Undaunted by Odds by Robert Taylor

During the Battle of Britain, Hurricanes of 303 Polish Squadron RAF climb steadily to intercept yet another incoming wave of enemy bombers heading for London in September 1940. Soon the already battle-hardened Polish pilots will once again be in the thick of the action.

The prints in this outstanding edition have been endorsed with the original signatures of pilots who flew and fought with the Hurricane throughout World War II, creating a lasting and historic tribute that will prove highly collectable for many years to come.

Signatures:

Limited Edition (3 signatures)

Squadron Leader JUREK MENCEL DFC KM*** AFM***

Flight Lieutenant STANISLAW NAWARSKI DFC KM

Pilot Officer STEFAN RYLL AFM*

Hurricane Veterans Edition (10 signatures) - Added to the signatures above:

Flight Lieutenant JACK BIGGS

Flying Officer JOHN BYRNE

Warrant Officer ERIC CARTER

Flying Officer KEN COCKRAM

Squadron Leader FRANK ‘Dimmy’ JOYCE MBE

Flight Lieutenant HUGH PARRY

Flight Lieutenant KURT TAUSSIG

Battle of Britain Tribute Edition (16 signatures) - Added to the signatures above:

Wing Commander PETER AYERST DFC

Wing Commander TIM ELKINGTON

Air Commodore JOHN ELLACOMBE

Wing Commander BOB FOSTER DFC

Wing Commander TOM NEIL DFC* AFC

Wing Commander TONY PICKERING

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Veteran Biographies:

Squadron Leader JUREK MENCEL DFC KM*** AFM***
Jurek Mencel fought with the French Air Force during for the Battle of France, and then spent time in hospital after breaking his back in a crash. Returning to duty his first operation was flying Spitfires with 317 Polish Squadron, escorting RAF bombers taking part in the Channel Dash engagement. He went on to fly throughout the Normandy Invasion, and served with 308 Polish Squadron, before flying Hurricanes and Mustangs with 309 Polish Squadron.

Flight Lieutenant STANISLAW NAWARSKI DFC KM
Stanislaw Nawarski originally flew with the French Air Force. He served on Hurricanes during the Battle of France but was shot down in early summer of 1940 just prior to the Battle of Britain. Later joining 302 Polish Squadron, he flew Spitfires on offensive sweeps before D-Day and throughout the subsequent Allied advance through Normandy.

Pilot Officer STEFAN RYLL AFM*
Trained as a pilot, Stefan went on to operations with 306 Polish Squadron in 1943, flying both Hurricanes and Spitfires. In April 1944 he then flew Mustangs on bomber escorts, including the final raid of the war in Europe on the famous trip to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden.

Flight Lieutenant JACK BIGGS
Serving with 17 Squadron flying Hurricanes, he transferred to Spitfires in March 1944 until the end of September 1945 when the squadron was due to provide air cover for the planned invasion on Malaya which, as a result of the atom bomb attacks on Japan, never happened.

Flying Officer JOHN BYRNE
Joining the RAF in 1938, John Byrne flew Hurricanes, Spitfires, P-47s and Tempests before joining 197 Squadron in March 1944. He then flew Typhoons during that squadron’s most hectic period, the run up to D-Day and throughout the subsequent invasion on low-level bombing missions. In total he completed over 150 combat operations and finally left the RAF in 1946.

Warrant Officer ERIC CARTER
Initially posted to 615 Squadron, Eric Carter then moved to 81 Squadron flying Hurricanes and was part of Force Benedict, a clandestine operation to defend the strategically vital Russian port of Murmansk.

Flying Officer KEN COCKRAM
After training in Rhodesia and a spell with 73 OTU in Egypt, Ken Cockram flew Hurricanes and Spitfires in late 1944 and early 1945 with 26 AA Cooperation Unit based in Egypt. He also flew Curtiss Kittyhawks with 112 Squadron on anti-shipping and fighter patrols, once crashing his aircraft on take-off during a dust storm. He completed a total of 198 operations.

Squadron Leader FRANK ‘Dimmy’ JOYCE MBE
Originally flying Hurricanes with 87 Squadron, he was shot down in May 1940 during the Battle of France, was badly injured bailing out and lost his leg. After having a false leg fitted, he returned to active service duties with 286 Squadron, flying Defiants on coastal patrols.

Flight Lieutenant HUGH PARRY
Hugh Parry flew Hurricanes and Spitfires with 260 Squadron, and Typhoons with 266 Squadron. After a spell in Malta with 601 Squadron, and laterinstructing, he returned to combat flying with 41 Squadron, but was shot down in 1943 and sent to Stalag Luft III.

Flight Lieutenant KURT TAUSSIG
In 1939, aged just 15, he was sent by his parents from Czechoslovakia to England to escape the Nazi persecution of the Jews. At 18 he joined the RAF and was posted to 225 Squadron, flying Hurricanes and Spitfires on tactical and artillery reconnaissance duties.

Wing Commander PETER AYERST DFC
Peter Ayerst went to France with 73 Squadron flying Hurricanes, where he scored his first victory. During the Battle of Britain he was instructing but shared the destruction of an He111. He later served with 145, 243, 33, 238 and 124 Squadrons on Spitfires and eventually became a test pilot, finishing the war with 9 confirmed victories.

Wing Commander TIM ELKINGTON
Joining the RAF at the outbreak of war, Tim Elkington flew Hurricanes with 1 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, claiming a Bf109 over the Channel. He later served with 601, 134, 539 and 67 Squadrons.

Air Commodore JOHN ELLACOMBE
Flying Hurricanes with 151 Squadron during the Battle of Britain, he shot down a He111 over Hornchurch. A week later he was shot down. He later served 253 Squadron, then 487 Squadron RNZAF flying Mosquitos. He finished the war with 3 victories.

Wing Commander BOB FOSTER DFC
Posted to 605 Squadron, Bob Foster flew Hurricanes throughout the Battle of Britain with great success. In 1942 he went to Australia with 54 Squadron, flying Spitfires from Darwin. He finished the war with 7 victories.

Wing Commander TOM NEIL DFC* AFC
Tom Neil flew Hurricanes throughout the Battle of Britain with 249 Squadron and was one of the battle’s finest Aces. In 1941 he served in Malta, before commanding 41 Squadron. Later he was a Flying Liaison Officer with the 100th Fighter Wing, and finished the war with 12 victories.

Wing Commander TONY PICKERING
Tony Pickering flew Hurricanes with 32 and 501 Squadrons during the Battle of Britain, claiming a Bf109, before being posted to 601 Squadron. Later a became test pilot and an instructor. He returned to operations with 131 Squadron.