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Operation Judgement by Philip West. The attack on Taranto was the first major victory for naval air power in the world and blueprint for the strike on Pearl Harbor. The Fleet Air Arm played an active part in the fight against the Axis forces in the Mediterranean. Their greatest achievement was the strike against the Italian Fleet at Taranto, 11 November 1940 by four Fleet Air Arm squadrons and 40 or so men who carried out this daring raid. In this picture we see the Swordfish flown by Lt. FMA Torrense-Spence and Lt. AWF Sutton, having just released its torpedo. Item Code : DHM2328 Operation Judgement by Philip West. - This Edition TYPE EDITION DETAILS SIZE SIGNATURES OFFERS YOUR PRICE PURCHASING PRINT Signed limited edition of 100 prints. Sold out at publisher, last 4 prints available. Paper size 26.5 inches x 16.5 inches (67cm x 42cm) Sutton, Alan William Frank + Artist : Philip West Signature(s) value alone : £35 £130.00 All prices on our website are displayed in British Pounds Sterling

Other editions of this item : Operation Judgement by Philip West. DHM2328 TYPE EDITION DETAILS SIZE SIGNATURES OFFERS YOUR PRICE PURCHASING ARTIST PROOF Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 26.5 inches x 16.5 inches (67cm x 42cm) Brand, Stanley t Lee, Edgar Gillis, N C Sutton, Alan William Frank + Artist : Philip West Signature(s) value alone : £145 £150.00 VIEW EDITION... General descriptions of types of editions :

Extra Details : Operation Judgement by Philip West.

About all editions : A photograph of an edition of the print :

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
Captain Alan William Frank Sutton CBE DSC* RN (deceased) *Signature Value : £35	Joined the navy as a Special Entry Cadet in 1930 and trained for one year in HMS Erebus, Devonport and then served in Battle Cruisers, Cruisers and Destroyers, before specialising as Naval Air Observer in 1937. He served in Swordfish Squadrons in Glorious and Illustrious and took part in the raid on Taranto, Italy on 11th November 1940 being in the leading aircraft of the last sub-flight of Torpedo attack aircraft, piloted by Lieut FMA Torrens- Spence. Their target was the fine modern battleship Littorio and Captain Sutton was awarded the DSC for this action. On 10th January 1941, Illustrious was badly damaged by German dive-bombers and went to the United States for repairs. Her aircrew remained ashore in Egypt and after a time Captain Sutton became the Senior Observer of 815 Squadron, operating from Greece against Italian shipping in the Adriatic in March and April 1941. The Germans invaded Greece in April 1941 and Alan was moved to Crete and served at the airfield at Maleme, Crete was in turn invaded by the Germans and Maleme was captured by airborne forces on 20th and 21st May when Alan found himself the Senior surviving officer from the airfield and formed a unit of Naval and RAF personnel who fought on the left flank of the New Zealand Brigade which was trying to retake the airfield. They were defeated and Alan escaped with a group of British, New Zealand and Australian personnel over the White Mountains to the south coast. Alan reached Sphakia where the defeated allied forces were being evacuated by the navy and became the beachmaster for the evacuation. He was awarded a Bar to the DSC he had received for Taranto for his actions in Crete. He was also twice mentioned in dispatches for operations in the Mediterranean in 1940/41. Subsequent to these operations in the Med, Alan was Staff Officer (Air) to the Admiral commanding the Eastern task force (Algiers) in operation Torch, the taking of Algeria and Morocco from the Vichy French in 1942. Then he was Air Staff Officer of the Escort Carrier Ravager in the Battle of the Atlantic, and finished the war in 1944/45 as an Acting Commander, being the operations officer of the Fleet Carrier, Implacable, operating against the Germans in Norway and against the Japanese in the Pacific. He was awarded nine months additional seniority for Meritorious War Service. Captain Sutton's post war career was as Deputy Director of the joint Anti-submarine School (RN and RAF) Londonderry, 1947-49; Commanding Officer of the Frigate Bigbury Bay 1951-53, including a spell in the Antarctic and as guard ship in the Falkland Islands; Officer in Charge, Observer and Air Signal School, RNAS Culdrose 1954-56. He was promoted to Captain and became the Chief Staff Officer of the Aircraft Carrier Squadron 1956-58, including operation Musketeer, the action to retake the Suez Canal. He was Captain (Air) Mediterranean and Commanding Officer RNAS Halfar, Malta 1960-62 and finished his Naval career as Director of the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich 1962-65. He was Naval ADC to the Queen 1964. On retirement from the Navy Alan was awarded the CBE (Military) for Distinguished Service. He was a graduate of the Naval Staff College, Joint Services Staff College and Imperial Defence College. Sadly passed away November 6th 2008.

The Aircraft :
Name	Info
Swordfish	Torpedo bomber and reconnaissance biplane, crewed by three, with a top speed of 154mph, reduced to 136mph as a float plane. Maximum ceiling 19,000 feet, reduced as a float plane. Armed with a .303 Vickers machine gun fixed forward and one in the rear cockpit. One 1610lb torpedo or up to 1500lb bomb load. At the outbreak of world war two the fleet air arm had 13 operational squadrons. The Fairey Swordfish has earned its place in history for major contributions to naval warfare, during the Norwegian campaign, and especially during the raid on Taranto. In November1940, twenty Swordfish took off from HMS Illustrious to attack the Italian fleet in their Harbour of Taranto. At Least nine torpedoes hit their targets. Seven Italian ships were badly damaged including the battleships, Caio Duillio, Littorio and Conte De Cavour. This was followed in February 1942, by a heroic but suicidal attack on German battlecruisers in the English Channel by six Swordfish of 825 squadron from RAF Manston. All aircraft and crews were lost. This resulted in a Victoria Cross for the leader Lieutenant Commander E Esmonde. The next major event was the torpedo attack on the Bismarck by Swordfish from HMS Ark Royal, which badly damaged the steering gear of the Bismarck which helped in the final destruction of the German battleship by Royal Navy battleships. The Fairey Swordfish was also used in anti-submarine and anti-shipping roles. The Swordfish sunk more enemy ships (by tonnage) than any other aircraft acting in the same role. By the end of the war the Fleet Air Arm still had nine active squadrons, but these were finally disbanded in May 1945. A total of 2399 Swordfish were built.

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