Gallant Ohio,
by Robert Taylor
Of all the tortuous Malta convoys, Operation Pedestal was perhaps the most crucial.
By August 1942 the tiny island's airfield and naval base were virtually out of action
owing to lack of fuel, the air and sea defenses depleted of ammunition and the island
population close to starvation. Unless immediate supplies could be shipped in, the
Allied's only base in the Mediterranean faced surrender.
Capitulation would give the Axis forces a free hand in the theater.
Churchill knew it and so did Hitler, and as a result Operation Pedestal became the most
heavily defended and heavily attacked convoy in history.
Combining his world-renowned skills as a painter of aviation and
maritime subjects, Robert Taylor has recreated a poignant scene from one of the most
heavily fought air/sea battles of World War II, to produce a masterpiece of historical
art.
Depicted some 60 miles out of Malta, the American tanker Ohio lies dead
in the water, her decks almost awash. The destroyer HMS Bramham is lashed alongside the
stricken tanker. A second destroyer, HMS Penn is closing on her starboard quarter, while a
third, HMS Ledbury positions herself astern to provide steerage. An ocean-going tug and a
minesweeper have arrived to assist.
Above, Spitfires of 126 and 185 Squadrons bring down an enemy aircraft
making a last desperate attack upon the gallant flotilla.
In Robert Taylor's inimitable way, this brilliant artist has
encapsulated an air of cool determination within a panoramic scenario of desperate and
crucial action, to produce a truly remarkable historic military painting.
Limited edition prints are individually signed by Spitfire pilots who
took part in the pivotal air battles for Malta, and distinguished naval personnel who took
part in the epic Operation Pedestal convoy which played such a vital role in saving Malta,
and ultimate victory in the Mediterranean.
| 850 signed and numbered prints: $320 Overall print
size 32" x 23" |
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SIGNATURES
Joining artist Robert Taylor in signing each print in the Edition are FIVE
distinguished signatories, representing The Royal Navy, Fleet Air Arm and The Royal Air
Force, who fought for the Defense of Malta and the Malta Convoys.
Flight Lieutenant TONY HOLLAND DFC, AE, DFC (US).
Tony Holland joined the RAFVR in June 1939, and after training was posted to Central
Flying School as an instructor until January 1942. Posted to 603 (City of Edinburgh)
Auxiliary Squadron, his first operational tour started in April 1942 when 603 Squadron
flew the first Spitfires off USS Wasp to Malta. Involved in numerous interception
sorties, he shared in the destruction and damage of six enemy aircraft. His second tour
included destroying three V1 flying bombs, strafing V2 rocket sites and escort missions,
including cover for Arnhem, and a period of attachment to 352nd US Fighter Group.
Admiral of the Fleet LORD LEWIN GCB, MVO, DSC.
Joining the Royal Navy in 1939 Terence Lewin first saw service on HMS Valiant in the
Mediterranean. He was a young officer on board the Tribal Class destroyer HMS Ashanti
during Operation Pedestal which gave close protection to the Ohio. He also later
served on the North Russian convoys, the invasion of North Africa and in the Channel
operations. He had a distinguished post war career; he became Chief of Naval Staff and
First Sea Lord, and was then Chief of Defense Staff during the Falklands War.
Wing Commander P.B. (LADDIE) LUCAS CBE, DSO, DFC.
Laddie Lucas joined the RAF in June 1940 and after training was posted to 66 Squadron in
August 1941. Posted to Malta in February 1942, Laddie Lucas commanded 249 Squadron at the
height of the battle for the island, flying Spitfires. He twice flew to Gibraltar to lead
reinforcements of Spitfires for Malta, flying off carriers. He was one of the leading
Malta Aces. In 1943 he was posted to command 616 Squadron and later the fighter wing at
Coltishall. For the last six months of the war he led 613 Squadron Mosquitoes in support
of the advancing Allied armies.
Lieutenant Commander G G. MARTEN LVO, DSC,
George Marten joined the Royal Navy in 1931 and served in destroyers both before and
throughout World War II. He was First Lieutenant of the P-Class destroyer HMS Penn
during Operation Pedestal and he boarded the Ohio to take charge of the recover
operations following tile attacks by Stukas. From 1943-45 he commanded HMS Wilton
(Hunt Class) in the North Atlantic. After the war he became Equerry to King George VI.
Lieutenant PETER TWISS OBE, DSC*.
Peter Twiss joined the Fleet Air Arm in 1939 and served initially on Catapult ships flying
Hurricanes. During the Malta convoys he flew with 807 Squadron, firstly on Fulmars, and
then Seafires from the carrier HMS Furious. Peter later took part in the North
African landings, and was heavily involved in night fighter operations. After the war he
was chief test pilot for Fairey Aviation and became holder of the world speed record in
1956, flying the experimental Fairey Delta 2. |
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In the summer of 1942, under the utmost secrecy, a convoy comprising
fourteen of the fastest merchant ships afloat, departed Scotland bound for the tiny island
of Malta, in the eastern Mediterranean. Under orders from Winston Churchill the convoy was
to be escorted by the heaviest concentration of naval warships ever assigned to protect
merchant shipping. At worst some of the ships must get through, or Malta would fall.
Churchill instructed that he be kept informed as to the progress of the convoy at every
stage.
On August 10, 1942 the most heavily defended convoy of W.W.II slipped
quietly through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean. Carrying food, diesel
oil, coal, and vital aviation fuel, 14 merchant ships escorted by 59 naval warships would
attempt to get through to the beleaguered island of Malta. During the three days and
nights that followed, the convoy - codenamed Operation Pedestal - would endure the most
ferocious and heaviest bombardment of any convoy during World War II.
After two years of continuous aerial attack, the dockyards on the
beleaguered island of Malta had been blitzed out of operation, allowing Rommel's supply
ships to cross to North Africa almost unopposed. By April 1942, Axis Commander-in-Chief
Field Marshal Kesselring reported Malta neutralized. The island was facing starvation and
unless at least a proportion of the Pedestal convoy could be fought through, Malta would
face surrender.
Central to the convoy and a focus of constant enemy attacks was the
large American Texaco-owned tanker Ohio. Without her valuable cargo neither
Spitfires nor submarines could operate from Malta's bases; Rommel's supplies to North
Africa would continue unhindered, and Churchill's plans to invade occupied Europe from the
south would be abandoned. Such monumental issues formed the background to the epic saga of
Operation Pedestal and the tanker Ohio.
After three days and nights of continuous attacks by German and Italian
submarines, E-boats, dive-bombers and torpedo planes, several naval vessels had been lost
and only 5 of the 14 merchantmen still survived. The Ohio had received a bomb in
the engine room and collected two crashed aircraft on her decks, but miraculously her crew
had put out the fires, however her rudder was jammed over and, without power, she was
stopped in the water.
Crowded with survivors from sinking merchant ships, three Royal Navy
destroyers stayed with the stricken tanker, aiding and supporting her heroic efforts to
reach port. With a destroyer lashed to each side to provide power, and a third roped to
her stern giving steerage, the creaking waterlogged tanker barely afloat, limped into port
on August 15. Crowds lined the harbor walls to give the crews a tumultuous hero's welcome. |
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