BISHOP W. A. BILLY: (1894-1956)

BISHOP W. A. BILLY: (1894-1956)

The ‘Dawn Patrol’ that occurred…..at Night!

 

BISHOP W. A. BILLY: (1894-1956) Canadian Air Marshal, a flying ace of World War I credited with 72 victories and thus the top Canadian and British Empire ace of the war. Victoria Cross winner for his aerial actions during an attack on a German aerodrome on 2^nd June 1917 during World War I. D.S., W. A. Bishop, as Commander of 85 Squadron, one page, 4to, n.p. (France), 16^th June 1918. The partially printed document, completed in typescript, is a Combat Report (headed Combats in the Air) relating to two aerial victories achieved by Bishop in his SE5A (C1904) biplane fighter, the narrative stating, in full, 'At 8-20 p.m. 1,8000 feet 5 miles East of Armentieres. I chased a two-seater from our side of the lines climbing up to him finally getting to 100 yards range fired 20 rounds from each gun. E[nemy]. A[ircraft]. smoked then burst into flames and fell. At 8-28 p.m. 8,000 feet, over Armentieres. 4 Albatross scouts attacked me from the sun and head on continued their dive to 4,000 feet below me. I watched for a few minutes and dived onto rear one, opened fire at 75 yards from behind and in the sun. E.A. went down vertically and crashed on western edge of Armentieres. E.A. dived to below me I think owing to presence of one of our formations 3 or 4 thousand feet above.' Matted in black alongside a colour 6 x 4 postcard reproduction of Robert Taylor's painting (erroneously) entitled The Dawn Patrol with printed text relating to the artwork stating, in part, 'On 16^th June 1918 Major W. A. (Billy) Bishop VC took off at dawn on a patrol in search of enemy aircraft. Climbing his flight of SE5A's to 8000 feet above Armentieres, Northern France, he located and destroyed one enemy aircraft and followed this some eight minutes later by destroying a second……Robert Taylor's new painting “The Dawn Patrol” portrays Billy Bishop and the pilots of 85 Squadron as they climb their SE5A fighters into the cool morning sunlight above the fields of Northern France'. Framed and glazed in a decorative silver coloured frame to an overall size of 20 x 18. Some light discoloration to the edges of the document and minor age wear. Together with a colour 31.5 x 24 limited edition print of The Dawn Patrol by artist Robert Taylor, the image depicting Bishop in flight in his SE5A (C1904) biplane fighter in the sunlit clouds over Armentieres, accompanied by two other pilots of 85 Squadron. Published by the Military Gallery of Bath in 1988 and signed to the lower margin in bold pencil by the artist Robert Taylor (also numbered 785 of 1000) and the pilots Gwilym Hugh Lewis (1897-1996) British Wing Commander, a flying ace of World War I credited with 12 victories, and Robert Chidlaw-Roberts (1896-1989) British Flight Lieutenant, a flying ace of World War I credited with ten victories. Rolled and with one minor surface crease. A remarkable pair of signed items. G to VG, 2

Robert Taylor's excellent painting The Dawn Patrol would appear to have been meticulously researched; the artist and publishers taking note of the correct aircraft and serial number Bishop was flying, as well as the correct altitude, location and date of the ace's flight on 16^th June 1918. However, Taylor, widely regarded as the world's premier painter of aviation subjects, made two mistakes in The Dawn Patrol, as clearly confirmed by Bishop's Combat Report - firstly, Bishop was flying alone and, most importantly, the combat occurred at night, at 8.20 pm and 8,28 pm, and not at dawn.