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| Aviation Art Collecton - No.68 Sqn |
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| Aircraft for : No.68 Sqn RAF | ||
| A list of all aircraft known to have been flown by No.68 Sqn RAF. A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | ||
| Squadron | Info | |
Beaufighter 
Manufacturer : Bristol Production Began : 1940 Number Built : 5564 | Beaufighter BRISTOL BEAUFIGHTER The Bristol Beaufighter was a Torpedo Bomber and had a crew of two. with a maximum speed of 330mph and a ceiling of 29,000 feet. maximum normal range of 1500 miles but could be extended to 1750 miles. The Bristol Beaufighter carried four 20mm cannon in the belly of the aircraft and upto six .303in browning machine guns in the wings. it could also carry eight 3 -inch rockets, 1605 lb torpedo or a bomb load of 1,000 lb. The Bristol Beaufighter first flew in July 1939 and with some modifications entered service with the Royal Air Force in July 1940. In the winter of 1940 - 1941 the Beaufighter was used as a night fighter. and in March 1941 the aircraft was used at Coastal Command as a long range strike aircraft. and in 1941, the Beaufighter arrived in North Africa and used as a forward ground attack aircraft. The Bristol Beaufighter was used also in India, Burma and Australia. A total of 5,564 Beaufighters were built until production in Britain finished in 1945, but a further 364 were built in Australia for the Australian Air Force | |
Mosquito 
Manufacturer : De Havilland Production Began : 1940 Retired : 1955 Number Built : 7781 | Mosquito Used as a night fighter, fighter bomber, bomber and Photo-reconnaissance, with a crew of two, Maximum speed was 425 mph, at 30,300 feet, 380mph at 17,000ft. and a ceiling of 36,000feet, maximum range 3,500 miles. the Mosquito was armed with four 20mm Hospano cannon in belly and four .303 inch browning machine guns in nose. Coastal strike aircraft had eight 3-inch Rockets under the wings, and one 57mm shell gun in belly. The Mossie at it was known made its first flight on 25th November 1940, and the mosquito made its first operational flight for the Royal Air Force as a reconnaissance unit based at Benson. In early 1942, a modified version (mark II) operated as a night fighter with 157 and 23 squadron's. In April 1943 the first De Haviland Mosquito saw service in the Far east and in 1944 The Mosquito was used at Coastal Command in its strike wings. Bomber Commands offensive against Germany saw many Mosquitos, used as photo Reconnaissance aircraft, Fighter Escorts, and Path Finders. The Mosquito stayed in service with the Royal Air Force until 1955. and a total of 7781 mosquito's were built. | |
| Signatures for : No.68 Sqn RAF | |||
| A list of all signatures from our database who are associated with this squadron. A profile page is available by clicking their name. | |||
| Name | Info | ||
 Flying Officer Eric Loveland Click the name above to see prints signed by Flying Officer Eric Loveland | Flying Officer Eric Loveland Flew the Mosquito with No.68 Squadron. | ||
Wing Commander Douglas Oxby DSO DFC DFM* Click the name above to see prints signed by Wing Commander Douglas Oxby DSO DFC DFM*
| Wing Commander Douglas Oxby DSO DFC DFM* Wing Commander Douglas Oxby, DSO, DFC, DFM and Bar, wartime night fighter navigator, was born on July 10, 1920. Douglas Alfred Oxby was born in Cardiff in 1920 and educated at Canton High School there. He worked as a barrister’s clerk before enlisting in the RAF in 1940. Wing Commander Douglas Oxbys combat career lasted, with one rest from operations, from the autumn of 1941 until the spring of 1945. Douglas Oxby was responsible for 22 successful interceptions, making him the RAF’s top-scoring radar operator of the Second World War. These combat victories were achieved first in Beaufighters with the Australian pilot Flight Lieutenant Mervyn Shipard,with 68 squadron there first air victory was a Heinkel HE 111 bomber which they shot down over llangefri in North Wales. They were next posted to 89 Squadron, operating first out of Egypt and then, as a detachment of the squadron, sent to join in the desperate air defence of Malta, where they were in the thick of the action. From July 1942, a particularly intense month, they often took off to intercept the enemy with bombs falling on their airfield all around them. In this month and during the resumption of the enemy’s air offensive in October that year they accounted for about eight Axis aircraft, mainly Ju88s and He111s. Oxby took part in the defenc eof Tobruk and in June 1943 Oxby was posted back to the UK where he was commissioned. In August 1944 Oxby was posted to 219 Squadron (Mosquitoes) commanded by Peter Green, fresh himself from a busy summer intercepting V1 “buzz bombs”. Green and Oxby now embarked on a period of remarkable success as the RAF’s night fighters grappled with the enemy’s tactical bombers and fighters over the battlefields of northwest Europe. Their most spectacular achievement was the destruction of three Ju87s in a single sortie over Nijmegen in the Netherlands, and they continued to take a toll both of this type and the Ju88. Once feared as the “Stuka” by the Polish, French and British armies to which its presence had been the bane in the early battles of the war, the Ju87 had by this time been exposed as a lumbering anachronism. For his service and achievement he was awarded two Distinguished Flying Medals (he had begun flying as a sergeant) a Distinguished Flying Cross and a Distinguished Service Order. His combat Service saw him in North Wales, and the Mediterranean and North Africa and operations supporting the North West Europe campaign over the Netherlands and Germany. After the war Oxby was granted a permanent commission and rose to the rank of wing commander. After appointments that included directing staff of the Joint Services Staff College and assistant air adviser, British High Commission, Ottawa, he retired from the RAF in 1969. Thereafter he made his home in Canada where he was a civil servant in the Ministry of Health in Ontario until 1984. Sadly he died on April 10, 2009, aged 88. | ||
 Sqn Ldr John Pemberton Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Sqn Ldr John Pemberton | Sqn Ldr John Pemberton Also known as Zbysek Necas, Czechoslovakian 'Nicky' joined 68 Squadron as a Navigator and flew Mosquitos as night time defence over the British mainland, accounting for 3 German aircraft. Post War he flew Lightnings and Phantoms in the Cold War against the Russians. | ||
 Flight Lieutenant Merv Shipard DFC* Click the name or photo above to see prints signed by Flight Lieutenant Merv Shipard DFC*
| Flight Lieutenant Merv Shipard DFC* In August 1941 Australian Merv Shipard was posted to 68 Sqn, along with his radar operator Douggie Oxby (later to become the RAFs top scoring radar operator, assisting in 22 kills), here they scored their first victory. On the 1st of November 1941 Mervyn Shipard DFC intercepted and destroyed a bomb laden Heinkel III headed for Liverpool. The stricken aircraft crashed into farmland near Llangefni on Anglesey – which is an island off Wales. Shipard and Oxby deliberately sought out more opportunities together to become involved in the thick of the action. In early 1942 they were posted to Egypt to join 89 Sqn, before being sent to Malta on 22nd June, where they quickly scored six confirmed kills, and probably one more. They the claimed 6 kills in North Africa. Merv Shipard was posted back to Australia, having achieved 13 confirmed victories. Merv Shipard joined Qantas in 1957 he started flying L1049, Electras and then 707s his final flight was in June 1973 after which he was appointed B707 flight simulator instructor, retireing from Qantas in June 1979. Sadly Mervyn Charles Shipard DFC and Bar passed away on the 1st March 2003. | ||
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