Ground Operational Exercise (GROPE) by Leslie Cole, oil on canvas.

Leslie Cole’s painting represents a ground operational exercise or 'GROPE' – a form of synthetic training for air crew which, to test concentration, simulated the demanding navigational conditions of a bombing raid.

Flashing screens to emulate exploding bombs, flak and tracer shells, were assembled around an image of the enemy target, while moving torches stood in for searchlights. Cole painted this just before he became an Official War Artist based in Malta. Recording the work of the RAF, aircraft construction, and naval subjects, his depictions of the war effort had impressed the Committee, which purchased many of his paintings before commissioning more. From the Air Ministry allocation of works from the War Artists' Advisory Committee, 1947. Original accession number: LD2464. On loan from the RAF Air Historical Branch (MOD). Copyright: Crown (expired) / RAF Museum.