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6 June 1944: the date that marked the beginning of the end of the war in north-west Europe, and the day on which the liberation of France began.

The story of the Battle of Britain is brought to life through the paintings and drawings of some of the world’s foremost aviation and military artists. Published to commemorate the 75th Anniversary, this beautifully illustrated 128 page full-colour book, portrays these historic events with a visual clarity rarely seen before.

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In the early hours of Monday 17 May 1943 one of the most daring low-level night time raids in the history of air warfare took place, when nineteen Lancaster crews from the newly formed 617 Squadron successfully attacked the great dams of Germany.

The Military Gallery calendars have quickly become essential for all Aviation and Military enthusiasts. Each calendar features twelve outstanding paintings, specially selected from the Military Gallery’s unrivalled archives.

On 26 November, 1943, the P-47s of the 56th Fighter Group were tasked to escort B-24 Liberators of the 392nd Bomb Group on a dangerous mission to attack the heavily defended industrial and dockyard facilities in the German port of Bremen.

Robert Taylor’s magical English winter landscape welcomes another American Fortress crew home to safety. For those on the ground there were few sights more stirring than a B-17 Fortress on its final approach from a combat mission, and Robert Taylor’s outstanding painting Winter’s Welcome is no exception.

Designed by Sydney Camm in the early 1930s, the Hurricane was the RAF’s first fighter capable of flying at over 300mph. Compared to Mitchell’s radical new Spitfire the Hurricane was built using the traditional methods that underpinned the high regard pilots had for Hawker aircraft.

On Sunday 2 September 1945 the formal surrender document to conclude WWII was signed aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. At 09.25 hrs with General Douglas MacArthur, Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz and Admirals Halsey and Sherman presiding, the Instrument of Surrender was completed.

As the New Year of 1945 dawned, the snow had already spread to blanket the southern half of England. The festivities of Christmas had passed and the relentless pounding of German cities and industrial targets continued unabated. On every front Hitler’s once-fabled armies were in full retreat.

A CLASSIC NEW ROBERT TAYLOR MASTERWORKLIMITED EDITION COMMEMORATING THE INDOMITABLE AIRCREWSOF RAF BOMBER COMMAND

Briefing at 0500 hours on the morning of 14 October 1943 brought the crews of the 92nd Bomb Group news they didn’t want to hear: “It’s Schweinfurt again!” The same message was being repeated in USAAF bomb group briefing rooms all over eastern England in the early hours of what was to become forever known as “Black Thursday”.

On Sunday 17 September 1944, the first day of Operation Market Garden, C-47 Dakotas of the 439th Troop Carrier Group dropped thousands of paratroopers from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions into Holland, a hundred and fifty miles behind enemy lines.

Flying low over the picturesque village of Thaxted,in the cold winter of 1944-45, the P-51D Mustangs of the 78th Fighter Group return to Duxford after a tiring eight hour escort mission. With dusk approaching, low on fuel, the fighters have about 20 miles to run.

There can be few more stirring sights than a B-17 Flying Fortress coming home after a long and arduous daylight mission over occupied Europe, and Robert Taylor’s inspired painting Return of the Belle has come to symbolise the huge role played by the bombers of the U.S.

The steel mill at Thai Nguyen was vital to North Vietnam and in 1967 its destruction was a top priority for the USAF. There was a problem however; it was one of the most heavily and well defended installations in the country.

In one of the boldest precision raids of World War II, the valiant men of 617 Squadron breached the mighty dams of Germany. They were the Dambusters. On the night of 16/17 May 1943, nineteen Lancasters and 133 men from the recently formed 617 Squadron carried out one of the most spectacular precision raids in the history of air warfare.

With the end of the war in sight P-51 Mustangs of the 55th Fighter Group sweep unopposed through the beautiful Rhine valley: One of Robert Taylor’s most iconic images Mustangs on the Prowl depicts the master Ace of the ground attack, Colonel Elwyn Righetti of the 55th Fighter Group.

Battle-torn B-17 Flying Fortresses of the US Eighth Air Force make their final approach following a gruelling raid over Germany. Having taken a pounding by enemy fighters, the weary crews descend into the welcome tranquillity of the English countryside.

The engineers at Rolls-Royce had worked their magic. They had somehow managed to squeeze every available ounce of power out of the current Merlin engine and by D-Day on 6 June 1944 the sleek Mk.IX Spitfires of Fighter Command reigned supreme in the skies over Normandy.

Robert Taylor’s stunning painting, beautifully captures a group of Bf109Gs from III./JG26, as they return to their forward base after a long fighter sweep along the Channel coast in early 1944.

The largest dam in Europe, the fortress-like walls of Möhne held back nearly 140 million cubic metres of water essential to the industry and factories of the Ruhr. The Air Ministry had long ago decided that if the Möhne dam, and the two other major Ruhr dams were destroyed, it could deliver a massive blow to the Nazi war machine.

Last Flight Home must be one of the most acclaimed and well-remembered of all Robert Taylor’s great MasterWork paintings. Painted in warm glowing colours and set within the glorious confines of the beautiful English countryside, this is one of the most memorable studies of the mighty Avro Lancaster bomber ever created.

Robert Taylor's magnificent study of the legendary Hurricane captures wonderfully the spirit of that cataclysmic aerial conflict fought so long ago. Nearest, young Pilot Officer Geoffrey Page powers his Mk I Hurricane over the country lane at the edge of the airfield.

With the Battle of Britain reaching its climax, Mk.Ia Spitfires from 92 Squadron return to their new base at Biggin Hill in early September 1940. As if in tribute to fallen comrades, a bright swathe of second- flowering corn poppies greet their thunderous arrival.

Escorted by Spitfires of 504 Squadron, the battle damaged Lancaster UL-M2 approaches the friendly coast of England after a grueling raid over Germany. Between early 1943 and the end of 1944, the legendary bomber completed 140 operational sorties - more than any other Lancaster in RAF Bomber Command during WWII.

P-51 Mustangs of the 353rd Fighter Group make a low level run over towns and villages along the Rhine.

COMMEMORATING THE 65th ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY – JUNE 6th Fighter Ace Johnnie Johnson leads MkIX Spitfires of his 144 Canadian Wing back to their base at Ford after a long day of operations over Normandy shortly after D-Day.

Robert Taylor has painted an aviation masterpiece which captures the very essence of the Dams raids carried out more than 60 years ago: “Dinghy” Young, flying Lancaster AJ-A, heading through flak and machine gun fire towards the Möhne Dam at precisely 60ft, has just released his cylindrical, hydrostatically-triggered bouncing bomb

On Saturday, 9 August 1941 the unthinkable happened: the legendary Fighter leader Douglas Bader failed to return from a mission over northern France. Immediately, without thought for their own safety, the fiercely loyal pilots of his Tangmere Wing set out on a sweep to search for him, hoping that he may have successfully baled out into the Channel.

Coastal Patrol, a new painting by the remarkably gifted young artist Richard Taylor, depicts Mk I Spitfires of 610 Squadron flying a defensive patrol low over the White Cliffs during the height of the Battle of Britain in August 1940. A superb painting that symbolises a crucial period in history.

As Typhoon Mk1b fighter-bombers of 247 Squadron exit the target area near Falaise at full throttle, the havoc wreaked in their wake bears witness to the devastation of their powerful rockets.

As dusk brought the end to the day’s action for some, it was just the beginning of things to come for many others. RAF raids continued throughout the night as the heavy bombers headed for targets across occupied Europe supported by one of the most versatile aircraft of them all; the DeHavilland Mosquito.

One of World War Two’s best known P-51 Mustangs, Glamorous Glen III, flown by one of the aviation’s best known pilots, Chuck Yeager, together with pilots of the 357th Fighter Group head out of Leiston in Suffolk, on escort duty to an 8th Air Force bombing mission to Germany, October 1944.

A flight of Spitfire MK IX's, generally considered to have been the greatest of all the Spitfire marks, return to their base at R.A.F.

The ancient Norman monastery on Mont St. Michel provides the majestic backdrop as a group of Me109s race across the coast returning to their forward base in northern France after a fighter sweep across the English Channel in early 1941.

The Military Gallery calendars have quickly become essential for all Military enthusiasts, featuring twelve outstanding paintings, specially selected from the Military Gallery’s unrivaled archives.

In May 1944 Wing Commander Roland ‘Bee’ Beamont led three squadrons of Hawker Tempests into operations for the first time. Flying from RAF Newchurch in Kent, one of the advanced landing grounds constructed in preparation for the invasion of France, they formed 150 Wing RAF.

14 January 1945; and the war was not going well for Germany. The noose was tightening as American, British and Canadian armies, having broken out from their Normandy landings seven months earlier, stood on the banks of the Rhine. In the east vast numbers of Russians were driving relentlessly towards Berlin.

The Mustang was a triumph, testament to its designer Edgar Schmued. It was fast, manoeuvrable, hard-hitting and, by the time it was combined with Rolls-Royces’ legendary Merlin engine, was capable of outperforming anything the enemy could throw at it.

One of World War Two’s best known P-51 Mustangs, Glamorous Glen III, flown by one of the aviation’s best known pilots, Chuck Yeager, together with pilots of the 357th Fighter Group head out of Leiston in Suffolk, on escort duty to an 8th Air Force bombing mission to Germany, October 1944.

On 26 November, 1943, the P-47s of the 56th Fighter Group were tasked to escort B-24 Liberators of the 392nd Bomb Group on a dangerous mission to attack the heavily defended industrial and dockyard facilities in the German port of Bremen.

With soft evening sunlight radiant behind them, Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald, Gruppenkommandeur of 1./JG52, leads a schwarm of Bf109s back to their base near Calais after another hectic encounter with pilots of RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, September 1940.

You can feel the tension in this evocative painting as Messerschmitt Bf109s from 7./JG2 Richthofen head out on a long-range fighter patrol in September 1940.

A TRIBUTE TO THE MEN WHO FLEW THE MOSQUITO. Completing a record 213 operational sorties with Bomber Command’s Pathfinder Force, Mosquito LR503 became one of the most successful aircraft in the Royal Air Force during World War II.

A specially commissioned limited edition print in tribute to the pilots who flew the Hurricane, the aircraft that won the Battle of Britain.

Designed by Sydney Camm in the early 1930s, the Hurricane was the RAF’s first fighter capable of flying at over 300mph. Compared to Mitchell’s radical new Spitfire the Hurricane was built using the traditional methods that underpinned the high regard pilots had for Hawker aircraft.

Richard Taylor’s poignant new painting captures eloquently the urgency of a scramble – an everyday occurrence during those frantic days in the summer of 1940.

The Battle of Britain had been won by the young fighter pilots of Fighter Command, but now it fell to another band of young men to wage total warfare against the Nazi war machine – the aircrew of RAF Bomber Command.

As the massive Lancaster looms majestically over them, the ever vigilant ground crew begin the task of preparing ‘their’ aircraft for the coming night’s operation. Checking, repairing and double-checking again, making sure that nothing goes wrong on the next trip.

A TRIBUTE TO THE MEN WHO FLEW THE LANCASTER. The crews of Bomber Command faced one of the most daunting tasks, calling for courage sustained night after night, in conditions of desperate danger and discomfort. They did not fail us and 55,573 paid the supreme sacrifice”.

A Lancaster from 61 Squadron, heavily damaged by German night-fighter attacks, heads to Dusseldorf during a bombing mission on the night of 3 November 1943. Although badly wounded, pilot Bill Reid and his crew pressed on to bomb their target before returning home. For his courage and devotion to duty Reid was awarded the Victoria Cross.

On the evening of 5 June 1944, at a dozen airfields across southern England, more than 13,000 American paratroopers prepared themselves for a mission that would change the course of history.

A Spitfire of 610 Squadron narrowly misses colliding with an Me109 while in close combat, low over the South of England, during the late summer of 1940. Exclusively limited to just 350 copies worldwide, this superb print has been faithfully reproduced from an original pencil drawing by Robert Taylor.

Leslie Irvin didn’t make a lightweight sheepskin flying jacket, but if he had, we’d like to think he’d have made it just like the one we make in his name.

Robert Taylor's spellbinding painting, Wings of Glory, paying tribute to Mitchell's immortal fighter, features the MkX1X Spitfire of the RAF's Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

There is only one true Irvin and this is it. Aviation Leathercraft (part of Moto-Lita Ltd) own the Irvin trademark and manufacture this genuine jacket here in the U.K. An Irvin label within each jacket confirms its authenticity.

High over the Pas De Calais, Douglas Bader pilots his lone Spitfire during the sudden calm immediately after an intense dogfight.

Robert Taylor's tribute to the young American volunteer pilots who joined the RAF to fight for freedom at the time when Britain stood alone against the Nazi domination in Europe.

A MOVING TRIBUTE TO THE SMALL BAND OF RAF FIGHTER PILOTS WHO WOULD SAVE EUROPE FROM HITLER’S TYRANNY

Holding his Lancaster AJ-P steady at 60ft above the waters of the Möhne Dam, 'Mick' Martin releases the cylindrical, bouncing bomb to send it spinning towards the dam wall.

At 23.45 on the night of 5 June 1944, the 101st Airborne’s most legendary unit of combat paratroopers – the notorious ‘Filthy Thirteen’ – jumped into France near the village of Sainte Mère Église, in the final hours before the D-Day landings.

With the morning sun glinting on their fuselages, P-51 Mustangs of the 78th Fighter Group cross the Dutch coastline far below, heading back towards their base at Duxford, England at the end of a long sweep east of the Rhine crossing in Spring 1945.

Dominating the skies over Germany, P-51s of the 4th Fighter Group – The Eagles - sweep across the cloud tops, their pilots scanning the distant horizon for any signs of the Luftwaffe. They are ready for trouble should the enemy decide to chance their luck.

With silver moonlight glinting on the wave tops below, Guy Gibson leads the first wave of Lancasters low across the North Sea to avoid enemy detection, on the night of 16/17 May 1943. In formation with ‘Mick’ Martin on his port side and ‘Hoppy’ Hopgood to starboard, Gibson heads towards the Dutch Coast and the Ruhr valley beyond.

As the New Year of 1945 dawned, the snow had already spread to blanket the southern half of England. The festivities of Christmas had passed and the relentless pounding of German cities and industrial targets continued unabated. On every front Hitler’s once-fabled armies were in full retreat. The endgame was now in play.

On the morning of 15 October 1943, as Bf109G's from III./JG52 dive into attack a group of Russian fighters high over Zaporozhye in south-east Ukraine, their Kommandeur Hauptmann Günther Rall pounces on a Soviet La-5 to claim his 222nd victory.

The edition is personally authenticated by aircrew that fought in combat during the Battle of Britain and as we are sure you are aware, an edition with this many signatures is becoming almost impossible to replicate these days.

At sunrise on 12 November, 1944, led by Wing Commander James Tait, Lancasters of 617 Squadron RAF prepare to make their bombing run on the German battleship Tirpitz, lying in the Norwegian fjord at Tromsø.

Whilst the ‘Few’ of Fighter Command had undoubtedly defeated the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain, it was the ‘Many’ of Bomber Command who were to play the pivotal role in delivering to the Allies ultimate victory in Europe.

This superb piece was originally released as a veteran signed limited edition print some years ago and is long sold out, so the Military Gallery is delighted that this wonderful Masterwork painting is now faithfully replicated on canvas using the latest high-definition Giclée technology.

THIS OUTSTANDING NEW PIECE IS THE LONG AWAITED FOLLOW-UP TO TAYLOR’S CONCEPT DRAWING, RELEASED IN AUGUST 2008. THE EDITION IS PERSONALLY SIGNED BY VETERANS OF THE 506th P.I.R, 101st AIRBORNE THAT FOUGHT THROUGHOUT THE ALLIED LIBERATION OF EUROPE.

Robert Taylor’s magnificent masterwork, Air Armada, recreates a moment on that day as Heinz Bär, the Luftwaffe’s top-scoring NCO Ace of the Battle of Britain and one of the greatest Aces in history, climbs away from his airfield near Calais with the other pilots of 1./JG51 to escort the Do17s of KG76 for yet another deadly attack on the RAF.

With the Battle of Britain reaching its climax, Mk.Ia Spitfires from 92 Squadron return to their new base at Biggin Hill in early September 1940. As if in tribute to fallen comrades, a bright swathe of second- flowering corn poppies greet their thunderous arrival.

A TRIBUTE TO THE AIRMEN OF RAF BOMBER COMMAND

COMMEMORATING THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN 1940

A TRIBUTE TO J.E. ‘JOHNNIE’ JOHNSON, THE HIGHEST SCORING RAF ACE OF WORLD WAR II

Our own limited edition Spitfire NH341 'Elizabeth' watch, produced in partnership with RSC Pilot Watches.