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| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
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Aviation Art Prints  Aviation Artists More Artists  Dietz, James |
| James Dietz |
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Born in San Francisco, Jim graduated from Art Center College of Design in 1969. He had a successful illustration career in Los Angeles and New York, with a steady flow of work ranging from automobile ads, movie posters, and romantic and historical/action book covers.
By 1978, Jim and his wife had moved to Seattle, where Jim's work gradually shifted away from commercial illustration to primarily historical aviation, automotive and military art. Today his work is internationally known and collected, and his style, with its emphasis on depth of story, is recognized by collectors of historical art. His list of clients includes Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Federal Express, Allison, Cessna, Flying Tigers, the Indianapolis 500, BMW, US Air Force Documentary Art Program, Wingnut Studios, Meadowbrook and Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, the National Guard and many U.S. Army organizations and associations to include: the 82nd Airborne Division, the 101st Airborne Division, U.S. Army Rangers, Special Forces, 1st Division, 2nd Division 3rd Division, 4th Division, 1st Cavalry Division, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Regiment, the Command General Staff College, and the United States Army War College.
Awards include:
Best in Show, EAA Aviation Art Show, three successive years, 1989-91
Named Master Artist, EAA, 1992
People's Choice Award, American Society of Aviation Artists, 1988
Best in Show, Franklin Mint Artists Show, 1992
Best in Show & three Best of Era Awards, San Antonio Military Art Show, 1992
Honorable Mention, American Society of Aviation Artists Show, 1994
Best in Show, Flying Magazine/Simuflite Art Show, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2001
Award of Merit, Flying Magazine/Simuflite Art Show, 1995, 2000
Best in Show, Naval Aviation Museum Art Show, 1994, 2000
First Place, Naval Aviation Museum Art Show, 1995
R. G. Smith Award for Excellence in Naval Aviation Art, National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, FL, 1997
Best in Show, Women in Aviation Show, C.R. Smith Museum, Dallas, TX, 1997
Stanley Wanlass Award, for excellence in strength of design and composition, echoing the spirit of the automobile, Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance, 1997
Featured Artist, Meadow Brook Concours d'Elegance, 1999
Award of Excellence, Automotive Fine Artists of America show at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, 1999, 2000
Peter Helck Award, Automotive Fine Artists of America show at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, 1999, 2000
League of WWI Aviation Historians, four Silver Cups
Jim Dietz from san Francisco graduated in 1969 from the Art centre College of Designed. and many of his military paintings hang in regimental collections. including the 82nd Airborne, 101st Airborne Division and the us Army Rangers.
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| James Dietz Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
The Bomber Boys by James Dietz. On the night of 16 / 17 May 1943, in one of the most daring low-level missions of the war, the men of newly-formed 617 Squadron, under the command of Guy Gibson, attacked the great dams of the Ruhr. The story of their audacious raid gained the squadron immediate fame and thereafter they would be known simply as the 'Dambusters'. But for the hundreds of airmen who followed in their footsteps, the destruction of the great dams was merely the beginning for this new squadron of low-flying, precision-bombing experts. Over the next two years their courageous exploits would earn the respect of the world. They did so under the command of some of Bomber Command's greatest leaders. Following in Gibson's footsteps were men such as the inspirational Leonard Cheshire VC, described by the London Gazette as having 'a reputation second to none in Bomber Command', and who helped pioneer precision target marking and the accurate delivery of Barnes Wallis's new deep-penetration 'earthquake' Tallboy bombs, especially in the operations against V-weapon sites in northern France. Cheshire's worthy successor was James Tait, who led the raids against the Tirpitz and whose Tallboy bomb eventually sank the mighty German battleship. In December 1944, having completed over 100 operations, Tait handed over the reins to Canadian Jimmy Farquier - described as probably the finest bomber pilot in the RCAF - and the man who would lead 617 Squadron until the last raid of the war. Under his stewardship the airmen of 617 Squadron were to reach new heights of fame, delivering Tallboy's massive big brother - the Grand Slam - Barnes Wallis's piéce-de-résistance, a 22,000lb bomb whose warhead contained over 9,000lbs of explosive, making it the most powerful conventional bomb of World War II. In the capable hands of 617 Squadron's specially modified Lancasters, they destroyed targets such as the great Arnsberg and Bielefeld viaducts, and the seemingly indestructible Valentin U-boat pens on the banks of the River Weser, whose huge 15ft walls supported a roof that in places was 23ft thick. The squadron flew their last mission of the war on 25 April 1945, their Tallboys helping to destroy much of Hitler's once-fabled mountain retreat at Obersalzberg. This highly detailed and carefully researched painting fittingly depicts this famous unit to represent all those who served with Bomber Command during World War II. The crews have just returned safely to RAF Scampton after a long, hazardous raid over enemy territory. Tired, weary and thankful to have made it back in one piece, they can at last stretch their legs and enjoy some welcome refreshments before heading off to de-brief and a much-needed rest. |
Tough Day by James Dietz. BMW 328, Focke-Wulf 190A. James Dietz's grouping of planes, people and vehicles in Tough Day represents a bleak gathering of Jagdgeschwader 2's most colorful Focke-Wulf FW-190As. JG 2 Richthofen was one of the rare Luftwaffe units that campaigned in France from the first day of the 1940 Blitzkrieg to the end of the German occupation. While a Gruppe or Staffel might be sent elsewhere temporarily, JG2 was the stalwart fighter organization in the West. As such, JG2 was witness to the changes in Allied airpower. By the autumn of 1943 there was no question that Allied airpower was rising to unimaginable heights. The Richthofen pilots had battled the RAF in 1941, during the Rhubarb and Circus campaigns. In the Spring of 1942 the unit began a major conversion to the new FW-190, which provided a brief qualitative superiority in equipment. JG2 scored a huge tally of British aircraft during the Dieppe raid, but the RAF countered with more planes and new tactics in its fighter sweeps against the Luftwaffe. The very first missions of the American 8th Air Force were also flown in 1942. The wind was definitely blowing the wrong way for JG 2. New and better RAF fighters appeared in 1943, and the 8th Air Force's heavily armed P-47s and P-38s began ranging all over northern France. JG2 also faced the American heavy bombers that were targeting German air bases, as well as the missions flying overhead on their way to targets in Germany. The Jagdgeschwader reported almost two hundred pilots dead or missing in 1943, with a similar number of wounded. Three years earlier, the conquest of France and the Battle of Britain together had cost the unit 36 flyers. The automobile in the print, a BMW 328 is symbolic of a happier time in German engineering. The car was taken out of production early in the war as BMW began gearing up for massive manufacturing of the 801 radial engine for the FW-190. It remained a favorite of the top experten of the Luftwaffe throughout the rest of the war. |
Out on a Limb by James Dietz. (AP) T6 Mosquitos in Korea. The 6147th Tactical Control Group, nicknamed the Mosquitos, received a Presidential citation in 1951 for their performance in the Korean War. This citation was for the entire unit and without parallel in aerial warfare history at that time. The gallant Mosquito pilots flew unarmed and unescorted T-6 aircraft that were vulnerable to opposition from the air and ground. Yet these brave pilots flew at dangerously low altitudes over Communist positions searching for telltale signs of the enemies presence: freshly turned earth, footprints in the snow or a discarded tin can. Once a sign was spotted, the Mosquitos flew down into the flak and marked their targets with smoke rockets. The North Koreans called them Mosquitos because the sight of a North American T-6 buzzing down on them meant they were soon to be stung. Shortly after the annoying buzz of the venerable Texan ceased, the screams of rocket-laden P-51s or the new jet fighter, F-84 Thunderstreak, were on their way downhill to deliver death and destruction to the Communist supply lines. The T-6 tactical coordinators of the 6147th Tactical Control Group may have been old and outdated, but as deadly hunting dogs that pinpointed game for heavily armed aerial hunters, they were universally feared by the enemy. The speed of the fast fighter/bombers, particularly the jets, did not allow the pilots to adequately see and target the highly camouflaged positions and vehicles of the North Koreans. They needed small, slow yet maneuverable aircraft with an observer who could mark the enemy positions with smoke bombs or rockets. The T-6 was fast enough to evade enemy attacks, had adequate visibility to truly observe targets, could be equipped with the necessary communications gear (eight-channel AN/ARC3 radio sets) to talk the fighter/bombers into targets and could carry target rockets to mark sites. The men called to fly these missions lived a kind of gypsy life, they were moved from air base to airbase as the U.N. forces retreated southward from the North Korean flood. They were quite literally Out On A Limb, not only needing to complete their operational objectives in the air, but also having to leave the ground staff of the group to move all their equipment to the next airfield down the line. We have largely forgotten the role of these daredevils in the T-6, but without the Mosquitos - a raging outfit of professionals of one stripe or another - the Korean air war might have been a different story. By the end of the Korean War, the 6147th Tactical Control Group lost 42 aircraft and 33 men. The Mosquitos flew over 40,000 sorties aiding in the destruction of 5 tank divisions, 563 artillery pieces, 5,079 vehicles, 12 locomotives, and 84 bridges. |
Moving the Herd by James Dietz. In March of 2003, the Turkish government refused to allow American ground forces, which were positioned at their ports, to move through Turkey in order to establish a northern front in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. America needed another option and the Sky Soldiers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade provided that option. On the 26th March at 2000 hours, fifteen C-17 aircraft delivered 20 heavy platforms and 959 paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade onto Bashur Drop Zone vicinity Bashur, Iraq. This combat parachute assault was the initiation of Operation Northern Delay and established the Coalitions northern front. The parachute assault force consisted of HHC, 173rd Airborne Brigade, 1st-508th Infantry (Airborne), 2nd-503rd Infantry (Airborne), 74th Long Range Surveillance Detachment, D Battery 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Combat Support Company, 501st Forward Support Company, 250th Forward Surgical Team, ODA (-), 2nd Battalion 10th SFG, 4th ASOS (USAF), and the 86th Expeditionary Contingency Response Group (-) (USAF). The paratroopers were under the command of Colonel William C. Mayville Jr., commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The chariots from which the Sky Soldiers were delivered into battle were the C-17s of the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings from McChord AFB, Washington and the 437th Airlift Wing and 315th Reserve Airlift Wing from Charleston AFB, South Carolina. The C-17s were under the command of Colonel Robert Dice R. Allardice, commander of the 62nd Airlift Wing. This airborne operation was not only the largest since the 1990 invasion of Panama, but was the first airborne personnel insertion ever conducted with the C-17. The professionalism and courage of both the paratroopers and the aircrews were beyond reproach. The successful establishment of a northern front was essential to the coalition battle plan. Without a northern front six Iraqi divisions arrayed in northern Iraq remained free to move south to reinforce Baghdad. Fast moving coalition forces were closing on Baghdad with the expectation of having to capture the Iraqi capital from three defensively arrayed divisions. six additional Iraqi divisions streaming from the north could dramatically affect the balance of power around Baghdad. Another critical factor was the oil rich area of Kirkuk. The oil wealth of the Kirkuk area would be crucial to rebuilding Iraq but the Iraqi army had shown a willingness to destroy their countries own future simply to spite the Coalition. Securing the oil fields and airbases of Kirkuk was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The success of the 173rd Airborne Brigade in its securing of Bashur and Kirkuk and its subsequent control and rebuilding of Kirkuk Province and later the As Sulaymaniyah Province was unmatched in theater. The Sky Soldiers integrated forces from fifteen other units, to include five Army divisions, to accomplish every mission. The Sky Soldiers added to the reputation of the Herd, so hard won in Vietnam. This print is dedicated to the team members who served with and supported the Herd, past and present. The sacrifices theyve made and the blood theyve shed in the service of their country demonstrate the true cost of freedom. |
High Summer by James Dietz. Before the Fall, 1940. The victorious Luftwaffe stood on the English Channel, fresh, rested, and above all supremely confident. In the past year it had destroyed the Air Forces of Poland, Holland, Denmark, Norway and the combined forces of England and France over the Continent. It was true that the Kampflieger had suffered serious losses at the hands of defending French and British Fighters, but these bomber units had been quickly re-equipped. The Jadgwaffe had proved itself superior in every way: better equipped, better trained and better tactics honed in the skies over Spain in the famed Kondor Legion, just prior to the war. After the aerial battles over the British evacuation at Dunkirk, the German fighter pilots had a chance to rest while their squadrons refitted and made the necessary move to airfields near the French coast. As the end of Summer approached, the Luftwaffe stood ready to bring England to her knees with their supposed overwhelming airpower. First, the Royal Air Force must be brought up to fight and be destroyed. The first phase air attack on English Channel shipping was designed to do just that, but this proved inconclusive when the British did not commit to this stratum. The Luftwaffe next tried to destroy the British on and above their airfields defending southern England. Aided by Radar, the R.A.F. fought back brilliantly, and German losses in men and equipment rose alarmingly, as did with their British opponents. With success almost at hand, Hitler's decision to concentrate on London gave the R.A.F. much needed respite, while stretching the capacity of the German Fighters to the breaking point. The Messerschmitt Bf-109's limited endurance allowed for a very short combat time over London, while making ditching in the Channel on the way home after every sortie a very real possibility. Meanwhile, thanks to careful husbanding of its men, material, and equipment, the R.A.F.'s strength seemed to grow every day. By the approach of Fall, and with worsening weather approaching, the Battle of Britain began to wind down, and the Luftwaffe turned to night bombing large cities, and hit and run raids on coastal towns. The Jadgwaffe had at last tasted defeat with squadrons being decimated and old veterans lost, only to be replaced by green newcomers. At the same time, the R.A.F. grew in offensive power, increasingly challenging the Luftwaffe over its own bases in France. Victories still lay ahead, in the skies over Africa, the Balkans, and Russia, but there would never again be the bright shining optimism of a quick victory that was felt in the ranks of the Luftwaffe during that sunny Summer of 1940. In two years the Luftwaffe would be on the defensive everywhere, in three years in decline, and in four years this once all-too-proud force would lay shattered. |
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