John Moffat of the Royal Naval Fleet Reserve, Fleet Air Arm credited with torpedoing the Bismarck.

John Moffat was born in Kelso in 1919 and at the outbreak of WWII, was sent to Sydenham, Belfast where a training school, set up by Short Brothers, was based. John learnt to fly in a Miles Magister (see photograph below right).  During 1939, he was sent to No.1 Flying Training School at Netheravon and here he was taught to fly advanced open-cockpit aircraft such as Hawker Hinds and Audaxes. Commissioned into the RNVR as a sub-lieutenant he was moved to Eastlee (now Southampton Airport) to the Naval Fighter School, learning fighter techniques in Blackburn Skuas and Rocs and the well-known Gloster Gladiator. In 1940, John was moved to Sanderling, the Royal Naval air station at Abbotsinch (now known as Glasgow Airport).

In 1941, on board HMS Ark Royal stationed at Gibraltar, they were ordered to assist in the hunt for Bismarck and Prinz Eugen. The aircraft headed first to HMS Sheffield who gave them signals by Aldis Lamp on the position of the Bismarck.

John Moffat with the rest of 824 Squadron on board HMS Formidable in 1945.

John Moffat served on HMS Ark Royal, HMS Argus, HMS Furious and HMS Formidable, and served with 759 Sqn, 818 Sqn, 820 Sqn and 824 Sqn. 

John Moffat has kindly agreed to sign a small number of four different prints published by Cranston Fine Arts. 300 copies of Bismarck by Ivan Berryman, 100 copies of HMS Ark Royal by Ivan Berryman, 100 copies of Sink the Bismarck by Geoff Lea and 50 artist's proof copies of HMS Ark Royal by Brian Wood. He has also signed no more than a handful of other prints including one copy of To Sink the Bismarck by Coulson and Launch Against the Bismarck by Robert Taylor (an edition of 500).

To see what prints signed by John Moffat are available click the buttons below: