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Little Nellie by Robert Tomlin. (Y)- Battleships - Cruisers .co.uk

Little Nellie by Robert Tomlin. (Y)


Little Nellie by Robert Tomlin. (Y)

Wing Commander Ken Wallis flies his WA-115 autogyro over the Shinmoi Crater in the Krishima area of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu in preparation for filming the action sequences for the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. Those of us who enjoy a certain series of spy films will be much aware of Little Nellie, designed by Wing Commander Ken Wallis MBE She is pictured flying above the tops of extinct volcanoes. Little Nellie was one of 3 military Type WA-116 built during 1962 and one of these remains today taking part in military exercises and with camouflage bodywork. These operate in remote military and civilian roles and a specially-silenced WA-117 was used during the Loch Ness investigation and for special photography in Saudi Arabia. These effective and nimble autogyros have been flown from Naval patrol craft which are too small for helicopters. The Wallis autogyros have held all 20 of the UK official world records for autogyro speed, time to climb, altitude, range and duration and even now, further world record-breaking flights are being planned.
Item Code : DHM6152YLittle Nellie by Robert Tomlin. (Y) - This Edition
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
EX-DISPLAY
PRINT
**Signed limited edition of 100 prints. (One print reduced to clear)

Ex display print with minor damage to the border.
Image size 19 inches x 13 inches (48cm x 33cm) Wallis, Ken
+ Artist : Robert Tomlin


Signature(s) value alone : £35
£70 Off!Now : £90.00

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Other editions of this item : Little Nellie by Robert Tomlin.DHM6152
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
PRINTSigned limited edition of 100 prints.

Last few copies available.
Image size 19 inches x 13 inches (48cm x 33cm) Wallis, Ken
+ Artist : Robert Tomlin


Signature(s) value alone : £35
£40 Off!Add any two items on this offer to your basket, and the lower priced item will be half price in the checkout!Now : £120.00VIEW EDITION...
General descriptions of types of editions :


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.
NameInfo
The signature of Wing Commander Ken Wallis (deceased)

Wing Commander Ken Wallis (deceased)
*Signature Value : £35

Kenneth Horatio Wallis was born on April 26 1916 at Ely, Cambridgeshire, where his father ran a cycle and motorcycle shop, and was educated at The Kings School. Kenneth had limited vision in his right eye and as a child wore an eye patch and in 1936 this defect led to his rejection by the RAF. Undeterred, he paid £14 to obtain a private flying licence which required only a certificate signed by his GP, obtaining the licence after just 12 hours flying a Gypsy Moth. Having failed another test for the RAF in 1938, when he tried again after the outbreak of war Wallis decided to cheat. While the doctors back was turned, he sneaked a look with his good eye at the bottom line of letters on the test chart and passed. After flying Westland Lysander patrols with No 268 Squadron, in 1941 Wallis transferred to Bomber Command, flying Wellingtons with No 103 Squadron, based at RAF Elsham Wolds in north Lincolnshire, attacking heavily defended targets in the Ruhr. Though he survived 28 missions over cities in Germany he gained something of a reputation for being accident prone, earning the nickname Crasher. Returning from Frankfurt in September 1941, Wallis found his airfield blanketed by fog. He made a number of abortive attempts to land but, with his fuel tanks almost dry, he climbed to allow his crew to bail out. After they had done so, his parachute snagged on his seat - he finally got clear at very low level, and his parachute opened only seconds before he hit the ground. After a tour as a bombing instructor, Wallis left for Italy and flew bombing operations with No 37 Squadron. Having survived another crash when his aircraft was struck by lightning, he applied to fly Mosquito bombers at night - a mistake, as it meant that his night vision was tested. All hell let loose - You have been flying with a bomber crew and you cant see properly! he recalled being told. But the RAF ophthalmologist was more positive. He said, Wallis, I would rather have a man with a bit of fire in his belly who wants to fly than some of the perfect specimens I get here who do not. Wallis remained in the post-war RAF and specialised as an armament officer, among other things solving the problems of loading bombs efficiently on to the RAFs first jet bomber, the Canberra, and testing the Mach 2 – later known as the Lightning. During a two-year posting to the USAFs Strategic Air Command armament and electronics division in the 1950s, he flew B-36s laden with nuclear bombs over the North Pole and participated in powerboat races in vessels that he made from redundant parts, winning the 56-mile Missouri Marathon. He also set about building his first autogyro. He returned to Britain to be the Command Armament Officer at Fighter Command. Wallis demonstrated his autogyros at numerous RAF air shows before leaving the RAF in 1964 in the rank of wing commander. He moved to Norfolk, hoping that he would be able to put them into commercial production for reconnaissance, research and development, surveillance and military purposes. But it never happened. Instead, during the 1970s, he worked with a company that pioneered a type of multi-spectral aerial photography that could detect where bodies were buried, as a result of which he was called in to help in several high-profile missing-person searches. He also flew an autogyro at 18,976ft without oxygen; became the oldest pilot to set a world record when, aged 81, he accidentally achieved the fastest climb to 3,000ft, in seven minutes 20 seconds; and he set a world speed record for an autogyro of 129.1mph at the age of 89. kenneth Wallis never found a commercial manufacturer for his autogyros, although he was delighted when the James Bond film producer Cubby Broccoli recognised its dramatic potential: Wallis and his autogyro, Little Nellie, were duly dispatched to the set of You Only Live Twice, where Wallis stood in for Sean Connery in a famous sequence in which Bond, in a rocket-firing autogyro, fights baddies in orthodox helicopters, zipping around an active volcano - Wallis received many national and international awards, was appointed MBE in 1996. Wing Commander Kenneth Wallis, born April 26 1916, died September 1 2013.

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