"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
- British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, commenting on the British airmen in the Battle of Britain
The Lysander is a two-seat reconnaissance and artillery spotting monoplane defined by Specification A 39/34 in response to Operational Requirement OR. 18. Three squadrons of Mk. Is and three of Mk. Us equipped during 1938/39 moved to France with BEF in 1939; about 50 Westland Lysanders were shot down and 30 destroyed on the ground in May 1940.
This particular Lysander was piloted by Hugh Verity and attached to No. 161 Squadron, which is on display at the Imperial War Museum located at Duxford, Cambridgeshire. Now in stock!
Dimensions:
Wingspan: 8.25 inches
Length: 5.25 inches
Release Date: February 2010
Historical Account: "Jiminy Cricket" - Lysanders of 161 Squadron (Special Duties) formed part of the Special Operations Executive (S.O.E) based at Tempsford in Bedfordshire from April 1942. The role most associated with the squadron was that of inserting or retrieving secret agents, resistance fighters or downed aircrew after making a pre-arranged landing in enemy occupied territory. These clandestine operations were usually flown at low level and in full moonlight.
Squadron Leader Hugh Verity DFC took command of the Lysander flight in 1943, overseeing one of the busiest periods of airborne undercover operations and completing a personal tally of over 30 missions. His trusty plane, Westland Lysander III, V9673, MA-J, was given the nickname ‘Jiminy Cricket’ and the cartoon character was painted below the cockpit along with ‘V for Victory’ markings that were added after each mission.
Hugh Verity gave an excellent account of his wartime exploits in his book ‘We landed by Moonlight’ and The Imperial War Museum at Duxford has on display a Lysander restored in the colours of Verity’s Lysander V9673. |
