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| THIS ITEM IS INCLUDED IN OUR BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE OFFER ! Choose any two prints in this special offer and the lower priced item is half price. (Any free bonus prints already supplied with an item are separate and will also be included !) Hundreds of items across our websites are included in this offer! |
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| 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 |
  Squadron Leader Ian Blair DFM (deceased) *Signature Value : £55 | Ian Blair joined 113 Squadron in 1938 as a AC1/Armourer AG. on Hawker Hind and later Blenheim Mk 1s. He took part in the heavy fighting of the first Lybian campaign. He was forced to take control and fly the Blenheim airceaft after his pilot was killed following an attack by an Italian Fiat CR 42. Remarkably he managed not only to evade the enemy aircraft, but fly to fly the Blenheim 350 miles back to his base where he made a succesful textbook landing. This extraordinary action earned him the award of an immediate DFM. Ian Blair said about the event : The day before, we had been sent out to bomb an enemy airfield at Derna, about 400 miles west of Alexandria. We were in a Blenheim bomber, and I was the observer. That's the guy in the front who does the navigation and drops the bombs. But as soon as I had released the bombs, a fighter-plane attacked us. Glasgow-born Sqn Ldr Blair still has the blood-stained flight log he made that day. The pencil entries end suddenly. He said : There was an almighty bang. When I looked round, the pilot - a chap called Reynolds - was slumped forward on the controls. I think it was the very last round that killed him. It was really unfortunate. His luck had run out. Then the aircraft went into a steep dive. Despite having never flown an aircraft in his life before that moment, the young airman - paid one shilling and sixpence per day extra to fill in as part-time air crew - took charge. He said : From that moment the only thing going through my mind was survival. Everything happened so quickly, and we had to get the heck out of there. I managed to pull the pilot's body off his seat and get the aircraft under control. But we still had to get home and land the thing. My gunner, Hank, sent a message back to base saying: 'We're in dire trouble here, the observer is flying the aircraft.' Lo and behold, when we got back to base there was whole gallery of people, cars, ambulances and fire tenders all lined up waiting for the ultimate - but it didn't happen. I had spent a long time watching pilots, and made a textbook landing. We came down in a shower of dust. Perhaps I was a bit over-confident. The air officer commanding the base apparently said: 'If that guy can fly an aircraft without a pilot's course, let's send him on a pilot's course.' He was presented with his DFM by George VI. The experience led him to train as a pilot at No 4 SFTS RAF Habbaniya, where the No 6 War Course were heavily engaged in operations to raize the siege of the base from the Iraqi Army. He was finally awarded his wings in May 1941. On return to the UK he served with 501 Squadron on combat duties on Spitfire Mk V's until injured as a result of enemy action. On return to flying duties he was posted to 602 Squadron flying MkV's and MkIX's until June 1944. In February 1944, he claimed a high altitude victory by destroying a Me.109 F at an altitude of 35,000 feet, flying a Spitfire Mk.VII H.F. |
  Squadron Leader Mahinder Pujji DFC (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | In 1940 Mahinder, a qualified pilot flying for Shell in India, volunteered to join the RAF and was commissioned as Pilot Officer. Arriving in England, he was posted to 43 Squadron, and then 258 Squadron at Kenley, flying both Hurricanes and Spitfires. Later posted to the Western Desert, then to India, and finally to Burma, where he completed two tours against the Japanese. Sadly, Mahinder Pujji passed away on 22nd September 2010. |
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