The Longest Minute by Michael Rondot

'Just off target there was a lot of flak. It's the first time I have ever seen tracer coming up at me. It was the longest minute of my life.'
These sobering words brought home the reality of war when a Jaguar pilot described his feelings to waiting press reporters, after coming under fire front AAA during an attack on Iraqi forces in Kuwait on 20 January 1991.

The remorseless precision pounding of strategic and tactical Iraqi targets in the Kuwait Theatre of Operations was barely three days old when these words were spoken, but six weeks later, as the hostilities of Operation Desert Storm reached a climax, RAF jaguar pilots still counted the seconds during the long minutes of their dive attacks onto heavily defended targets.

Success was important, since many of the targets posed a serious threat to both allied ground and naval forces. Artillery and missile sites were attacked in equal measure with airfields, barracks and ammunition dumps during the Jaguars' six week war.

Brilliantly led by Wing Commander Bill Pixton AFC, the Jaguars, based at Al Muharraq, Bahrain, flew over 600 combat missions during Operation Desert Storm without loss, suffering only two hits from anti-aircraft fire Often flying into treacherous weather and heavy calibre AAA, the Jaguar pilots dispelled many myths about their aircraft during these tense times

'We pushed the aeroplane so far outside its flight envelope that I wouldn't have believed it could do it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes' was how one pilot described taking his fully loaded Jaguar transonic at over 34,000 feet during one mission ingress.

Michael Rondot's painting depicts the moment when the last man to attack, the number 8 at the tail end of the formation watches and waits before tipping in to attack. For him the longest minute is about to begin. The first 4 Jaguars have already attacked and are 'feet wet' returning to base, having dropped their load of 1000lb bombs on the target. During the next few minutes the second four-ship will press home their attack, releasing sixteen 1000lb airburst bombs totally devastating the target before escaping out to sea, away from the coastal AAA flak belt and back to their base at bahrain.

Michael Rondot flew on this mission and on 28 others during Operation Desert Storm. His Gulf War series of paintings reflect an authority and atmosphere which can only come from having witnessed the stark realities of war from the cockpit of a combat aircraft. The Longest Minute is the first limited edition in this collection and is signed by all 22 Operational Jaguar pilots who flew combat missions during the Gulf War, providing collectors with a truly historic print.

Signatories ALL 22 Jaguar Pilots for Gulf War I

Shiny II by Michael Rondot Print size: 25 x 19ins approx Primary Edition size: 500 Price: £95.00 Artist Proof Edition size: 50 Price: SOLD OUT Remarque Edition size: Price: £235.00 PRINT TERMINOLOGY - see below Please Select Your Print Normal Print £95.00 Remarqued Print £235.00