Bidspirit auction | WW2 Dambuster David Shannon Arthur

WW2 Dambuster David Shannon Arthur Harris signed Barnes Wallis 90th Birthday FDC. Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur Travers Harris, 1st Baronet, GCB, OBE, AFC (13 April 1892 - 5 April 1984), commonly known as ”Bomber” Harris by the press and often within the RAF as ”Butcher” or ”Butch” Harris, was a British-Rhodesian Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C) RAF Bomber Command during the height of the Anglo-American strategic bombing campaign against Germany in the Second World War. Born in Gloucestershire, Harris emigrated to Rhodesia in 1910, aged 17. He joined the 1st Rhodesia Regiment at the outbreak of the First World War and saw action in South Africa and South West Africa. In 1915, Harris returned to England to fight in the European theatre of the war. He joined the Royal Flying Corps, with which he remained until the formation of the Royal Air Force in 1918. Harris remained in the Air Force through the 1920s and 1930s, serving in India, Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, Palestine, and elsewhere. At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, Harris took command of No. 5 Group RAF in England, and in February 1942 was appointed head of Bomber Command. He retained that position for the rest of the war. In the same year, the British Cabinet agreed to the ”area bombing” of German cities. Harris was given the task of implementing Churchill's policy and supported the development of tactics and technology to perform the task more effectively. Harris assisted British Chief of the Air Staff Marshal of the Royal Air Force Charles Portal in carrying out the United Kingdom's most devastating attacks against the German infrastructure and population, including the bombing of Dresden. Harris's orders from the war cabinet to focus on area bombing rather than precision targeting remained controversial owing to the large number of civilian casualties, destruction of civilian infrastructure and cultural landmarks the strategy caused in continental Europe. David John Shannon, DSO and Bar, DFC and Bar (27 May 1922 - 8 April 1993) was an Australian bomber pilot of World War II, known for his part in the ”Dambusters” raid on the night of 16/17 May 1943. Born in South Australia, Shannon joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1941 and learned to fly under the Empire Air Training Scheme. After further training in the United Kingdom he was posted to No. 106 Squadron RAF, operating Avro Lancaster heavy bombers, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) in January 1943. Good condition Est.