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Channel Dash

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CHANNEL DASH
Limited Edition
by Robert Taylor

Print Sizes: 33 x 25¼"

Edition Size: 1000

Secondary Market

On January 1st, 1942, at just 29 years of age, Adolf Galland was given full command of the Luftwaffe’s Fighter Arm. Almost immediately Hitler personally gave his young General the onerous task of providing air cover for one of the most daring naval operations of the World War II – code name Operation Cerberus.

At dawn on 12 February 1942, a German battle fleet rounded the Cherbourg peninsula. Their destination was Germany. Undetected, the pride of the German Navy - the two battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst and the cruiser Prinz Eugen and supporting vessels - had escaped from the French port of Brest, and were making an audacious dash through the English Channel in broad daylight and under the noses of the enemy to the relative safety of the Elbe Estuary. But first they must sail through the Straits of Dover, one of the narrowest and most heavily defended straits in the world.

The battle fleet would pass within a few miles of the British coast, within easy striking distance of the Royal Air Force. Secrecy, careful planning, ample air cover and the element of surprise would be the key components of the exercise. “Everything depends on the air umbrella with which you have to cover the naval units,” Hitler told Galland. So successful was the air protection afforded by Galland’s pilots that the entire fleet made it safely through the Channel. Operation Cerberus is remembered today as one of the most remarkable air-sea adventures of World War II.

Never, perhaps, has such a significant air-sea operation been portrayed with such style as by Robert Taylor in the now classic Masterwork, “THE CHANNEL DASH.” Seen are Messerschmitt Me109s of JG-2 as they fly low escort above the mighty German warships. In company with a flotilla of escort vessels, the fleet is led by the Scharnhorst, followed by the Gneisenau with the Prinz Eugen steaming up behind, as they round the tip of the Cherbourg Peninsula.

In addition to the artist Robert Taylor this print is personally signed by Adolf Galland, two Luftwaffe Aces, and two Kriegsmarine Captains - all veterans of Operation Cerberus:

  • Generalleutnant ADOLF GALLAND Knight’s Cross w/Oak Leaves, Swords, & Diamonds
  • Major GERHARD SCHOPFEL Knight’s Cross
  • Korvettekapitän FRIEDRICH-KARL PAUL Knight’s Cross
  • Oberleutnant ADOLF GLUNZ Knight’s Cross w/Oak Leaves
  • Oberleutnant-zur-See GERD-DIETRICH SCHNEIDER Knight’s Cross

Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.