Bill Reid VC by Graeme Lothian. [Original Drawing]

Lancaster LM360, piloted by Bill Reid, is raked by fire from stem to stern by a Luftwaffe Fw190 fighter. Bill Reid had already sustained injuries to his head, torso and hands from a previous attack by an Me110, but, with this rest of his crew unscathed from the previous attack, he had not mentioned his injuries. In the attack depicted here, the Fw190 makes a lethal attack on the already damaged bomber, killing one crew member and fatally wounding a second. Despite this, Bill Reid flew on to his target of Dusseldorf - a further 200 miles - successfully dropped his bombs, then turned for home. With the aid of the bomb aimer and flight engineer, the Lancaster made it across the Channel and headed for an airfield, with one leg of the damaged undercarriage failing on landing. Bill Reid was awarded the Victoria Cross for this mission.

This original drawing has been personally signed by Bill Reid VC, along with 7 other Lancaster pilots and crew.

Signed by Squadron Leader Norman Scrivener DSO DFC (deceased),
Flight Lieutenant Bill Reid VC (deceased),
Flight Lieutenant Douglas Newham LVO DFC,
Squadron Leader B A Jimmy James MC (deceased),
Flight Lieutenant John Petrie-Andrews DFC DFM,
Air Commodore D M Strong CB, AFC (deceased),
Air Commodore Wilf Burnett DSO OBE DFC AFC (deceased)
and
Flt Lt George Harris DFC.

Original pencil drawing by Graeme Lothian.

Size 23 inches x 16 inches (58cm x 41cm) Entire sheet shown in image.