An autographed 'Dam Busters' menu from the party given to No 617 Squadron following the legendary raid on the Rhur Dams, Operation Chastise in 1943 sold at Bonhams' annual sale of Important Collectors' Motor Cars & Fine Automobilia, yesterday (December 8) at London's Olympia.
It sold for a sky-high £5,750 (above its estimate of 3,000-3,500).
 Richard Todd played Wing Commander Guy Gibson 1955's Dam Busters film |
Following the recent death of the late Richard Todd OBE, who appeared as Wing Commander Guy Gibson in the 1955 film The Dam Busters, this rare piece of memorabilia is a prestigious legacy.
Alongside this, a collection of ephemera relating to the Ferrari activities of George Horne in New Zealand also caused a great stir in the auction room.
A collection of press cuttings, technical literature, press releases, customs documents and letters, including those signed by Enzo Ferrari, ignited fierce competition between bidders.
One lot in particular provoked a battle between two Ferrari enthusiasts and sold for £25,300, over 25 times its pre-sale estimate of £800-1,200.
Meanwhile, Captain Sir Malcolm Campbell's BARC Brooklands 120mph badge sold for an equally impressive £5,750 (estimated at 2,500-3,000).
For collectors of war and aviation memorabilia, at Paul Fraser Collectibles we have another superb piece of history for sale: a signed 10 x 8 photograph by eight of the 10 man crew of the American Air Force B-29 Bomber 'Bockscar' which dropped the second Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki, Japan on August 8, 1945.
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