Dambusters - Breaching the Eder Dam by Robert Taylor

Pilots Shannon and Maudsley tried time and again to position their laden bombers correctly before managing to release their weapons but the dam still held. Now success depended solely on Knight carrying the last bomb! With time and fuel now a concern, Knight's first effort to position, like Shannon and Maudsley before him, failed, but his second run favoured the brave. Knight released his bomb with absolute precision, striking the wall at precisely the crucial point. With a tremendous explosion the Eder Dam collapsed before their eyes. 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 COLLECTORS EDITION - The SIX signature Collectors Edition has been published specially for aviation art collectors and Dambuster enthusiasts with each print bearing the additional four signatures.

THE GICLEE CANVAS PROOFS - To replicate the artist's original painting so faithfully, each proof is individually crafted by a specialist master printer laying down solid color 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 Giclee edition.

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. A total of nine signatures.

Signatures:

THE LIMITED EDITION

Sergeant RAYMOND E. GRAYSTON RAF

Squadron Leader GEORGE L. JOHNSON DFM RAF

THE COLLECTORS EDITION

Squadron Leader LES MUNRO DSO DFC RNZAF

Sergeant FREDERICK E. SUTHERLAND RCAF

Flight Sergeant GRANT S. McDONALD RCAF

Corporal KENNETH LUCAS RAF

THE DAMBUSTERS TRIBUTE PROOFS

Air Marshal Sir HAROLD (MICK) MARTIN KCB CB DSO* DFC* AFC RAAF (Matted signature)

Squadron Leader DAVID J. SHANNON DSO* DFC* RAAF (Matted signature)

Flight Lieutenant GEORGE A. CHALMERS DFC DFM (Matted signature)