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Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P) - Cranston Military Prints

Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P)


Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P)

P-47D Thunderbolts, affectionately called 'Razorbacks' flown by Col Steve 'Spiro' Pisanos and his wingman of 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, wreaking havoc on a German BR52 supply train over northern France in early 1944. Strafing targets of opportunity was, as Steve put it, exhilarating as hell but also extremely dangerous. Steve said that from his RAF training he learned never to pull up after the run, keeping low so as not to make yourself an easier target.
Item Code : B0541PDevastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P) - Editions Available
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Original drawing by Brian Bateman. Paper size 16 inches x 12 inches (41cm x 31cm)
Pisanos, Steve

Died : 2016
Colonel Steve Pisanos (deceased)
Born Nov. 10, 1919, in the Athens suburb of Kolonos, Spiros Nicholas 'Steve' Pisanos, the son of a subway motorman, arrived in America in April 1938 as a crew member on a Greek merchant tramp steamer. Arriving in Baltimore speaking no English, he worked in a bakery and hotels to earn money for flying lessons at Floyd Bennett Field. In August 1940, he settled in Plainfield, New Jersey, and continued flying lessons at Westfield Airport. He earned a private pilot's license and, though s
Signature Value : £45
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
+ Artist : Brian Bateman

Signature(s) value alone : £45		SOLD
OUT		NOT
AVAILABLE


Some other related items available from this site.

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 <i>Hell Hawks</i> - a unit that by the end of World War Two would become legendary. Amongst the first to use P-47s as fighter-bombers, the <i>Hell Hawks</i> 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 <i>Hell Hawks</i> 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 <i>Hell Hawks</i> had moved through 11 different airfields, more than any other fighter-bomber group in the Ninth Air Force.

Hell Hawks Over Utah by Robert Taylor. 		Two Republic P.47s of the 78th FG roar low over the Normandy beaches as the Allied invasion gets underway during Operation Overlord on 6th June 1944 as an LCT(5) Tank Landing Craft makes its break for the beach through a hail of enemy fire. These craft were used at all the D-Day beaches, carrying mixed loads of vehicles and stores in almost impossible conditions.

The Dash for the Beach by Ivan Berryman. 		Best known as leader of the legendary Zemke's Wolfpack, his famous 56th Fighter Group was the top scoring Fighter Group in the European Theater. He pioneered the use of the P-38 Droop Snoot as a bomb aiming aircraft which led the bomb-loaded P-47s on to the target with great success. One of the outstanding fighter leaders of the war, his personal tally was 17.5 victories. He died in 1994.

Clipped Signature - Hub Zemke.		 Steve Pisanos, flying P-47 QP-D, is depicted pulling away swiftly after a victory over an FW-190 in late December 1944 over northern Germany. This was Steve's fourth victory, one victory short on an ace, which would come later in the P-51.

Greek Victory by Brian Bateman.
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




Colonel Steve Pisanos (deceased)
Died : 2016
*Signature Value : £45

Editions signed :

Original drawing by Brian Bateman.


Pisanos, Steve
(Colonel Steve Pisanos (deceased))

Born Nov. 10, 1919, in the Athens suburb of Kolonos, Spiros Nicholas 'Steve' Pisanos, the son of a subway motorman, arrived in America in April 1938 as a crew member on a Greek merchant tramp steamer. Arriving in Baltimore speaking no English, he worked in a bakery and hotels to earn money for flying lessons at Floyd Bennett Field. In August 1940, he settled in Plainfield, New Jersey, and continued flying lessons at Westfield Airport. He earned a private pilot's license and, though still a Greek national, in October 1941 he joined the British Royal Air Force sponsored by the Clayton Knight Committee in New York City. Pisanos began his military flight training at Polaris Flight Academy in Glendale. Upon graduation, Pilot Officer Pisanos was transferred to England where he completed RAF Officers Training School at Cosford, England, and OTU (Operational Training Unit) at Old Sarum Aerodrome in Salisbury. Pisanos was posted to the 268 Fighter Squadron at Snailwell Aerodrome in Newmarket flying P-51A's. He later transferred to the 71 Eagle Squadron, one of three Eagle squadrons in the RAF, comprised of just 244 American volunteers flying Spitfires at Debden RAF Aerodrome. When the USAAF 4th Fighter Group absorbed the American members of the Eagle Squadrons in September and October 1942, Pisanos was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Flying his first mission in his P-47 'Miss Plainfield' out of Debden Aerodrome with the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, Lt. Pisanos, 'The Flying Greek,' scored his first shootdown on May 21, 1943, when he targeted a German FW-190 over Ghent, Belgium. By Jan. 1, 1944, he had become an ace with five confirmed downings. On March 5, 1944, he obtained his 10th shootdown and while returning from that B-17 escort mission to Limoges and Bordeaux, France, Pisanos experienced engine failure in his P-51B and crash-landed south of Le Havre. For six months he evaded the Germans and fought with the French Resistance and the American OSS, sabotaging the German war machine in occupied France. Lt. Pisanos returned to England on Sept. 2, 1944, following the liberation of Paris. Because of his exposure and knowledge of the French Resistance operations, Pisanos was prohibited from flying additional combat missions because the Air Force could not risk him being captured. Upon returning to the United States, Capt. Pisanos was assigned to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio. He attended the USAF Test Pilot School and served as a test pilot at Wright Field and Muroc Lake, California, testing the YP-80 jet aircraft, America's first operational jet. During his Air Force career, Pisanos graduated from the University of Maryland, attended the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. Pisanos also served tours of duty in Vietnam (1967-68) and with NORAD before retiring from the USAF with the rank of colonel in in December 1973. Colonel Steve Pisanos died on 6th June 2016.
Squadrons Related to This Print
334th Fighter Squadron
4th Fighter Group
Aircraft Related to This Print
Thunderbolt

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