Solitude

Fairey Swordfish

** This painting (30"x20"Oils) is for sale @ £ 560 GB Pounds

The night of 13-14 August 1940 saw 3 Royal Navy Swordfish torpedo bombers leave Malta for a raid on Augusta Harbour. The force accompanied by 6 bomb equipped aircraft met with intense flak and 2 of the 3 torpedo carrying aircraft were shot down. The third, (depicted above) although damaged struggled all the way back to its Hal Far base.

As you study my painting, I would like you to consider the emotions of the crew. The adrenaline of the attack combined with fear having seen 2 aircraft shot down, now replaced by desperate hope that the single engined machine will carry them safely home. The sea has deliberately been painted to demonstrate the hostile environment that it is. There would be little hope for the crew should the machine let them down. That said, damage sustained already means that a ditching is a realistic scenario, and one for which they must be prepared. I have deliberately omitted shipping, aircraft or land, and wish for you to think for a few minutes about "Solitude"

© Chas McHugh 1999

[Home] [Gallery] [Text Gallery] [Artist] [Email] [Links]

Jan 2000