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| The Biff Boys by Robert Taylor.
On the morning of 30th November 1917, Lieutenant Andrew McKeever, a Canadian serving with 11 Squadron RFC, together with his observer/gunner Lieutenant Leslie Powell, climbed into their Bristol F2b Fighter and took off alone; their task to fly a solo reconnaissance patrol over Cambrai, where the decisive battle involving tanks for the first time in history was raging on the ground below - it was to prove a remarkable day. As they flew over the enemys lines they encountered a pair of German two seater observer aircraft, protected by no fewer than seven enemy Albatross DV scouts. Armed with a forward firing .303 Vickers machine gun and a ring mounted Lewis gun in the back seat, McKeever skilfully manoeuvred his aircraft to engage one of the enemy scouts, and destroyed it. As he turned to get back to the Allied lines, five of the remaining enemy Albatross fighters dived on his tail, but Lt Powell rapidly downed two of them in quick succession with deadly fire from his Lewis gun. Continuing the duel with the remaining Germans, McKeever managed to destroy a further Albatross when suddenly his observers Lewis gun jammed. The pair seemed doomed, however McKeever, showing great courage and initiative, feigned disaster by rolling his aircraft over, plummeting it towards the ground. Fooled by the manoeuvre, the German aircraft climbed away, and McKeever levelled out just twenty feet above the ground and flew back to safety. Remarkably, all of McKeevers thirty one victories were achieved at the controls of the Bristol F2b Fighter, making him the highest scoring ace with 11 Squadron, and of any pilot flying two seater aircraft during the First World War. |
| Item Code : DHM1681 | The Biff Boys by Robert Taylor. - This Edition | |
| TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | PRINT | Signed limited edition of 600 prints.
| Paper size 30.5 inches x 23.5 inches (77cm x 60cm) - Image size 24 inches x 16 inches (61cm x 41cm) | Botterell, Henry (companion print) + Artist : Robert Taylor
Signature(s) value alone : £80 | £40 Off! | Now : £210.00 |
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Other editions of this item : | The Biff Boys by Robert Taylor. | DHM1681 |
| TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | ARTIST PROOF | Limited edition of 65 artist proofs.
Last copy available of this sold out edition. | Paper size 30.5 inches x 23.5 inches (77cm x 60cm) - Image size 24 inches x 16 inches (61cm x 41cm) | Allingham, Henry Botterell, Henry (companion print) + Artist : Robert Taylor
Signature(s) value alone : £200 | | SOLD OUT | VIEW EDITION... | PRINT | Limited edition of 5 Tribute Proof Portfolios.
SOLD OUT | Paper size 30.5 inches x 23.5 inches (77cm x 60cm) - Image size 24 inches x 16 inches (61cm x 41cm) | Richthofen, Manfed von (matted on companion print) Allingham, Henry Watson, Charles A W (companion print) Botterell, Henry (companion print) + Artist : Robert Taylor
Signature(s) value alone : £1390 | | SOLD OUT | VIEW EDITION... |
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Extra Details : | About this edition : | Supplied with companion print entitled Camels on Patrol by Robert Taylor, sized overall 22 inches by 15 inches (56cm x 38cm) featuring Sopwith Camels over northern France. The companion print is signed by Flight Lieutenant Henry Botterell. |
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Signatures on this item | *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | Name | Info |
Flight Lieutenant Henry Botterell (deceased) *Signature Value : £80
| First World War fighter pilot with the Royal Flying Corps. Born in 1896, Henry Botterell joined the Royal Naval Air Service in Canada, and in 1916 sailed for England where he trained as a pilot to fly fighters. In 1917 he was posted to France, joining an operational squadron on the Western Front, butan engine failure on his second take off brought his flying to an abrupt conclusion, forcing him to spend several months in hospital and convalescing back in England, where he was demobilised. After a chance meeting with pilots on leave in England with whom he had trained, Henry applied to rejoin the service and was accepted. Re-qualifying as a fighter pilot, in early 1918 he returned to operational combat flying in France with 208 Squadron Royal Flying Corps. Flying Sopwith Camels he saw active service with 209 Squadron for the remainder of the war until the Armistice in November. Staying in France as part of the continuing Force he eventually returned to Canada in 1919 - bringing back with him a fence post which the wing of his Camel had collected on one of his many low level sorties. The post now resides in the War Museum in Ottawa. Henry died in 2003. |
The Aircraft : | Name | Info | Bristol_F2B | The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.2 First World war early two-seater pusher biplane and was used by the Royal Flying Corps as a fighter and also as a day or night bomber. The FE2 was one of the few aircraft which gave the allies the edge over the Fokker aircraft of 1914/1915. In May 1915 the F.E.2b entered service with No 6 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps and it was 20 squadron which was the first squadron to be totally equipped with Fe2 aircraft which was deployed in January 1916. The Fe2B remained in day use throughout 1916 and 1917 and in 1918 was used solely as a night bomber. The FE2b equipped 22 squadrons, 16 of which served in France with the other 6 serving the home defence. As the German fighters got better the FE2B was outclassed and was used only as a light night bomber or used on the home defense front against the Zeppelins. Crew: Two Speed: 80 knots (91.5 mph,) Endurance 3 hours Ceiling 11,000 ft Maximum take off weight 3,037 lbs Length: 32 ft 3 in Height: 12 ft 8 in Wingspan 495 ft² Engine Beardmore 6 cylinder inline piston engine giving 160 HP | Albatros_D.V | |
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