Cannon Hit depicts Flt. Lt. Eric Stanley Lock of No. 611 Squadron in a Spitfire Mk V during the summer of 1941. Lock had already emerged as one of the RAF's leading fighter pilots during the Battle of Britain before continuing offensive operations across the Channel.
The Relic: Spitfire Mk Vb AD391
The aluminum relic associated with the artwork comes from Spitfire Mk Vb AD391, an aircraft flown by No. 313 Squadron. On 23 February 1942, AD391 crashed into the sea near Shoeburyness, Essex. The wreckage remained submerged until portions were recovered decades later.
Recovered aluminum wing panel from Spitfire Mk Vb AD391.
Detail of the surviving Spitfire AD391 material used for relics.
The recovered port-wing panel retains original rivets and traces of wartime roundel paint. Material from the wreck was also used as reference during restoration work on another Spitfire, preserving structural details from the original aircraft.
Eric “Sawn Off Lockie” Lock
Lock became one of the most successful RAF pilots of the Battle of Britain. On 14 July 1941, while flying with No. 611 Squadron over northern France, he engaged a Messerschmitt Bf 109 in a Spitfire Mk Vb and added another victory to his combat record.
Less than three weeks later, on 3 August 1941, Lock disappeared during a low-level mission over northern France. Neither he nor his aircraft was recovered. Cannon Hit connects his combat story with surviving material from another wartime Spitfire.
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