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Clipped Signature - Ernest Rodley. - Cranston Military Prints

Clipped Signature - Ernest Rodley.


Clipped Signature - Ernest Rodley.

RAF Bomber Command pilot who flew 87 operations, some with 97 Squadron on Manchesters and on Lancasters when it became a Pathfinder Squadron. He also flew operations on the Mosquito. He died in 2004.
Item Code : CLP0028Clipped Signature - Ernest Rodley. - Editions Available
DESCRIPTIONSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSPRICEPURCHASINGPACKS
Clipped Signature.
Great value : Value of signatures exceeds price of item!
Rodley, Ernest

Died : 2004
Wing Commander Ernest Rodley DSO DFC AFC AE (deceased)
Ernest Rodley initially joined the RAFVR in 1937 and was commissioned and posted to Bomber Command in 1941. Joining 97 Sqn flying Manchesters he was involved in the attack on the Scharnhorst, Prinz Eugen and Gneisenau whilst in Brest harbour and in the famous Augsberg daylight raid for which he received a DFC. At the end of 1942 he joined RAF Scampton helping to convert to Lancaster Bombers before rejoining 97 Sqn at Bourn as a Pathfinder. After a spell at Warboys as an instructor he took com
Signature Value : £50
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Up to 1942 Bomber Command operations were beset by many problems. The means they had to accurately pinpoint the target and assault it were totally lacking, in fact their Commander in Chief, Air Marshall Arthur Harris later wrote : It was glaringly obvious that the average crew in average weather could not find their way to the target. Between February and August 1942 an effort was made to rectify this through the development of a specialised target finding and target marking force, which became known as the Pathfinders. Activated on August 15 this new group was formed under the leadership of their AOC Air Commodore Don Bennett, himself a very experienced pre war pilot with exceptional navigational skills. The aircrews of No. 8 (PFF) Group were tasked with marking out the designated targets but the formation of this group was initially opposed by Harris. He felt that the ranks of his Main Force could be weakened if a high number of experienced and highly skilled crews were taken by this specialist unit, leading to a lessening of skills within the other bomber groups. He agreed however for an alternative scheme whereby complete units were assigned to the Pathfinder Force and the stage was then set for what was to become the Main Offensive of Bomber Command. The first four Squadrons - Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) - were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. In the absence of any specialist Target Markers the crews were initially forced to operate using standard flares and the early raids produced variable results, with cloud cover often proving the main obstacle in accurate marking. However during the winter of 1942 the introduction of the ground guided marking system, OBOE, marked a quantum leap in accurate target marking and by mid 1943 Pathfinder techniques had been developed for all forms of weather conditions, including nights when complete overcast existed.Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment such as H2S to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. This third and final painting in Gerald Coulsons Tribute to Bomber Command depicts Lancaster Bombers of No.8 (PFF) Group returning late after a gruelling operation over Berlin. It is Christmas 1943 and the winter landscape reflects the early morning sunrise as the weary crews approach the safety of their Cambridgeshire base.

Winter Ops by Gerald Coulson. 		Up to 1942 Bomber Command operations were beset by many problems. The means they had to accurately pinpoint the target and assault it were totally lacking, in fact their Commander in Chief, Air Marshall Arthur Harris later wrote : It was glaringly obvious that the average crew in average weather could not find their way to the target. Between February and August 1942 an effort was made to rectify this through the development of a specialised target finding and target marking force, which became known as the Pathfinders. Activated on August 15 this new group was formed under the leadership of their AOC Air Commodore Don Bennett, himself a very experienced pre war pilot with exceptional navigational skills. The aircrews of No. 8 (PFF) Group were tasked with marking out the designated targets but the formation of this group was initially opposed by Harris. He felt that the ranks of his Main Force could be weakened if a high number of experienced and highly skilled crews were taken by this specialist unit, leading to a lessening of skills within the other bomber groups. He agreed however for an alternative scheme whereby complete units were assigned to the Pathfinder Force and the stage was then set for what was to become the Main Offensive of Bomber Command. The first four Squadrons - Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) - were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. In the absence of any specialist Target Markers the crews were initially forced to operate using standard flares and the early raids produced variable results, with cloud cover often proving the main obstacle in accurate marking. However during the winter of 1942 the introduction of the ground guided marking system, OBOE, marked a quantum leap in accurate target marking and by mid 1943 Pathfinder techniques had been developed for all forms of weather conditions, including nights when complete overcast existed.Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment such as H2S to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. This third and final painting in Gerald Coulsons Tribute to Bomber Command depicts Lancaster Bombers of No.8 (PFF) Group returning late after a gruelling operation over Berlin. It is Christmas 1943 and the winter landscape reflects the early morning sunrise as the weary crews approach the safety of their Cambridgeshire base.

Winter Ops by Gerald Coulson

Moonlit Lancaster by Gerald Coulson. 		Up to 1942 Bomber Command operations were beset by many problems. The means they had to accurately pinpoint the target and assault it were totally lacking, in fact their Commander in Chief, Air Marshall Arthur Harris later wrote : It was glaringly obvious that the average crew in average weather could not find their way to the target. Between February and August 1942 an effort was made to rectify this through the development of a specialised target finding and target marking force, which became known as the Pathfinders. Activated on August 15 this new group was formed under the leadership of their AOC Air Commodore Don Bennett, himself a very experienced pre war pilot with exceptional navigational skills. The aircrews of No. 8 (PFF) Group were tasked with marking out the designated targets but the formation of this group was initially opposed by Harris. He felt that the ranks of his Main Force could be weakened if a high number of experienced and highly skilled crews were taken by this specialist unit, leading to a lessening of skills within the other bomber groups. He agreed however for an alternative scheme whereby complete units were assigned to the Pathfinder Force and the stage was then set for what was to become the Main Offensive of Bomber Command. The first four Squadrons - Nos. 7 (Stirlings) 35 (Halifax) 83 (Lancaster) and 156 (Wellingtons) - were based at a clutch of airfields between Cambridge and Huntingdon. In the absence of any specialist Target Markers the crews were initially forced to operate using standard flares and the early raids produced variable results, with cloud cover often proving the main obstacle in accurate marking. However during the winter of 1942 the introduction of the ground guided marking system, OBOE, marked a quantum leap in accurate target marking and by mid 1943 Pathfinder techniques had been developed for all forms of weather conditions, including nights when complete overcast existed.Pathfinder crews used a combination of personal skill and technical equipment such as H2S to locate their targets. Often flying against overwhelming odds and in appalling conditions they transformed the performance of a bomber force that in 1941 was dropping almost half its bombs on open countryside. This third and final painting in Gerald Coulsons Tribute to Bomber Command depicts Lancaster Bombers of No.8 (PFF) Group returning late after a gruelling operation over Berlin. It is Christmas 1943 and the winter landscape reflects the early morning sunrise as the weary crews approach the safety of their Cambridgeshire base.

Winter Ops by Gerald Coulson.
Signatures on these products
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature and is for the unmatted version where available. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo




Wing Commander Ernest Rodley DSO DFC AFC AE (deceased)
Died : 2004
*Signature Value : £50

Editions signed :

Clipped Signature.


Rodley, Ernest
(Wing Commander Ernest Rodley DSO DFC AFC AE (deceased))

Ernest Rodley initially joined the RAFVR in 1937 and was commissioned and posted to Bomber Command in 1941. Joining 97 Sqn flying Manchesters he was involved in the attack on the Scharnhorst, Prinz Eugen and Gneisenau whilst in Brest harbour and in the famous Augsberg daylight raid for which he received a DFC. At the end of 1942 he joined RAF Scampton helping to convert to Lancaster Bombers before rejoining 97 Sqn at Bourn as a Pathfinder. After a spell at Warboys as an instructor he took command of 128 Sqn at Wyton, flying Mosquitoes as part of the Light Night Strike Force and involvede in doing 7 trips to Berlin. Staying with this unit he finished the war having completed 87 operations. In 1946 Ernest Rodley joined British South American Airways flying Lancastrians across the Atlantic from a tented Heathrow. On 13th April 1950 he was checked out on the new Comet jet airliner by John Cunningham and became the worlds first jet endorsed Airline Transport Pilots Licence holder. Ernest Rodley retired from BOAC in 1968 as a Boeing 707 Captain, joining Olympic Airways a few days later. He amassed an amazing 28000 flying hours. Sadly he died in 2004.

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