1983 Gib Baxter Watercolour Painting Of Operation Colossus The 1st British Airborne Assault By X Troop 1941 To Destroy An Aqueduct Near Calitri Italy. Sn 20790 Antiques & Militaria

1983 Gib Baxter Watercolour Painting Of Operation Colossus The 1st British Airborne Assault By X Troop 1941 To Destroy An Aqueduct Near Calitri Italy. Sn 20790 - 20790

Operation Colossus was the codename given to the first airborne operation undertaken by the British military, which occurred on 10 February 1941 during World War II. The first airborne unit to be formed was actually a re-trained Commando unit, No. 2 Commando, which was subsequently renamed as No. 11 Special Air Service Battalion and numbered approximately 350 officers and other ranks by September 1940. The battalion finished its training in December 1940 and in February 1941 thirty-eight members of the battalion, known as X Troop, were selected to conduct an airborne operation, which was intended to test the capability of the airborne troops and their equipment, as well as the ability of the Royal Air Force to accurately deliver them. The target chosen for the operation was a fresh-water aqueduct near Calitri in southern Italy, which supplied water to a large portion of the Italian population as well as several ports used by the Italian armed forces; it was also hoped that its destruction would hamper Italian military efforts in North Africa and Albania. The airborne troops were delivered by converted Armstrong Whitworth Whitley medium bombers to the target on 10 February but equipment failures and navigational errors meant that a significant portion of the troop's explosives and a team of Royal Engineer sappers, landed in the wrong area. Despite this setback the remaining members of the troop destroyed the aqueduct and withdrew from the area. All were captured by the Italian authorities within a short time; an Italian translator was tortured and executed and one paratrooper managed to escape but the rest remained as prisoners of war. This is an excellent original watercolour painting of members of X Troop parachuting from their Whitworth Whitley aircraft over harsh terrain at the start of their heroic mission to destroy the aqueduct. The painting is signed by the artist ‘Gib Baxter’ and dated ’83 (1983). The paintings colours are vivid. The painting in its glazed wood frame measures 15 ¼” x 19 ¼” x 1 ¼”. The rear of the frame is fitted with cord for wall mounting. The price for this paining worthy of further research regarding the artist includes UK delivery. Sn 20790

£395.00