Puttalam Elephants by Robert Taylor

Commissioned by one of the Corsair pilots stationed at HMS Rajaliya in 1942, Robert Taylor's superb painting Puttalam Elephants is one of many originals by Robert hanging in the wonderful art collection of the Fleet Air Arm Museum at Yeovilton. Much admired by tens of thousands of visitors each year, this painting depicts the unusual tactics at employed at Puttalam in order to keep the land based naval fighters flying. Operating happily in conditions where towing tractors became quickly bogged down, the Puttalam Elephants provided an invaluable service, and became much loved by the pilots and ground crews.

Collectors will be delighted that this much-admired painting has been published as a strictly limited edition. Prints, signed by Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm fighter pilots who flew the F4U Corsair in combat in the Far East, have added further significance by signing each print in the edition.

Signatures:

Limited Edition
Signed by these RN Fleet Air Arm fighter pilots who flew Corsairs in the Far East.

Lieutenant ERIC BEECHINOR RN

Sub Lieutenant (A) GORDON DUNNELL RNVR

Sub Lieutenant TONY MAYLETT

The Fleet Air Arm Folio
Add the following five of the Royal Navy's most distinguished fighter pilots for a total of EIGHT signatures in this edition:

Captain ERIC "WINKLE" BROWN CBE, DSC, FRAeS, RN

Sub-Lieutenant VICTOR KAIRIS RN

Lieutenant CYRIL PRICE RN

Lieutenant PETER TWISS OBE, DSC*, RN

Lieutenant Commander BRUCE VIBERT RN