Barry Wallond, V.S. Spitfire, 132 Squadron, 6th June 1944

Barry Wallond drew aircraft and railway subjects in pencil in the 1980s and 1990s, and issued them as signed limited edition prints. This one shows a Spitfire of No. 132 Squadron, the “City of Bombay” squadron. In June 1944 the squadron flew Spitfire IXs from RAF Ford in Sussex as part of 125 Wing, and later that month it moved to an airfield in Normandy.

The Spitfire banks low over the Normandy coast, black and white invasion stripes painted across its wings and fuselage. The beach below is scattered with obstacles and drifting smoke. The stripes were ordered onto Allied aircraft only days before the landings, so that gunners on the ground and at sea could tell friend from foe.

Print from an edition of 500, signed by the artist and numbered 222/500, with his name printed beneath the signature. Mounted in slate grey with a title plaque, in a dark wood frame with a gilt slip.