It is August 1944, barely two months since the allies landed their first troops on the beaches of Normandy. Already the all-conquering German Panzer Divisions are in full retreat, and it is critical to halt them before they can regroup. Caught in the Gap at Falaise, the battle was to be decisive.
Flying from dusty airstrips throughout a continuous onslaught, rocket-firing Typhoons kept up their attacks on the trapped armoured divisions from dawn to dusk. The effect was devastating: at the end of the ten-day battle the 100,000 strong German force was decimated.
Nicolas Trudgian vividly captures this historic air-to-ground battle in dramatic fashion worthy of the great victory scored by the Typhoon pilots. An armoured Division, seeking the protection of a high banked country lane and farm buildings, is jammed nose-to-tail as Typhoons of 198 Squadron, Royal Air Force, deliver their deadly rocket and cannon fire. The tank column has been brought to a standstill, their reign of terror now almost at its end.
After an auspicious start the Hawker Typhoon found its forte in the ground attack role, ultimately becoming the most deadly air-to-ground attack aircraft of the war. Able to outrun the Me109 and the Fw190, the Typhoon was highly manoeuvrable at low level and robust enough to take the considerable flak damage that this kind of aerial combat always attracted.

Overall print size: 33¼ inches wide x 23½ inches high

Signed by the artist Nicolas Trudgian and five Typhoon pilots who flew in the Battle of Normandy: Flight Lieutenant Roy Cane, Flight Lieutenant John Golley, Flight Lieutenant Ron Grant, Flight Lieutenant Derek Lovell, Squadron Leader H G ‘Pat’ Pattison DFC.