This oil painting (76.1 x 101.4 cm) shows Halifax Mk.II heavy bombers of the RCAF's No. 419 (Moose) Squadron at Middleton St. George, one of several Canadian bomber bases in northern England. No. 419 was one of fourteen squadrons which eventually comprised No. 6 (RCAF) Bomber Group and flew Wellington, Hampden, Halifax and Lancaster bombers. The group was formed in January 1943 and drew upon the contribution of the eight squadrons already in existence. Between that date and April 1945 the formation flew more than 40,800 sorties, dropped over 126,000 tons of bombs and mines, lost 814 aircraft, and suffered over 3,500 fatal casualties. The group's badge was a maple leaf superimposed on a York rose, signifying the Canadian element set in the Yorkshire countryside where the bases were located.
Paul Alexander Goranson (1911- ) was prominent among British Columbia artists before the Second World War. He enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in December 1941 and was employed as a staff artist with the rank of sergeant. His duties took him to air training stations and to bases on Canada's east coast. In February 1943 Goranson was commissioned, appointed an official war artist, and posted overseas. En route to Britain his ship was torpedoed and he spent several hours in a lifeboat before being rescued. He subsequently covered air force operations in Britain, North Africa, Italy and northwestern Europe. The artist's wartime career encompassed irritants and dangers which ranged from bats in an improvised studio to German air attacks.
On the left of this painting we see a ground crew preparing to start the engines using a battery cart; on the right a truck brings the air crew to their "kites." Goranson recorded this scene in May 1943, prior to a raid upon Wuppertal, Germany. How has the artist suggested the size of the bombers and conveyed the excitement of the action?
Courtesy: Canadian War Museum, National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada (11402)
