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| Click Here For Full Artist Print Indexes | Aviation History Archive |
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Thunderbolt
Aviation Art Prints  Aviation Artists Robert Taylor US Air Force  Thunderbolt |
[UP] - Mustang - Flying Fortress - Tomahawk - Lightning - Liberator - Superfortress - Corsair - Mitchell - Warhawk - Hellcat - Dakota - Marauder - Viper - Phantom - Thunderbolt - Dauntless - Helldiver - Thunderchief - Wildcat - Waco - Avenger |
| Thunderbolt Aviation Art Prints, Paintings and Drawings |
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| Text for the above items : |
Hell Hawks Over Utah by Robert Taylor. Without air supremacy D-Day and the invasion of north-west Europe would never have happened, and the tactical Ninth Air Force played a huge part in securing that position. The Ninth had fought with distinction from the deserts of North Africa to the invasion of Sicily and the fighting in Italy. They had spearheaded the assault on Ploesti and, from humble beginnings, had grown into one of the finest and most formidable Air Forces in the USAAF. Then, in October 1943, the Ninth were sent to England for their greatest challenge so far - providing air support for the US First Army during the forthcoming invasion of Normandy. By the morning of 6th June 1944 the Ninth was the largest and most effective tactical air force in the world, with over a quarter of a million personnel and more than 3,500 fighters, bombers and troop-carriers under its command. Amongst them were the P-47s of the 365th Fighter Group - the fearsome Hell Hawks - a unit that by the end of World War Two would become legendary. Amongst the first to use P-47s as fighter-bombers, the Hell Hawks were hard at work softening up the enemy in the build up to D-Day, dive-bombing bridges, rail lines, gun positions and airfields. With two 1,000-pound bombs below their wings along with ten 5-in rockets and eight .50 calibre machine guns, their enormous firepower devastated the German defenses on D-Day. The Hell Hawks supported the army throughout the Normandy campaign, all the way across northern France to the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, and beyond. It was a harsh nomadic life, eating and sleeping in tents and moving from one temporary strip to the next. By the end of hostilities in May 1945 the Hell Hawks had moved through 11 different airfields, more than any other fighter-bomber group in the Ninth Air Force. |
Thunderbolt Strike by Robert Taylor. A flight of P47 thunderbolts of the 404 Fighter group, 9th Air force, clear the target area after a low-level attack on the airfield inland from Le Havre, Normandy, 1944. Tracer winds up towards them from ground defences and almost all the aircraft have taken hits. Ground-attack pilots went in low, did the job and got our fast! |
The Wolfpack by Robert Taylor. The 56th Fighter Group was led by some of Americas greatest fighter leaders of World War II and was home to many of its leading fighter Aces. Under successive commanders Hub Zemke, Robert Landry and David Schilling, the 56th destroyed more enemy aircraft in combat than any other fighter group in the Eighth Air Force. Arriving in England in January 1943 under the command of Colonel Hub Zemke, a master tactician and fearless leader, the 56th quickly emerged as an outstanding fighting unit. The only Eighth Air Force Group to fly P-47 Thunderbolts throughout the war, the 56th spawned more fighter Aces than any other USAAF group - legends such as Gabby Gabreski, Robert Johnson and the colourful Ace Walker Bud Mahurin. Under Hub Zemkes mercurial leadership they became known and feared as Zemkes Wolfpack. On 26 November, 1943, the P-47s of the 56th Fighter Group were tasked to escort B-24 Liberators of the 392nd Bomb Group on a dangerous mission to attack the heavily defended industrial and dockyard facilities in the German port of Bremen. Zemke knew the Luftwaffe would be waiting for them as they approached the target, and they were - in force! It was to become a day of high drama. With the Luftwaffe throwing all the fighters they could muster at the American heavy bombers, a massive aerial battle ensued. In the running dogfights high over Bremen, the Wolfpack claimed their most successful action of the war with 23 confirmed kills, 3 probables, and 9 damaged, creating an all-time record in the European Theatre. The 392nds B-24 Liberators could not have been in safer hands on that eventful day. |
Outward Bound by Robert Taylor. 78th FG Thunderbolts preparing to depart Duxford - with two visiting 361st FG Mustangs in the background while overhead other 361st FG Mustangs climb away from Bottisham. |
Zemkes Wolfpack by Robert Taylor. Hub Zemke was a fighter pilot and commander who led from the front. A great tactician too, it was in no small measure due to the air combat tactics introduced to the 56th Fighter Group by its mercurial leader that by the end of WW2 it had become the top-scoring Fighter Group in the USAF. This highly successful unit spawned some of the top fighter aces in the European theatre : Gabby Gabreski with 34.5 victories, Robert Johnson with 28 victories, and the colourful Ace, Walker Bud Mahurin who shot down 21 German aircraft. High over Germany at the extremity of its range, the P-47 of Hub Zemke is seen leading his pilots in to defend a stricken B-17 against the persistent attacks of marauding Fw190s. Already damaged, the B-17 has dropped from the relative safety of the formation, and protection from the P-47s is now its only chance of survival. |
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