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Air Armada
- The Hardest Days -

by Robert Taylor


In just six weeks Hitler’s forces had overrun Western Europe as once-proud armies fell before the might of the German ‘Blitzkrieg’. It was a devastating defeat, now Britain stood alone and few thought she could survive.

As Churchill pledged that Britain would never surrender, a German invasion seemed inevitable. But before any invasion could take place, the Luftwaffe must neutralise the RAF and win control of the skies over southern England. Awaiting them was a small, but resilient band of young men, the pilots of RAF Fighter Command.

First the Germans attacked the coastal convoys, hoping to draw the RAF en-masse into battle. They failed. And then on 12 August, they turned their full attention to the forward fighter bases and radar stations, hoping to obliterate them once and for all.
From Norway in the north, through the Low Countries and northern France to Brittany in the west, the Luftwaffe threw every available aircraft into the attack. For the young men of Fighter Command the next
seven days of fighting would leave them exhausted and all but spent: They were to be the hardest days of the Battle of Britain, culminating on Sunday 18 August.

"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 (Mölders) to escort the Do17s of KG76 for yet another deadly attack on the RAF.
Away in the distance, Me110s from EPRG 210 also prepare to join the epic encounters that lie ahead.

Part one of a three print set The Hardest Days to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.
Matching numbers of all three editions guaranteed to those reserving full sets when ordering "Air Armada".


25¼" x 33"

Available in the following editions

450 Limited edition   Signed by one He111 pilot and one Bf109 pilot. $320
350 Anniversary edition    Signed by one He111 pilot and four Bf109 pilots. Sold Out
25 Artist's proof   Signed by one He111 pilot and four Bf109 pilots. Sold Out
10  Tribute proof   Sold Out





Limited edition signatures:
Oberst Hajo Hermann Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob



The signatories
Oberst Hajo Hermann
A formidable figure in the Luftwaffe, Hajo Hermann had flown as an He111 bomber pilot during the Battle of Britain with 7./KG4. He flew against Malta, and then in the Arctic against the convoys. He flew over 320 operations with KG4, and later II./JG30, where he sank 12 ships. In 1942 he was appointed to the Luftwaffe Operational Staff. In July 1943 he was responsible for the formation of JG300 and founded the highly successful Wilde Sau (Wild Boar) tactics of free roaming FW190 night fighters. In December 1943 he was appointed Luftwaffe Inspector of Aerial Defence. At the end of 1944 he led the 9th Flieger Division and created the famous Rammkommando Elbe. At the end of the war he was captured by the Russians, spending long years in captivity. He had 9 aerial victories and was awarded the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
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Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob
After success in Poland and France with 9./JG54, Hans-Ekkehard Bob was promoted to Staffelkapitän as the Battle of Britain began in 1940, and by October he already had eighteen victories to his credit. In 1941 he was awarded the Knight’s Cross. Transferring to the Eastern Front his victories rose steadily to 50 by September 1942. Returning to the West, his group flew in the Defence of the Reich and in April 1943 he rammed a B-17 Flying Fortress. Returning to the Eastern Front as Kommandeur of IV./JG3, he ended the war as Adjutant of Galland’s JV44 in the West. In over 700 missions he scored 60 victories..
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