THE RIPPLE EFFECT - Original Acrylic on Canvas

 A dramatic original acrylic painting by Australian aviation artist Drew Harrison, depicting Hawker Typhoons of No. 175 Squadron RAF attacking retreating German armour and transport during the closing stages of the Battle of Normandy.

On 18 August 1944, with German forces attempting to escape the rapidly closing Falaise pocket, twelve Typhoons of 175 Squadron struck heavily congested roads and lanes near Vimoutiers. Pilots described the routes below as being “chockablock” with enemy vehicles, many already burning from earlier attacks.

Armed with powerful rocket projectiles, the Typhoon had become one of the Allies’ most formidable ground-attack aircraft. Rather than releasing a complete salvo, pilots could fire their rockets in pairs — a technique referred to as “rippling” — allowing successive targets to be engaged during the same attack.

Harrison places the viewer directly amongst the action as the Typhoons sweep across the battlefield at low level, rockets leaving the rails while German armour and vehicles burn beneath them. The intense fire and smoke of the attack contrast sharply with the open French countryside beyond, giving the composition an immediate sense of speed, danger and scale.

Remarkably, despite heavy return fire, all of the squadron’s crews survived the sortie, although one pilot was forced to crash-land behind Allied lines following an overspeeding propeller. Living up to their motto “Stop at Nothing”, 175
Squadron would fly another two maximum-effort operations that same day.

A bold, highly detailed work from an exciting contemporary Australian aviation artist, The Ripple Effect combines meticulous aircraft detail with an unusually visceral depiction of the Typhoon’s ground-attack role during the Normandy campaign.

Acrylic on canvas. 36" x 24".