3 replaced both the Lightning and F4 Phantom in the
RAF, and flew operational combat air patrols throughout the Gulf War. |
|
Shiny II - Tornado Recce by Michael Rondot
Flying beneath an overcast of grey, threatening cloud, two Tornado
GR1As break formation as the lead aircraft turns and accelerates towards a
narrow gap in the cloud covered hills. The aircraft are flying a low-level
tactical reconnaissance mission, aiming to locate, identify and film a
camouflaged target using their sophisticated onboard video recording
sensors. As night falls and low cloud envelopes them, they have the
capability, unmatched by any other recce aircraft in the world, to fly
their mission in darkness, at very low level, and still locate and record
their target.
During the Gulf War recce Tornados were tasked
to fly deep-penetration low-level missions at night into Iraq and the
Kuwait Theatre of Operations, searching out troop concentrations, armour,
and mobile SCUD missile launchers. Their missions were dangerous and
lonely work, flying alone and without fighter escort, often into the most
heavily defended areas of Iraq and Kuwait. None were lost on these
missions, but the dangers they faced, and the professionalism displayed by
the aircrews from No.II (AC) Sqn, and No.13 Sqn, were recognised in the
Gulf War Honours List by several awards for bravery in the air, including
the DSO and DFC. Already regarded as one of the finest strike and attack
aircraft in NATO, the Recce Tornado dispenses with conventional cameras
altogether, and instead, features infrared linescan and side-looking
thermal imagers mounted inside the forward fuselage gun bays.
Paveway Tornados by Michael Rondot Low level action at sunset by a pair of
FLIR-equipped Tornado GR4s
carrying a TIALD laser designator pod and GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided
bombs. These weapons, used to such devastating effect during the Gulf War
by USAF F-111F and F117A Black Jet aircraft, now give the RAF the same
capability to attack targets with pinpoint accuracy, both day an night, in
adverse weather and from all altitudes.
In the Air Tonight by Michael Rondot During the opening nights of Operation Desert Storm, hundreds of RAF,
US and Coalition aircraft unleashed a tidal wave of low-level bombing
attacks on airfield targets in Iraq and in occupied Kuwait. Spearheading
the RAF attack were Tornado GR1 units based at Tabuk and Dhahran in Saudi
Arabia and Muharraq, Bahrain. These early missions, flown at low-altitude,
often under cover of darkness, were strictly for the brave. A Tornado GR1 with JP 233 airfield denial weapons taking off at the
start of a night low-level mission to attack an airfield target deep
within Iraq. The bad weather and dark, overcast evening sky of the first
days of the war add power and atmosphere to the dramatic scene as the
Tornado accelerates along the runway with afterburners blazing. As a
Jaguar pilot working alongside Tornado crews at Bahrain, Michael Rondot
witnessed many scenes like this, and his painting pays tribute to those
who flew the Tornado, some of whom, tragically, did not survive the war.
Prints are signed by 19 RAF Tornado aircrew form Operation Desert
Storm, including holders of the Distinguished Service Order and
Distinguished Flying Cross awards for gallantry.
Second to None by Michael Rondot "Second to None" is the unofficial motto of No II (AC)
Squadron Royal Air Force, whose Tornado GR1A aircraft are portrayed by
Michael Rondot in this painting of a pair of aircraft landing on a
typically filthy and rainswept summer afternoon. Signatories: Wg Cdr. R F Garwood
DFC, Air Vice-Marshal G E Stirrup AFC,
Air Commodore T G Thorn AFC, Gp Capt.. R Fowler AFC, Wg Cdr. D C Ferguson
AFC, Gp Capt.. N J R Walpole OBE, Air Commodore R H G Weighill CBE DFC,
Sqn Ldr. RM Pugh AFC.
Atlantic Trail by Michael Rondot Ever wondered what it is like learning to tank? Imagine a fragile
basket flailing six feet up and down at the end of a 50 foot hose as the
tanker flexes its wings in turbulence. In your cockpit it feels like the
throttles are connected to the engines with knicker elastic. To keep
straight in the tanker's wingtip vortices you have applied right spoiler
and a bootfull of rudder, whilst your death grip on the stick is inducing
a violent porpoising motion. Over the radio a calm voice from the tanker
clears you in, so with one engine in afterburner and with eyes like
saucers you move forward to attempt a controlled mid-air collision.
Welcome to the air-to-air refuelling club. In Michael Rondot's remarkably accurate portrayal of refuelling
operations high over an Atlantic panorama, a Tornado moving forward to
refuel makes contact with the basket trailed by a VC10 tanker. In these
last critical moments the Tornado's probe can either move snugly into the
centre of the basket and plug in, or rip through the spokes, sending a
shower of debris into the engine intake. It is all a matter of skill,
judgement, age and luck.
On Track by Ronald Wong |
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