"Battle above Dover"

by Adrian Rigby


Image Size: 11 x 21 in (28 x 53 cm)


Limited Edition of 295 copies signed by the artist and counter-signed by Wing Commander H W MacKenzie DFC/AFC, Pilot Officer with 43 and 501 Squadron (now deceased)




The painting depicts a Hurricane of 501 Squadron caught up in close combat with Stukas and ME109's above the port, whilst in the background many more aircraft can be seen joining the affray.

On July 29th 1940, the Luftwaffe launched what they believed was a surprise attack on the port of Dover and the shipping in the area. RAF controllers, however, were quick to react and Spitfires from Manston along with twelve Hurricanes from Hawkinge intercepted nearly fifty Stukas and no less than eighty fighter escorts. The battle was intense, and made even more dangerous for the RAF by the heavy flak which the gunners of Dover used to some success, shooting two Stukas out of the sky. At the end of the action, seven German aircraft were lost to just one Spitfire. More significantly, Dover was spared serious damage and no ships were lost. The painting depicts a Hurricane of 501 Squadron caught up in close combat with Stukas and Me109s above the port, whilst in the background, many more aircraft can be seen joining the fray.