Although my Artwork has been loosely based on the Avro Lancaster WS-J, I have included other bomb symbols found on other aircraft. The artwork was varied and had many light-hearted symbols, including an ice cream cone and a beer mug. This should therefore be considered as art and not an accurate depiction of WS-J I have researched as many facts as I can find. If you can update anything, I would be very happy to hear from you. Key to Symbols Large Bomb = 100 operations Searchlight = the destruction of a searchlight Ice Cream Cone = operation over Italy Parachute = mine laying Beer mug = a bomb Red Bomb = trip to Berlin (which the aircrew referred to as the ‘Big City’) White Bomb or Bomb with sun over = a daylight raid Russian Red Star with Hammer & Sickle = a raid from Yagodnik against the battleship Tirpitz Three vertical stripes = wound stripes, (2 for injured crew and 1 for airframe damage) Battleship outlines = successful attacks on enemy shipping Chevron = completed year of active service Ribbons, shown as stripes, usually have the initials of the recipient underneath. These indicate medals for The Distinguished Flying Cross and The Distinguished Flying Medal. The Swastika featured on many aircraft. However, as the symbol still represents racial hatred, I have not included this. I have incorporated an image of ‘Admiral Prune’ a Mickey Mouse caricature on Avro Lancaster ZN-L. Piloted by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. Another feature is the inclusion of ‘Pilot Officer Percy Prune’ a fictional cartoon character created by Bill Hooper in 1941. (The similarity seems obvious.) P.O. Percy Prune was a hapless character who, single-handedly, destroyed more aircraft than the Luftwaffe. He often appeared with a cartoon dog. A number of aircrew were from Australia and the aircraft often had a cartoon image of a Kangaroo on the fuselage. Nicknames such as The Phantom of the Ruhr, Admiral Prune, Oomph Gal, J-Joe, Minnie The Moocher and Aussie often featured on the aircraft. **************************************************************** The Lancaster was first created in pencil by me on a drawing board at home. Latterly, it has been scanned and redrawn in Photoshop giving it clean equal lines. I have combined history, interesting facts, and logos from original documents. This is a totally original creation by me, Charlie Poole. I really hope that you enjoy your new print, as much as I enjoyed creating it. Image size A3 Supplied on a Satin Photographic paper, SRA3 = Size 330mm x 483mm. (Please refer to “The Technical Bit”) Print Ref:- AIR-0014