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#1290 Puma HC2

Puma HC2
Purchased products will not feature the Squadron Prints watermark
£10.00 €11.62 $12.40
43.8 cm x 29.2 cm
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Print
Puma HC2
ZJ955 'P'
230 Sqn
RAF Benson
UK - Air Force
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Description

Squadron Prints Lithograph No. 1290 - Puma HC2, ZJ955 \'P\', 230 Squadron, RAF Benson. Equipped with F2A flying boats for maritime reconnaissance duties, 230 Squadron RAF was formed on 20 August 1918 from an amalgamation of 327, 328 and 487 Naval Air Service Flights. F5 flying boats were received in 1920 but the Squadron was renumbered 480 Flight on 1 April 1923. It reformed again at Pembroke Dock on 1 December 1934, received Singapore IIIs in April 1935 and then moved to Egypt in September of that year. It returned to the UK in August 1936, only to be sent to the Far East three months later. In 1937, 230 Squadron moved to Seletar in Singapore, where the Squadron badge was approved by HM The King George VI. The now iconic Squadron badge was inspired by the label of Singapore’s local Tiger beer, with the addition of the Malayan motto “Kita Chari Jauh” – translated as “We Search Far”. In June 1938, 230 Squadron converted to the Short Sunderland. With the outbreak of war in September 1939 the Squadron roamed from Ceylon to Egypt and Tanganyika, before eventually returning to Ceylon in February 1944. It was at this point that the Officer Commanding 230 Squadron, Wg Cdr Dundas Bednall, had his Sunderland JM673 “P” painted matt black, as it was proven to reduce the chance of being spotted during night and dawn patrols. JM673 “P” was the only Sunderland painted in such a way, and it became known as “Black Peter”. Sadly, on 28 November 1944, “Black Peter” captained by Sqn Ldr K V Ingham, RAAF, was lost in the Bay of Bengal whilst on an anti-submarine patrol from Koggala. The radar operator at the base watched the aircraft’s signature merge with that of a cyclone from which it did not re-emerge. A large scale search failed to find anything of the aircraft or crew. 230 Squadron is now based at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire. August 2013 not only marked the transition from Puma HC.1 to Puma HC.2 but also 230 Squadron’s 95th Anniversary. To commemorate this milestone, the Squadron has painted Puma HC.2 ZJ955 “P” in an all over matt black colour scheme to replicate “Black Peter” from 1944, and serves as our tribute to all the men and women who bravely served on 230 Squadron. Lest We Forget.
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