WWII night fighter ace's medals to go under the hammer

Discussion in 'WW2 Militaria' started by white1, Aug 29, 2012.

  1. white1

    white1 Discharged

    Medals and memorabilia of Group Captain John 'Cat's Eyes' Cunningham, the highest-scoring night fighter ace of the Second World War, are expected to fetch up to £180,000 when they go under the hammer at Spink on the 6 September 2012.
    Cunningham first came to prominence in the night skies over London during the 1940 Blitz, where he quickly achieved a number of victories and gained national recognition with the British public. Paraded as a hero by the Royal Air Force, he was given the nick-name 'Cat's Eyes' - for the benefit of propaganda his uncannily clear eyesight at night was attributed to the carrots that he ate, when in reality it was due to the top-secret A.I. Radar system.
    Cunningham's Honours and Awards include the C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire); the D.S.O. (Distinguished Service Order) with 2 Bars; the D.F.C. (Distinguished Flying Cross) with Bar; the 1939-1945 Star, with Battle of Britain Bar; the Air Crew Europe Star; the War Medal, with Mentioned in Despatches oak leaf; the Air Efficiency Award; the American Silver Star; and the Soviet Order of the Patriotic War First Class, and are offered with a large related archive including the recipient's Flying Log Books and various trophies, uniforms, and aviation memorabilia.
    The vendor's proceeds from the sale of this lot will be put towards flying scholarships for young people, so the legacy of such men is passed onto the next generation and the entire sales commission from this auction will be donated by Spink to the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust appeal.
    Bentley Priory served as the Headquarters of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. It was from here that Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding controlled and directed the Battle between 10 July 1939 and 31 October 1940. It is a battle in which Cunningham excelled and in which the courage of all those who participated was pivotal, as its success averted a German invasion and led the way for European liberation.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. summerdannys

    summerdannys Member

    An amazing collection, what did they fetch?
     
  3. Staffsyeoman

    Staffsyeoman Member

    £320,000 at hammer. Over twice estimate.
     
  4. Harry Ree

    Harry Ree Very Senior Member

    I was recently reading the account of one of Cunningham's intereceptions.He was vectored on to a He 111 belonging to the KGr100, out of Vannes Meacon,Brittany by the Sopley GCI Controller.His quarry was settled down and pulled back to a airspeed of105 mph. The a.e seemed to be more interested in following his navigation beam than being alert.

    Cunningham was told by his controller"to flash his weapon",ie, the instruction given by control when his AI gear was in range of the a.e. Contact was confirmed and the aircraft was blasted with a full cannon from the rear.Interestingly he could not pull back his airspeed of the Beaufighter low enough to synchronise with the speed of the a.e but achieved this by lowering his undercart.

    If you look at the history of the development of AI and its night fighter practitioners,you will find that this element of Fighter Command were soon up the learning curve in the defence of G.B.

    Most interesting and to the initial embarassment of WAAFs in the GCI centre was the code used by the night fighter interceptor to the GCI Controller when the AI gear was u/s "my weapon is bent" was the message passed to GCI.

    First AI sets had limited range and there were times of fustration for the pilot and his radar operator when a good vector, given by GCI could not be picked up and the quarry was lost.
     
  5. Peter Clare

    Peter Clare Very Senior Member

    A businesswoman has paid a record-breaking £395,000 at auction to buy a heroic World War II fighter pilot’s medal collection.
    Melissa John outbid other collectors and overseas museums to get RAF night fighter ace John Cunningham’s medals in memory of her late brother Christopher.
    Cash from the sale will now go towards a £13.4m project to build a museum and education centre at the RAF’s wartime headquarters of Bentley Priory, in Harrow, London.

    Read More Record amount paid for World War II hero fighter pilot's medal - Wales News - News - WalesOnline
     

Share This Page