Naval History by Country :
|
VIEW ALL OF OUR CURRENT ART SPECIAL OFFERS ON ONE PAGE HERE | |||
NAVAL ART | AVIATION ART | MILITARY ART | SPORT ART |
|
A W L Paddy Mahon | Wg. Cdr. A.W.L. Paddy Mahon MBE, C. Eng. MRAeS Started his 37 year career in the Royal Air Force in 1930 when he enlisted as an Aircraft Apprentice at Halton. he served as Metal Rigger and later as an Aircraft Fitter on Fleet Air stations and ships, for a while on Queen Bee aircraft. In 1937 he finally succeeded in selection as an Airman Pilot. EFTS at Bristol, SFTS at South Cerney, Maritime Recce at Thorney Island, and finally Flying Boat School at Calshot. There he learned his craft as a 'Boat' pilot on ageing Supermarine Scapas formerly used by 202 Squadron, Malta. On completion he was posted to 228 Squadrion at Pembroke Dock which was in process of re-equipping with Stranraers. In December 1938 he was 2nd pilot on the collection from Rochester of the Squadron's first Sunderland. In June 1939 the Squadron moved to Alexandria for Naval Co-operation Exercises. In addition to these the Sunderlands were used for long range V.I.P. flights and for transport around the Med. In course of these, the crew of which Sgt Mahon was a member, visited Malta, Bizerta, Cairo, Cyprus and for the third time Athens, leaving on 2nd September 1939. The Squadron was ordered home to Pembroke Dock on September 9th and immediately started the round of convoy escorting anti-submarine sweeps and general maritime tasks covering from Norway to Malta. On 24th November Sgt Mahon was one of the crew detailed to search for the Deutschland after it had sunk the armed merchant cruiser Jervis Bay. The operation involved the crew in 15 hours of flying in the most severe weather. Detachments to the Shetlands often meant the whole crew living on the aircraft for several days at a time because the weather prevented small craft coming along side but flying by day continued. In June 1940 he was seconded to 10 RAAF Squadron at Mount Batten to increase their roll of qualified first Pilots. One of his first trips was to convey Lord Gort and Mr Duff Cooper to Rabat on an unsuccessful attempt to persuade the Sultan of Morocco to continue the war on its allies' side. That trip earned the Captain a DFC. In the months he spent with 10 Squadron several trips were made to Malta supporting the Hurricane reinforcement by aircraft carriers conveying essential ground personnel and equipment including one load of several tons of Browning gun links, none of which were held on the island. In February 1941 it was back to 'two layers of wing'. He was posted to 202 Squadron at Gibraltar, which was flying Saro Londons but expected to be re-equipped with Sunderlands. He travelled as a 'passenger' on a 10 Squadron aircraft in company with Anthony Eden and Lord Dill. That trip is recorded in several books on the Sunderland as being 'special'. It was Sgt Mahon's last ever time flying in a Sunderland as 202 Squadron were subsequently re-equipped with Catalinas. The transfer meant flying to UK with a London, a memorable trip of over 15 hours. Qualifying courses at Stranraer on the Catalina led to the ferrying flight back to Gibraltar. Unfortunately on Sgt Mahon's ferry trip the elevator controls failed en route and the attempted landing at Gibraltar using only trim tabs resulted in a serious crash ending his flying career. After a long period of hospital and subsequent rehabilitation, he reverted to his ground trade. He was commissioned into the Technical Branch in which he served until 1967 being awarded the MBE in 1963. |
Items Signed by Wg. Cdr. A.W.L. Paddy Mahon MBE, C. Eng. MRAeS |
| Clipped Signature - Paddy Mahon. Price : £45.00 | Joined the RAF in 1930, and selected as a pilot in 1937, joining No.228 squadron after training. Seconded to 10 Sqn RAAF then joined No.202 Sqn flying the Catalina. A serious crash landing at Gibraltar ended his flying career, but he served in the...... | |
Tireless Vigilance by Stephen Brown. Price : £95.00 | With grace and majesty of mighty battleships, a pair of Short Sutherlands sweep out towards the dangers of the North Atlantic. With a 12-hour mission ahead of them the skill and dedication of the crews would once again play a crucial role in protec...... | ||
Tirless Vigilance by Stephen Brown (AP) Price : £150.00 | With grace and majesty of mighty battleships, a pair of Short Sutherlands sweep out towards the dangers of the North Atlantic. With a 12-hour mission ahead of them the skill and dedication of the crews would once again play a crucial role in protec...... | ||
Tireless Vigilance by Stephen Brown (GL) SOLD OUT | With grace and majesty of mighty battleships, a pair of Short Sutherlands sweep out towards the dangers of the North Atlantic. With a 12-hour mission ahead of them the skill and dedication of the crews would once again play a crucial role in protec...... | NOT AVAILABLE | |
Tireless Vigilance by Stephen Brown. (W) Price : £50.00 | With grace and majesty of mighty battleships, a pair of Short Sutherlands sweep out towards the dangers of the North Atlantic. With a 12-hour mission ahead of them the skill and dedication of the crews would once again play a crucial role in protec...... |
Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Wg. Cdr. A.W.L. Paddy Mahon MBE, C. Eng. MRAeS |
| Short Sunderland Aviation Art Print Pack. Pack Price : £345.00 Saving : £175 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Sunderland Over the Gareloch by Geoff Lea. Touchdown by Ivan Berryman. Fat Alberts Day Off by Ivan Berryman. Tireless Vigilance by Stephen Brown. | |
Short Sunderland Aircraft Prints by Stephen Brown and Geoff Lea. Pack Price : £135.00 Saving : £100 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Tireless Vigilance by Stephen Brown. Sunderland Over the Gareloch by Geoff Lea. |
Squadrons for : Wg. Cdr. A.W.L. Paddy Mahon MBE, C. Eng. MRAeS | ||
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Wg. Cdr. A.W.L. Paddy Mahon MBE, C. Eng. MRAeS. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
Squadron | Info | |
Country : UK Founded : 1st April 1918 Semper vigilate - Be always vigilant | No.202 Sqn RAF 202 Squadron's origins started with the formation of No. 2 Squadron Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) at Eastchurch on 17 October 1914. and was renumbered No. 202 Squadron on 1 April 1918. Supermarine Scapas, the Squadron's first flying boats, continuing to fly patrols over the Mediterranean Sea throughout the 1930s, with Supermarine Scapa from May 1935 and these were replaced in September 1937 with Saro Londons which were flown on anti-submarine patrols. During the Second World War, 202 Squadron flew anti-submarine patrols from RAF Gibraltar with Saro London, Consolidated Catalina and Short Sunderland flying boats and some Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers until 1944, when it moved with their Catalinas to RAF Castle Archdale, Northern Ireland, disbanding there on 12 June 1945 | |
Country : UK Founded : 20th August 1918 Fate : Disbanded 1st September 1964 Auxilium a caelo - Help from the sky | No.228 Sqn RAF Full profile not yet available. |
Aircraft for : Wg. Cdr. A.W.L. Paddy Mahon MBE, C. Eng. MRAeS | |||
A list of all aircraft associated with Wg. Cdr. A.W.L. Paddy Mahon MBE, C. Eng. MRAeS. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
Squadron | Info | ||
Manufacturer : Consolidated Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1957 Number Built : 3305 | Catalina Built by the Consolidated Aircraft Company and designed by Isaax M Ladden. the Catalina first flew on the 28th march 1935. and first flew with the US Navy in October 1936. In 1935 the cost of each Catalina was $90,000 and just over 4,000 were built. The Catalina was used in various maritime roles. but it was designed initially as a maritime patrol bomber. Its long range was intended to seek out enemy transport and supply ships. but was eventually used in many roles including Convoy escort,, anti submarine warfare and search and rescue. In its role as a search and rescue aircraft it probably is best remembered for many thousands of aircrews shot down in the Pacific and less extend in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The Catalina was the most successful flying boat of the war and even served in a military role until the early 1980's some are still used today in aerial firefighting. | ||
| London Full profile not yet available. | ||
| Stranraer Full profile not yet available. | ||
Manufacturer : Short Production Began : 1938 Retired : 1959 Number Built : 749 | Sunderland The Short Sunderland, Patrol and Reconnaissance Flying Boat. normal crew level 10. maximum speed of 210mph for Mark I, 205mph Mark II and Mark III, and 213mph Mark V. ceiling 17,900 feet and range of 2110 miles (mk I) 2880 miles for Mark V. endurance in the air 13.5 hours. The Sunderland carries 1 .303 machine gun in the nose, (mark I) and four .303 browning machine guns in the Tail Turret. Also in the Mark II four Vickers .303 inch machine guns were used in the body positions. and four browning machineguns in the nose flanks in the Mark III. Maximum bomb load of 4960 lbs. Based on the design of the Civil Empire class flying boat. The Short Sunderland entered service with the Royal Air Force in June 1938 with 230 squadron. and by the end of the war, 20 squadrons of the Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force were equipped with Sunderland's. By the end of the production in 1946 a total of 749 were built, The roles the Short Sunderland played, mainly were in Maritime and anti Submarine duties, especially in the battle of the Atlantic, The Sunderland accounted for 58 U-Boats sunk or badly damaged. The Sunderland was also used in other theatres of the war and in the Mediterranean helped in the evacuation of troops from Crete and Greece, as well as helping in the evacuation of troops in Burma. The Short Sunderland remained in service with the Royal Air Force until 1959. used during the Korean War, The Berlin Air Lift, and during Operation Firedog, , The Malayan Emergency. |
Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships. COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT. |
Contact Details |
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: |