![]() Bomber Command, 460 Squadron RAAF back row 1-r: Sergeant D G Champkin of the RAF, flight engineer Pilot Officer Thomas Lynch, rear gunner Flying Officer Hector Harrison, wireless operator Flying Officer Ronald Neal, mid upper gunner front row l-r: Flying Officer Marmion Carroll, navigator Squadron Leader Eric Jarman, pilot Flying Officer Francis Jackson, bomb aimer. Their names appear on the helmets and are repeated on the wreath-like ribbon that scrolls across the canvas, complete with their RAAF wings floating like cherubs. They are shown wearing their full flying gear including 'Mae West' life jackets, flying helmets and headphones. ![]() The crew is depicted in front of the menacing image of their Avro Lancaster bomber, looming above them like a bird. She later wrote to her brother: "It was horrible having to finish the picture after the men were lost. The artist had only made preliminary sketches of the crew, but she returned to her London studio to complete the painting, working from pencil sketches (also in the Memorial's collection), and official photographs. By morning, Bowen's subjects were reported missing. That night their operation took them over Friedrichshafen, a vital industrial centre on the shores of Lake Constance. Preoccupied with their flight preparations, the men expressed no particular interest in Bowen's attempt to draw them, but their bravery and youth captivated the artist. On 27 April 1944 she began a series of pencil sketches of a bomber crew comprising of six Australians and one Englishman. Bowen was commissioned to paint a typical crew that flew Lancaster bombers on the intense bombing raids over Germany and occupied Europe. This was the most highly decorated Australian squadron in Bomber Command, but had suffered the highest casualties. In her capacity as an official war artist, Stella Bowen was stationed with the Royal Air Force at Binbrook, Lincolnshire, where No. Bomber crew is a group portrait of a Lancaster bomber crew representing the young Australians involved in the air war over Europe during the Second World War.
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