|
|
|
|
|
 |
|||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||
| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
|
United States Air Force
Aviation Art Prints  Aviation Artists Anthony Saunders  American Aviation |
[UP] - British Aviation - American Aviation - Battle of Britain - Original Paintings - Postcards |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Text for the above items : |
A Welcome Return by Anthony Saunders. The relieved but weary crew members of Ol Gappy of the 379th Bomb Group, as they nurse their battle scarred B-17G back to their base at Kimbolton. Close behind them, the remainder of the group, relieved to see familiar territory, makes its final approach after the grueling mission to Meresburg on 11 September 1944. |
Berlin Bound by Anthony Saunders. In 1944 Berlin was probably the most defended city in the world. The Luftwaffe had kept what reserves it had for planes to defend Berlin. On March 6th, 1944, The USAAF were involved in the massive air raid on Berlin, 69 B17s were lost - but the Luftwaffe lost 160 planes. Whereas the US 8th Air Force could recover from these aircraft losses, the German Luftwaffe could not. By the end of the war, the 8th Air Force and the Royal Air Force had destroyed 70% of Berlin. |
Final Roster by Anthony Saunders. On the evening of 5th June 1944, at a dozen airfields across southern England, more than 13,000 American paratroopers prepared themselves for a mission that would change the course of history. The next morning these brave young men found themselves at the forefront of the bitter fighting to secure the right flank of the Normandy beach-head. The odds against them were huge and, if they failed, the American amphibious landings on Utah and Omaha beaches would face disaster - the destiny of the US First Army rested squarely on the shoulders of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions. |
Head for Home by Anthony Saunders. (APB) When a fighter escort with a bombers range first appeared over Berlin, Goering knew the end of the war was only a matter of time. when that particular fighter escort turned out to be the Mustang, perhaps the most outstanding of all WWII fighters, the time was all too short. Unlike the RAFs Spitfire and Hurricane, that had succeeded in the Battle of Britain, Goerings Luftwaffe failed to protect its own air space, leaving allied air forces unhampered to bomb Germany by both day and night. Two battle weary Mustangs of 357th Fighter Group, with ammunition spent and fuel low, have broken away from the main bomber force to head across the Channel for home. |
Battle of the Brenner by Anthony Saunders. The last remaining units of the fascist Italian Air Force attempt to engage B25s from the 340th Bomb Group who have successfully destroyed a vital enemy rail bridge in the strategic Brenner Pass, northern Italy, 10 April 1945. The enemy Me109s are completely routed by escorting P51 Mustangs of the 325th Fighter Group who are quickly on the scene. There was only one way the Germans were going to re-supply their beleaguered army in Italy against the relentless assault of the Allies pushing northwards - and that was through the Brenner Pass in the Alps. The Allies knew that if they could destroy this strategic labyrinth of heavily defended road and rail bridges, the enemy would either be forced to surrender, or perish. And the task of destroying these bridges fell to men of the US Twelfth and Fifteenth Air Forces who must fly their heavily-laden bombers dangerously close to the rugged Alpine peaks, and endure a pounding from the anti-aircraft guns lining the narrow pass below. Not to mention any roving enemy fighters, or the turbulent weather over the mountains. |
Clash of Eagles by Anthony Saunders. P-51 Mustangs of the 20th Fighter Group, flying out of Kings Cliffe to engage Me109s from JG77 in a furiously contested dogfight. Below them a formation of B-17s from the 379th Bomb Group fly through the chaos, doggedly maintaining their course, as they head on to attack the huge synthetic oil refinery at Meresburg, southern Germany, on 11 September 1944. So vital was this refinery to the Nazi war machine that it became one of the most heavily defended targets in Germany, the air defences even surpassing those of Berlin. |
Gathering Storm by Anthony Saunders (GL) Mustangs of 434th Fighter Squadron head across the Channel. On 25th May 1944, pilots of the 434 Fighter Squadron flew their first combat mission. In the early hours of 6 thJune, D-Day, included in the 12,000 aircraft which flew cover, interdiction or other support missions were 434th pilots, some who flew three missions, returning to base long enough to refuel and rearm. Not until 29th July 1944 did the 434 Fighter Squadron down its first aircraft , when 1 Lt Arthur F. Jeffrey, one of the original six pilots assigned to the squadron, bagged an Me-163 Komet, a rocket-propelled interceptor. Over the next nine months squadron members flew bomber escort missions, attacked air fields and flew other missions as required, including support of beleaguered ground forces around Bastogne, Belgium, better known as the Battle of the Bulge. On 25th April 1945, pilots flew their last combat mission and 1 Lt Hilton O. Thomas shot down the last aircraft credited to an Eighth Air Force pilot - an Arado 234 Blitz, a jet-powered bomber. Of the four aces the from the 434th Fighter Squadron, three top aces evolved - Arthur F. Jeffery, Robin Olds and George W. Gleason. |
Destination Tokyo by Anthony Saunders. The daylight raid on Tokyo, led by Lt Col James H. Doolittle on Sunday 18 April 1942, has rightfully entered the history books as one of the most daring and courageous operations of the Second World War. On that day, in mid ocean, Doolittle had launched his B-25 Mitchell bomber from the heaving, spray-soaked flight deck of an aircraft carrier, a deck too short to land on, and flown on to bomb Tokyo. He knew there would be no return to the USS Hornet, either for him or the 15 heavily laden B-25s behind him, for this was a feat never before attempted, and for every crew member the mission was a one-way ticket. Yet, under the leadership of Jimmy Doolittle, they all dared to survive. The mission for the 16 bombers was to bomb industrial targets in Tokyo and surrounding areas, to slow production of strategic war material, then fly on to land in the part of south-west China that was still in the hands of friendly Nationalist forces. All being well, the mission would be so unexpected it would plant the first seeds of doubt into enemy minds. It worked – the Japanese were forced to quickly divert hundreds of aircraft, men and equipment away from offensive operations to the defence of their homeland. There was, however, another reason behind the Doolittle's raid – to lift the morale of an American public devastated by the attack on Pearl Harbor four months earlier. And the success of the mission provided the boost that was needed. If any had doubted America's resolve in the face of uncertainty, the courage, determination and heroism displayed by Lt Col Doolittle and his band of aviators restored their determination. Although it might take years, and the price would be high, America and her allies understood that the fight could, and would, be won. Commissioned to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid the painting portrays the dramatic moment that Lt Col Jimmy Doolittle lifts his B-25 off the pitching deck of the USS Hornet. Having timed his launch to perfection he climbs steeply away, ready to adjust his compass bearing for a direct line to Tokyo. On the sodden deck behind him the crews of the remaining 15 aircraft, whose engines are warmed, ready and turning, will quickly follow their commanding officer into the murky sky. |
Thunder in the Ardennes by Anthony Saunders. P-47 Thunderbolts of the 509th Fighter Squadron, 405th Fighter Group, pass low over paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division advancing through heavy snow during the Battle of the Bulge, January 1945. Major Robert 'Blackie' Blackburn, in his distinctive aircraft Chow Hound, leads his unit as they head out on a morning low-level bombing mission. In the early hours of 16th December 1944, out of nowhere, hundreds of panzers and thousands of troops poured forward as Hitler launched the last great German offensive of the war and, for once, the Allies had been wrong-footed. The thinly-held Ardennes was the last place they had been expecting a counter-attack, but now three German armies were heading west across an 80-mile front. Caught off guard the Americans rushed in reinforcements, including the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions encamped near Reims, over a hundred miles away. Exhausted by the fighting in Holland during Operation Market Garden, they had been sent to Reims to recuperate. They never got the chance. Thrown into the thick of the action the 82nd helped to blunt the Germans' advance to the north, whilst at Bastogne, a pivotal town further south, the 101st, surrounded, out-numbered and besieged, refused to surrender. The line held and three days before Christmas the panzers ground to a halt, stalled by lack of fuel. As the weather improved the Allies could now bring their airpower into play. Hitler's last gamble had failed. |
Guardian Angel by Anthony Saunders. Depicting Mustang aircraft escorting Flying Fortresses on a bombing raid over Germany. |
Roam at Will by Anthony Saunders. Returning to base after an arduous escort mission, Captain Art Fiedler leads a flight of P51 Mustangs from the 325th Fighter Group - the Checkertail Clan - through the Po Valley in northern Italy seeking out targets of opportunity amongst the retreating Axis forces, July 1944. When in December 1943 the 325th Fighter Group, the Checkertail Clan, had moved into south-eastern Italy they were soon escorting American bombers on long range missions deep into occupied Europe. In two years of air combat the Checkertails soon became one of the crack units in the Fifteenth Air Force, destroying a staggering 537 enemy aircraft in the air, and accounting for many more on the ground. |
Bridge Busters by Anthony Saunders. With orders to destroy, delay or disrupt enemy forces en-route to the Normandy battle area, P-47 Thunderbolts from the 78th Fighter Group launch a blistering high-speed, low-level attack, on a German freight train in occupied northern France, June 1944. Desperately attempting to transport vital supplies to the front by daylight, it has fallen prey to the cannons and bombs of the eagle eyed Thunderbolt pilots. |
Day of Infamy by Anthony Saunders. On the morning of Sunday 7th December 1941 the Japanese launched their infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. Surprise was complete - within a few terrifying minutes, bombs and torpedoes had damaged or destroyed much of the US Pacific Fleet peacefully at anchor, and almost all of the fighters on the ground. But as Aichi D-3A dive bombers target the Fleet's flagship, the battleship California, a lone P-40 has managed to get airborne in the chaos to engage the enemy. Seventy years ago the world stood open-mouthed in shock as it learnt of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. This dramatic new edition is released in tribute to all those that took part in the actions on December 7 1941. |
To Hell and Back - Operation Tidal Wave by Anthony Saunders. Flying at low-level over the Astra Romana oil refinery, Lt James Merrick of the 98th Bomb Group powers his B-24 'Lil De-icer' through the pall of burning debris as time-delayed bombs, dropped in error by a previous Group, explode beneath them. With any hope of surprise now lost, and taking heavy losses in the process, the crews of the 98th bravely hold their bombers on course. Allied planners knew that just over a third of all Germany's oil came from a single source - the oil fields at Ploesti, far to the east of deepest Romania. If the oilfields and refineries at Ploesti could be destroyed, then Hitler's armies would be dealt a savage blow from which they might never recover. |
Midway - Attack on the Soryu by Anthony Saunders. Brimming with overconfidence, few on board the Japanese carrier Sōryū noticed the SBD Dauntless bombers gathering overhead. Within a matter of minutes a few courageous US Navy pilots would change the course of history. Anthony Saunders' new action-packed painting recreates the scene from the Battle of Midway as the SBD Dauntless pilots pull out of their death-defying dives having delivered their 1000lb bombs perfectly on target with three direct hits on the Japanese carrier. Already there is utter chaos aboard the Sōryū as exploding ammunition and igniting fuel erupt onto the flight deck from the hangars below. Secondary explosions rip through the ship, fires rage beyond control and her hull shudders to contain the violent inferno. The Sōryū is doomed. |
Beyond the Storm by Anthony Saunders. When the American Eighth Air Force arrived in England in 1942 they had a second enemy to battle besides the Luftwaffe - the English weather. The mighty Eighth, the largest and most powerful air force in the world, were on many occasions almost paralyzed by the unpredictable and unexpected climate - much to the relief of the Luftwaffe. Many of the aircrew had trained in the sunny air of southern California and took time to adjust to the grey, dismal skies, and the rolling banks of cloud that gathered over England and the near continent. The winter of 1944-45 had been one of the worst on record with temperatures plunging across the whole country, bringing with it ice, freezing fog and drifting snow. But the war had gone on oblivious to the weather, and by April 1945 the sunless, dreary skies that had cast their frosty shadow over much of north-west Europe were long gone and the end was finally in sight. This reflected the feeling amongst most of Europe towards the war in general - the storm was finally passing. Shortages of fuel, pilots and spares meant that the Luftwaffe was on its last legs, putting up little serious opposition. By now, after escorting the heavy bombers to their targets, complete groups of P-51 Mustangs were sweeping the entire western Reich on the return trip, strafing anything hostile on the ground. On one such mission fifteen Fighter Groups had gone on a strafing spree attacking 40 airfields in eastern Bavaria and western Czechoslovakia, claiming a record number of 747 aircraft destroyed on the ground. There wasn't much left for the P-51s to destroy. In Beyond the Storm, the bad weather is closing in as Captain Ray Littge, flying his P-51D 'Miss Helen', leads the 487th Fighter Squadron back home over the familiar Suffolk coastline in April 1945. |
Checking Out by Anthony Saunders. When the American Eighth Air Force arrived in England in 1942 they had a second enemy to battle besides the Luftwaffe - the English weather. The mighty Eighth, the largest and most powerful air force in the world, were on many occasions almost paralyzed by the unpredictable and unexpected climate - much to the relief of the Luftwaffe. Many of the aircrew had trained in the sunny air of southern California and took time to adjust to the grey, dismal skies, and the rolling banks of cloud that gathered over England and the near continent. The winter of 1944-45 had been one of the worst on record with temperatures plunging across the whole country, bringing with it ice, freezing fog and drifting snow. But the war had gone on oblivious to the weather, and by April 1945 the sunless, dreary skies that had cast their frosty shadow over much of north-west Europe were long gone and the end was finally in sight. This reflected the feeling amongst most of Europe towards the war in general - the storm was finally passing. Shortages of fuel, pilots and spares meant that the Luftwaffe was on its last legs, putting up little serious opposition. By now, after escorting the heavy bombers to their targets, complete groups of P-51 Mustangs were sweeping the entire western Reich on the return trip, strafing anything hostile on the ground. On one such mission fifteen Fighter Groups had gone on a strafing spree attacking 40 airfields in eastern Bavaria and western Czechoslovakia, claiming a record number of 747 aircraft destroyed on the ground. There wasn't much left for the P-51s to destroy. In Checking Out, the bad weather that has dogged the past few days is thankfully clearing, allowing the P-51s of the Mighty Eighth's 352nd Fighter Group to begin their dispersal from Bodney to take part in an escort mission in early 1945. |
|
Contact Details |
|
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com
|
|
|
