Aircraft: Halifax Bomber (Lancaster – Pathfinder companion print)

A Halifax Bomber of the Pathfinders leads the main force over occupied Europe on a moonlit night in 1943

On August 15th 1942, under the leadership of Don Bennet, a new group was formed from Bomber Command to develop specialised target – finding and target – marking. Made up purely from experienced volunteers, this elite and highly trained group of men were known as the Pathfinders. Up until this point the means available to Bomber Command of accurately finding their targets were totally lacking and the task of the Pathfinders was to develop techniques to precisely define these targets ahead of the main force.

Initially made up of four Squadrons – Nos. 7 (Stirlings), 35 (Halifax), 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) – they were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Originally part of No.3 Group Bomber Command the Pathfinder Force was directly answerable to C-in-C Air Marshal Arthur Harris until January 1943 when it became a separate group, No.8 (PFF).

Personally selected for the task by Arthur Harris, the Australian born Don Bennet, just 32 years of age proved to be and inspired choice to form the Pathfinders. A navigation expert without peers he was widely experienced in flying all types of aircraft including fighters, flying boats and bombers and already an experienced operational bomber captain. Along with many of his colleagues, such as Hamish Mahaddie and John Searby he was responsible for instilling in his men the ‘Pathfinder Spirit’- an intangible quality of dedication which bonded them together.

Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside.

The first Pathfinder unit to fly the Halifax was 35 Squadron based at Graveley. With some of the greatest Bomber Aircrew amongst their number the unit quickly gained a reputation for excellence that was second to none.

This superb new painting from one of the worlds most highly regarded Aviation Artists, Gerald Coulson, depicts a Halifax B.MkII series 1A of 35 (PFF) Squadron on an operation over occupied Europe. Flying at around 20,000 feet and completely alone and unprotected, the crew navigate their bomber well ahead of the main force, leading the way to their target.

Each print is personally signed by the artist and prominent original Pathfinder Aircrew, all of whom flew the Halifax with 35 Squadron during World War II

Overall print size 31" wide x 25½"high

The Signatures:

Flight Lieutenant John Rollins DFC AFC
Warrant Officer Ernest Kenwright DFC DFM
Squadron Leader Pat Carden DFC AE
*Flight Lieutenant David Codd DFC
*Flying Officer Sir Michael Hanham DFC
*Flying Officer Don Carruthers

*Artist Proof and Pathfinder Editions

Edition size:
500 – Signed and Numbered (3 signatures) - £180inc vat (£153.19 +vat)

50 - Artists Proofs (6 signatures) - £295inc vat (£251.06 +vat)

75 - Pathfinder Proofs – with companion print (11 signatures)- £475inc vat (£404.26+vat)

The Pathfinder Proofs

In this exclusive edition of just 75 proofs of Leading the Way is issued the companion print ‘Moonlit Lancaster’. Each companion print is double mounted and carries the original signatures of some of the most prominent figures in the history of the Pathfinder Force:

Warrant Officer Harold Kirby
Wing Commander Ernest Rodley DSO DFC AFC AE
Air Vice Marshall Don Bennet CB CBE DSO (mounted signature)
Group Captain Hamish Mahaddie DSO DFC AFC (mounted signature)
Air Commodore John Searby DSO DFC (mounted signature)

Moonlit Lancaster by Gerald Coulson

Overall size including mount 17in by 17in

One of the most successful and versatile bomber aircraft of WWII, the Avro Lancaster was used extensively by No. 8 Group as a Pathfinder Aircraft. This superb painting depicts a lone Lancaster of 83 (PFF) Squadron crossing the North Sea, returning to base after a precision bombing raid over Germany in late 1943.

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