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John Freeborn

Name : John Freeborn Died : 28th August 2010 Air Victories : 13.50 Awards : Distinguished Flying Cross Distinguished Flying Cross with 1 Bar

Johnie Freeborn flew Spitfires with 74 Squadron over Dunkirk, and was in action throughout the Battle of Britain, he had been with his squadron longer, and flown more hours, than any other Battle of Britain pilot. He joined 602 Squadron in 1942, and commanded 118 Squadron in June 1943. In June 1944 he was promoted Wing Commander Flying of 286 Wing in Italy. John Freeborn scored 17 victories. Sadly, we have learned that John Freeborn passed away on 28th August 2010. John Freeborn signing the print In Them We Trust by Ivan Berryman, assisted by Cranston Fine Arts owner David Higgins. John Freeborn signs the print Close Encounter at a signing session in February 2010. Cranston Fine Arts would like to extend our many thanks to Wing Commander John Freeborn for spending a day (28/2/2010) with us signing a number of our art prints.

Known Service Details :
Squadron	Rank	Start of Service	End of Service	Known Dates	Aircraft	Airframes	Notes
No.74 Sqn RAF	Flight Lieutenant	unknown	unknown	10th July 1940	Spitfire	K9863
No.602 Sqn RAF		unknown	unknown
No.118 Sqn RAF		unknown	unknown

Artwork signed by this Pilot or Aircrew

The Hunting Party by Ivan Berryman. (D)

Close Encounter by Ivan Berryman. (F)

Land, Sea and Air by Ivan Berryman. (APC)

In Them We Trust by Ivan Berryman. (J)

Spitfire Alley by Ivan Berryman. (E)

Spitfire Mk.IXE by Ivan Berryman. (AP)

Flt Lt Walter Lawson by Ivan Berryman.

Close Combat by Ivan Berryman.

Adversaries by Ivan Berryman.

Total Commitment by Ivan Berryman.

Victory Above Dover by Ivan Berryman.

The Longest July by Ivan Berryman.

First Flap of the Day by Nicolas Trudgian.

A Time for Heroes by Robert Taylor (AP)

Fight for the Sky by Robert Taylor. (B)

This Sceptred Isle by Robert Taylor. (C)

Readiness At Dawn - The Battle of Britain, 1940 by Nicolas Trudgian

Scramble by Gerald Coulson. (C)

Quartet by Gerald Coulson. (B)

Portrait of Pilot Officer John Freeborn by David Pritchard

First Loss by David Pritchard. (B)

Tigers Prey by David Pritchard.

Wings of Glory by Robert Taylor.

Artwork featuring the mounted signature of this Pilot or Aircrew

Channel Sweep by Richard Taylor. (B)

Known Individual Aircraft :
Type	Serial	Codes	First Flew	Squadron History	Aircrew History	History Notes	Engine	Factory
Spitfire Ia	K9863		09/02/1939	details	details	no information	Merlin II	Eastleigh

Aircraft for : John Freeborn
A list of all aircraft associated with John Freeborn. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Aircraft	Info
Spitfire Click the name above to see prints featuring Spitfire aircraft. Manufacturer : Supermarine Production Began : 1936 Retired : 1948 Number Built : 20351	Spitfire Royal Air Force fighter aircraft, maximum speed for mark I Supermarine Spitfire, 362mph up to The Seafire 47 with a top speed of 452mph. maximum ceiling for Mk I 34,000feet up to 44,500 for the mark XIV. Maximum range for MK I 575 miles . up to 1475 miles for the Seafire 47. Armament for the various Marks of Spitfire. for MK I, and II . eight fixed .303 browning Machine guns, for MKs V-IX and XVI two 20mm Hispano cannons and four .303 browning machine guns. and on later Marks, six to eight Rockets under the wings or a maximum bomb load of 1,000 lbs. Designed by R J Mitchell, The proto type Spitfire first flew on the 5th March 1936. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in August 1938, with 19 squadron based and RAF Duxford. by the outbreak of World war two, there were twelve squadrons with a total of 187 spitfires, with another 83 in store. Between 1939 and 1945, a large variety of modifications and developments produced a variety of MK,s from I to XVI. The mark II came into service in late 1940, and in March 1941, the Mk,V came into service. To counter the Improvements in fighters of the Luftwaffe especially the FW190, the MK,XII was introduced with its Griffin engine. The Fleet Air Arm used the Mk,I and II and were named Seafires. By the end of production in 1948 a total of 20,351 spitfires had been made and 2408 Seafires. The most produced variant was the Spitfire Mark V, with a total of 6479 spitfires produced. The Royal Air Force kept Spitfires in front line use until April 1954.

Squadrons for : John Freeborn
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by John Freeborn. A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
No.118 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st January 1918 Fate : Disbanded 31st August 1962 Occido redeoque - I kill and return Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.118 Sqn RAF	No.118 Sqn RAF Flew Mustangs from March 1945.
No.602 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 12th September 1925 Fate : Disbanded 10th March 1957 City of Glasgow (Auxiliary) Cave leonem cruciatum - Beware the tormented lion Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.602 Sqn RAF	No.602 Sqn RAF We have been informed by pilot Ian Blair about one of the aircraft of this squadron : The Spitfire MkVII had the Squadron markings of 312 Sqdn (DU-G) but the aircraft was on the strength of 602 Sqn. and was inherited by 602 Sqn from the Station Flight at Skae Bray, after 312 Sqn had left the area. The time span did not permit the ground personnel sufficient time to paint new letters on the aircraft. This fact has led to the incorrect assumption that I, the pilot of the aircraft, was a member of 312 Sqn.
No.74 Sqn RAF Country : UK Founded : 1st July 1917 Trinidad I fear no man Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of No.74 Sqn RAF	No.74 Sqn RAF Hurricane of 56 Squadron was shot down by mistake by No. 74 Squadron and Pilot Officer M L Halton-Harrop of 56 sqd was killed on the 6th September 1939

Last edited : 14:41, November 23, 2012
Last editor : DataStream

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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.