Royal Naval Thunder

Medium: Oil on canvas (1984)
Display: Artist’s collection

Image

A battleship of the Royal Navy is depicted in action during the Second World War.

Historical Note

NAVAL GUNFIRE SUPPORT
Naval Gunfire Support was critical to the success of the many allied amphibious landings of the Second World War, from the invasion of Sicily to the herald of occupied Europe’s liberation with OPERATION OVERLORD, the D-Day landings at Normandy on 6th June, 1944. The big and little guns of allied warships often intervened in the events ashore, both as preparatory bombardments and to engage selected targets. In many cases, it was naval gunfire that made the difference between success and failure, life and death, for allied units fighting on the beaches and inland in the desperate hours during which a vulnerable hold on the narrow beachfront meant everything.