Breaching the Eder Dam by Robert Taylor

A very special collector edition

Led by Squadron Leader Guy Gibson, at precisely 21:39hrs the first of nineteen Lancaster bombers, each carrying a massive Barnes Wallis designed bouncing bomb, lumbered down the grass runway at RAF Scampton and headed into the night. In three carefully planned waves, their targets were the mighty reservoir dams supplying vital electricity to the munitions factories in the Ruhr; the Mohne, Sorpe, Ennepe, and further to the east, the Eder. Such an audacious attack had never previously been attempted; nobody could forecast the outcome.

Photo-reconnaissance the following morning confirmed the Mohne and Eder dams had been breached causing massive destruction of power stations, water and steel works, miles of overhead electrical cables, and severe flooding that brought factories and communications to a standstill throughout the area.

Robert Taylor pays tribute to the courage and selfless determination of 617 Squadron’s Dambuster crews, of which eight never returned.. As his bouncing bomb scores a direct hit, Pilot Officer Les Knight powers his Lancaster over the Eder Dam, a huge deluge of water cascading over the fractured wall as he departs the scene

Robert Taylor’s sensational new painting vividly shows the dramatic moment of impact. In the cockpit Knight and flight engineer Ray Grayston fight the controls to clear the dam, combining their physical strength to haul the lumbering Lancaster up and over the dam and to clear the high ground that lies ahead. Below and behind them, the second of Germany’s mighty western dams lies finally breached.

THE LIMITED EDITION
Each individual print in this edition is personally signed by two veterans of the epic Dambusters Raid – the flight engineer of Les Knight’s Lancaster AJ-N that breached the Eder Dam, Sergeant Ray Grayston; together with American Joe McCarthy’s bomb aimer on Lancaster AJ-T, Squadron Leader George Johnson. Every print in the edition is also signed by the artist Robert Taylor, and individually hand-numbered.

Sergeant RAYMOND E. GRAYSTON RAF
Squadron Leader GEORGE L. JOHNSON DFM RAF

400 signed & numbered prints - £200inc vat (£170.21+vat)

THE COLLECTORS EDITION
The SIX signature Collectors Edition has been published specially for aviation art collectors and Dambuster enthusiasts with each print bearing the signatures of the following veterans:

Sergeant RAYMOND E. GRAYSTON RAF
Squadron Leader GEORGE L. JOHNSON DFM RAF

Squadron Leader LES MUNRO DSO DFC RNZAF
Sergeant FREDERICK E. SUTHERLAND RCAF
Flight Sergeant GRANT S. McDONALD RCAF
Corporal KENNETH LUCAS RAF

350 Collectors prints with SIX signatures - £275inc vat (£234.04+vat)
25 Artist Proofs with SIX signatures - £395inc vat (£336.17

THE GICLÉE CANVAS PROOFS
To replicate the artist’s original painting so faithfully, each proof is individually crafted by a specialist master printer laying down solid colour on canvas, so that only the experienced eye can distinguish them from the original. With each of these 25 proofs individually signed by the artist Robert Taylor in oil paint, all SIX of the veterans whose signatures appear on the Collectors Edition paper print have individually signed the unique Presentation Certificate issued with each copy in this Giclée edition.

25 Giclée Canvas Proofs with SIX signatures - £995inc vat (£846.81+vat)

Overall Print Size: 361/2" wide x 213/4" high. Image Size: 30" wide x 141/4" high.
Giclée Canvas Size: 301/2" wide x 17" high.

THE DAMBUSTERS TRIBUTE PROOFS
Issued with an ORIGINAL Robert Taylor pencil drawing.

This is a very special Tribute Edition, limited to just nineteen proofs representing the number of aircraft flown on the Dams Raid, and is dedicated to those outstanding aviators who took part in the legendary operation, perhaps the most famous operation in the annals of aviation history. Comprising all the signatures and components of the Collectors Edition, the Tribute Edition will be issued with each of the nineteen proofs accompanied by an ORIGINAL Dambusters pencil drawing by Robert Taylor. Each of these UNIQUE drawings will be completely different and feature the Lancasters involved in the Dambusters operation. Beautifully crafted, each drawing will be matted to conservation standards to include the original signatures of three of the most famous names associated with the Dambuster Raid.

Air Marshal Sir HAROLD (MICK) MARTIN KCB CB DSO* DFC* AFC
Squadron Leader DAVID J. SHANNON DSO* DFC*
Flight Lieutenant GEORGE A. CHALMERS DFC DFM

19 Tribute Proofs with NINE signatures - £ 1895inc vat (£1612.77+vat)

Approximate image size of each drawing: 11" wide x 7" high
Approximate matte size: 17" wide x 153/8" high

Orders from outside the European Union are free of VAT.

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