Return to Decimomannu

Oil on stretched canvas 30” x 23”

This painting was commissioned by an ex Royal Navy Sea Harrier senior engineer.

The scene depicts Sea Harrier ZE698, from 899 Squadron, returning from a 1 v 2 combat exercise, operating out of Decimomannu Air Base, Sardinia, circa 1986.

It is always important to me to get the details correct, but especially so when the customer is an ex senior engineer who knows every panel line and fixing. Models are good to use as a reference, but no substitute for seeing an actual aircraft up close, so after constructing my reference model I also undertook a visit to the Fleet Air Museum to study their FRS1 on display. The Shar is quite large on the canvas, so the detailed reference material was invaluable in positioning the correct panel lines and various protrusions.