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| Faith Hope & Charity |
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| DESCRIPTION |
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| 16 x 11.5 Inch Collector Size Unframed Lithograph $40.00
With Italy's entry into WW II on June 10 1940 the epic two-and-one-half-year siege of Malta began. Symbolizing the defiant resistance of the people and defenders of that tiny island the legend of "Faith Hope and Charity" grew from a handful of Gloster Sea Gladiators which initially comprised Malta's sole aerial defense. Until the arrival of the more modern Hawker Hurricanes these obsolescent biplanes fought the Regia Aeronautica alone in the skies above Malta. Only six or seven Gladiators were assembled from the shipment of eighteen crated aircraft which had been delivered by the HMS Glorious. Others were utilized for spare parts and three had been dispatched still crated to Egypt. Though hugely outnumbered the defenders fought on raising the morale of the citizens of Malta and denying the Italians mastery of the sky. Suffering from a constant shortage of spare parts tools and equipment the devoted ground support crews were never able to keep more than three Gladiators operational at any point in time. Only one of these Gladiators was totally lost in aerial combat and the sole surviving aircraft was presented to the people of Malta and today stands in their National War Museum as a proud symbol of courage and endurance. In Stan Stoke's painting a Sea Gladiator piloted by Flight Lt. James Pickering tangles with a Fiat C.R. 42 over Malta in 1940 while an Italian Savoia S.79 tri-engined bomber passes by in the background. The Gloster Gladiator represented the zenith of development of the classic biplane fighter aircraft a design formula which characterized an entire era from WW I until the advent of the monoplane fighter just before WW II. Gloster's naval model of the Gladiator was equipped with a Bristol Mercury VIIIA engine providing a maximum speed of 253 MPH a rate of climb of 2300 feet per minute an operational ceiling of 32200 feet and a range of 415 miles. The Gladiator was armed with four .303 inch Browning machine guns and incorporated several advanced features including an enclosed cockpit and wing flaps. One top RAF ace Sqd. Ldr. Pattle attained eleven victories flying the Gladiator. A total of 527 Gladiators were produced and the aircraft served in twelve different countries. The Italians were overly persistent in their emphasis on biplane fighters stemming from their successes with these highly maneuverable machines during the Spanish Civil War. Employing distinctive Warren-truss type interplane bracing the C.R. 42 was powered by a Fiat A74 R.C. 38 engine providing a maximum speed of 274 MPH and a range of 485 miles. The C.R. 42 was more lightly armed than the Gladiators it opposed possessing only two 12.7mm Breda machine guns. The C.R 42 served on all of Italy's fronts including North and East Africa France Britain the Balkans and Russia. Exported to Hungary Sweden and Belgium the C.R. 42 ironically served alongside the Gladiator in other theaters of operation during WW II. |
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