Bellica Typhoon Attack (1000 Piece Jigsaw)

Typhoon Attack (1000 Piece Jigsaw)

A Hawker Typhoon Mk1b pulls up after a rocket attack on a King Tiger. The Hawker Typhoon (or the “Tiffy” as it was nicknamed) was introduced into service with the Royal Air Force in 1941. Although intended to be a medium - high interceptor, it had several design problems and never totally satisfied this requirement. With the introduction of the Luftwaffe Fw 190 around the same time, the Typhon was the only RAF interceptor capable of catching it at low altitudes. The next roles for the Typhoon were as a long-range fighter and night intruder, but the aircraft would find its true role in 1943 when the RAF needed a true ground attack aircraft rather than a “pure” fighter. From September 1943 the Typhoon was to be armed with a fearsome weapon range of four 20mm autocannons and RP3 rockets, it would turn into one of the most effective ground attack aircraft of World War II. This scene depicts a Typhoon attacking a German Tiger II of 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion in the Battle for the Falaise Gap; 12th-21st August 1944. The King Tiger II (Panzerkampwagen Tiger Ausf B) was the most potent of its cats, armed with the 88mm Pak KwK 43 and with thick frontal armour, which was impenetrable to all allied anti-tank weapons. Operated by a crew of five, the Tiger II replaced the legendary Tiger 1. Only 492 Tiger IIs were produced during World War II, and although without doubt the most lethal tank produced during the conflict, its numbers were never enough to make a difference to the final outcome.

Keith Burns is an award winning aviation artist and commercial illustrator. He has illustrated comics for the past decade with Johnny Red being the most recent. In 2012 he joined the Guild of Aviation Artists. In 2015 he won the Messier Dowty award for best acrylic painting in show, in 2016 he was made a full member of the Guild, had his first solo exhibition at the RAF Club in London and won Aviation Painting of the Year. He is currently illustrating the Ladybird WW2 series written by James Holland.