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Take Him, Blue Two by Brian Bateman. (P) - Cranston Military Prints

Take Him, Blue Two by Brian Bateman. (P)


Take Him, Blue Two by Brian Bateman. (P)

Urban Ben Drew scores his second victory, and his first aerial victory, as he claims a Bf109G over Lisieux, France in 1944. His wing leader, Martin Johnson, had his guns jammed as the twisting turning low level dogfight took place, so the frustrated leader quipped to Ben - take him Blue Two. With all four guns in working order Ben took over and shot him down as they passed over a French farmhouse.
Item Code : B0404PTake Him, Blue Two by Brian Bateman. (P) - Editions Available
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Original pencil drawing by Brian Bateman. Paper size 16 inches x 12 inches (41cm x 31cm)
Drew, Urban

Died : 2013
Maj Urban L Drew USAF (deceased)
Urban 'Ben' Drew was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1924. Three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, at the age of eighteen, Drew joined the USAAF and commenced pilot training. He earned his wings and a commission at Mariana, Florida in October 1943. He remained in the States honing his flying skills as an instructor pilot for the North American P-51 Mustang at Bartow, Florida. In May of 1944 he received his first overseas combat assignment, sailing to England on the Queen Elizabeth. H
Signature Value : £40
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+ Artist : Brian Bateman


Signature(s) value alone : £40
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 As the four P51D Mustangs of Major William T Haltons Yellow Flight, 487th Fighter Squadron took off from Asch, they found themselves in the middle of a massive German attack.  That New Years Day the Luftwaffe had launched hundreds of aircraft in low level raids against the allied airfields across Northern France and Belgium.  The unexpected take-off by the 487th however, ended Jagdgeswader 11s chances of success, with Yellow Flight alone claiming 9 enemy aircraft destroyed.

Dogfight over Asch, Belgium, 09.20 a.m., New Years Day, 1st January 1945 by David Pentland.
 A legend of the American Volunteer Group, he was credited with 10.5 victories flying the Mustang before it was disbanded.  He then joined the 23rd Fighter Group and scored 18.25 victories by the end of the war.  After the war he became a prominent superior court judge.  He died in 2006.

Clipped Signature - Chuck Older.
 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.
Beyond the Storm by Anthony Saunders.
 With the morning sun glinting on their fuselages, P-51 Mustangs of the 78th Fighter Group cross the Dutch coastline far below, as they head back towards their base at Duxford, England at the end of a long sweep east of the Rhine crossing, Spring 1945.  The final months of the war in Europe lie ahead, and for the P-51 pilots victory is within sight.  Finally, after years of toil, the sky was theirs.

Opening Sky by Robert Taylor.
Signatures on these products
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature and is for the unmatted version where available. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo




Maj Urban L Drew USAF (deceased)
Died : 2013
*Signature Value : £40

Editions signed :

Original pencil drawing by Brian Bateman.


Drew, Urban
(Maj Urban L Drew USAF (deceased))

Urban 'Ben' Drew was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1924. Three months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, at the age of eighteen, Drew joined the USAAF and commenced pilot training. He earned his wings and a commission at Mariana, Florida in October 1943. He remained in the States honing his flying skills as an instructor pilot for the North American P-51 Mustang at Bartow, Florida. In May of 1944 he received his first overseas combat assignment, sailing to England on the Queen Elizabeth. He was assigned to the 375th Fighter Squadron 'Yellowjackets' of the 361st Fighter Group based in at Bottisham in Cambridgeshire. Later his squadron would be relocated to Little Walden in Essex. During his combat tour Drew would fly a total of seventy-five combat missions, rising to command of X Flight and later to command of the 375th squadron. Drew would be officially credited with six aerial victories during his combat tour. Notable was his downing of two Me-262 jets on October 7, 1944. He was the first fighter pilot to down two of the German jets, and he received the Air Force Cross for this achievement. Also of note was the ace's destruction of the largest aircraft to fly in WW 11, the BV-238, which he destroyed in a strafing pass with two wingman on Lake Schaal on September 18, 1944. Following his successful combat tour, Drew returned to the States where he again served as a flight instructor. In 1945 he was assigned to the 412 th Fighter Squadron of the 414 th Fighter Group based at lwo Jima flying the P-47 Jug. Drew's final victory tally included 6 confirmed aerial victories, 1 damaged, and 1 additional aircraft destroyed on the ground. In addition to the Air Force Cross, Drew was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 14 Air Medals. Following the War Drew helped organize the 127 th Fighter Group of the Michigan National Guard. He became Deputy Group Commander and later was appointed the first Air Adjutant General of the State of Michigan. After his retirement from the Air Force with the rank of Major, he established an aviation business in Britain and South Africa. He currently resides in Southern California, and remains active in matters involving the American Fighter Aces Association. Sadly we have learned that Ben Drew passed away on 3rd April 2013.
Squadrons Related to This Print
375th Fighter Squadron
Aircraft Related to This Print

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