BUTCHER BIRD DOWN JIGSAW PUZZLE

Two birds of prey clash in a battle for survival. Probably two of the three finest propeller driven fighters (the third being the P 51 Mustang) of World War II, the Luftwaffe Focke-Wulf Fw 190 (aptly nicknamed the “Butcher Bird” by allied aircrew) and the Royal Airforce Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX. Both warbirds were heavily armed with an array of 20mm cannons and machine guns, these birds of prey had claws. This scene depicts a “Butcher Bird” losing its encounter with a Spitfire over France in February 1944. These encounters were commonplace in the months preceding D-Day while the allied air forces battled it out with the Luftwaffe for air superiority, a battle the Luftwaffe would ultimately lose.

Keith Burns is an award winning aviation artist and commercial illustrator. He has illustrated comics for the past decade with Johnny Red being the most recent. In 2012 he joined the Guild of Aviation Artists. In 2015 he won the Messier Dowty award for best acrylic painting in show, in 2016 he was made a full member of the Guild, had his first solo exhibition at the RAF Club in London and won Aviation Painting of the Year. He is currently illustrating the Ladybird WW2 series written by James Holland.