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Return to Duxford by Robert Taylor - Cranston Military Prints

Return to Duxford by Robert Taylor


Return to Duxford by Robert Taylor

Flying low over the picturesque village of Thaxted, in the cold winter of 1944-45, the P-51D Mustangs of the 78th Fighter Group return to Duxford after a tiring eight hour escort mission. With dusk approaching, low on fuel, the fighters have about 20 miles to run. Catching the festive mood, the pilots have dropped to tree-top height to take in the spectacular countryside as they scurry back to base and some well-earned celebrations.
Item Code : DHM2164APReturn to Duxford by Robert Taylor - Editions Available
DESCRIPTIONSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSPRICEPURCHASINGPACKS
Signed limited edition of 950 prints. Paper size 33 inches x 24 inches (84cm x 61cm)
Cummings, Donald
Died : 2012
Colonel Donald Cummings (deceased)
Joining the USAAF in 1941, Don Cummings saw action in England, Africa and Italy, taking part in the Battle of Anzio. Flying first with the 12th Air Force and then posted to the 8th Air Force in England, flying with the 39th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group out of Wormingford. Don Cummings flew a total of 150 combat missions and on 25th February, 1945, became one of only two fighter Aces to shoot down two Me262 jet fighters on a single mission. He then served in occupied Germany after the
Signature Value : £50
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
Winks, Robert P

Died : 2008
Captain Robert P Winks (deceased)
Robert Winks joined the service in 1943, and after training was posted to England. Flying his first combat mission in July 1944, he served with the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group. His year long tour in Europe took in the heavy fighting over the Battle of the Bulge, the missions to support the Arnhem operations, and the Battle of Berlin, when the 357th destroyed 56 enemy aircraft. During this time he flew some 69 combat missions. His personal P-51D was 'Trusty Rusty'. Hi
Signature Value : £45
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
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
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
Priest, Royce W
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Colonel Royce W Priest
'Deacon' Priest arrived in England in May 1944, assigned to the 355th Fighter Group. Flying the P-51, combat missions comprised long-range escort, and intensive low-level ground attack. In August he landed behind the lines to pick up his C.O. downed by Ack-Ack fire. Within 6 months of his arrival in Europe he became an Ace, taking his fifth Luftwaffe fighter.
Signature Value : £40
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

Schuh, Duerr J
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Colonel Duerr J Schuh
Duerr Schuh flew his first combat mission in July 1944. Flying 61 missions in the P-51 with the 352nd Fighter Group, he took part in the Battle of the Bulge. The day following Christmas, 1944, while covering a bombing run, he jumped a group of Me109s, shooting down three in a single action. He ended the war an Ace.
Signature Value : £45
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

Scheible, Wilbur R
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Colonel Wilbur R Scheible
After joining the USAAF in 1941, Wilbur completed flight training in 1942. Assigned to the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group based at Martlesham Heath, England, he flew P47s and P-51s, primarily engaged in bomber escort work. During his combat career he had single, double, and triple air victories, ending his war an Ace with 6 air victories.
Signature Value : £40
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £260
SOLD
OUT
NOT
AVAILABLE
Limited edition of artist proofs. Paper size 33 inches x 24 inches (84cm x 61cm) Only two copies available.
Cummings, Donald
Died : 2012
Colonel Donald Cummings (deceased)
Joining the USAAF in 1941, Don Cummings saw action in England, Africa and Italy, taking part in the Battle of Anzio. Flying first with the 12th Air Force and then posted to the 8th Air Force in England, flying with the 39th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group out of Wormingford. Don Cummings flew a total of 150 combat missions and on 25th February, 1945, became one of only two fighter Aces to shoot down two Me262 jet fighters on a single mission. He then served in occupied Germany after the
Signature Value : £50
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
Winks, Robert P

Died : 2008
Captain Robert P Winks (deceased)
Robert Winks joined the service in 1943, and after training was posted to England. Flying his first combat mission in July 1944, he served with the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group. His year long tour in Europe took in the heavy fighting over the Battle of the Bulge, the missions to support the Arnhem operations, and the Battle of Berlin, when the 357th destroyed 56 enemy aircraft. During this time he flew some 69 combat missions. His personal P-51D was 'Trusty Rusty'. Hi
Signature Value : £45
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
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
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
Priest, Royce W
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Colonel Royce W Priest
'Deacon' Priest arrived in England in May 1944, assigned to the 355th Fighter Group. Flying the P-51, combat missions comprised long-range escort, and intensive low-level ground attack. In August he landed behind the lines to pick up his C.O. downed by Ack-Ack fire. Within 6 months of his arrival in Europe he became an Ace, taking his fifth Luftwaffe fighter.
Signature Value : £40
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

Schuh, Duerr J
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Colonel Duerr J Schuh
Duerr Schuh flew his first combat mission in July 1944. Flying 61 missions in the P-51 with the 352nd Fighter Group, he took part in the Battle of the Bulge. The day following Christmas, 1944, while covering a bombing run, he jumped a group of Me109s, shooting down three in a single action. He ended the war an Ace.
Signature Value : £45
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

Scheible, Wilbur R
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Colonel Wilbur R Scheible
After joining the USAAF in 1941, Wilbur completed flight training in 1942. Assigned to the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group based at Martlesham Heath, England, he flew P47s and P-51s, primarily engaged in bomber escort work. During his combat career he had single, double, and triple air victories, ending his war an Ace with 6 air victories.
Signature Value : £40
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £260
SOLD
OUT
NOT
AVAILABLE


Some other related items available from this site.

 Col. John D. Landers, the pilot of the Big Beautiful Doll, was born in 1920 in Wilson, Oklahoma.  He attended Texas A & M and Arkansas State University before joining the Army Air Corp. In March of 1941 Landers graduated from aviation cadet training and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.  With America thrust into WWII following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Landers was assigned to the 49th Fighter Group and set forth to Australia.  Flying a Curtis P-40 out of bases in Darwin and Port Moresby, Landers became an ace by downing two Betty bombers and four Mitsubishi Zeros.  When his first combat tour ended, Landers returned to the States as a P-38 Lightning instructor.  During a second combat tour Landers was assigned to the European Theatre as Commander of the 38th Fighter Squadron of the 55th Fighter Group. On June 25th 1944 Landers downed his first German aircraft, an Fw190.  Several days later he would bag three Me110s on a single day.  Later in 1944 Landers was made acting Commander of the 357th Fighter Group.  Flying a P-51 Mustang for the first time he obtained an aerial victory on November 18th.  Landers returned to America for a brief rest following completion of his second combat tour.  However, by January of 1945 he was back in action as C.O. of the 78th Fighter Group which flew out of Duxford, England.  Landers attained 3 ½ additional confirmed aerial victories and destroyed many additional enemy aircraft on the ground.  In fact the 78th Fighter Group destroyed 125 German aircraft on the ground on April 16th 1945, which is a record for one day.  After V.E. Day Landers was given command of the 361st Fighter Group which he was preparing to take to the Pacific when the war ended.  Officially credited with 14 ½ aerial victories, Landers decorations include the Silver Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three OLCs, the Purple Heart, the Croix de Guerre, and the Air Medal with twenty-one OLCs.  The ace returned to civilian life after the war where he was active in the pipeline business in the Southwest.  He retired in 1975, and passed away in 1989 from complications during surgery.  The P-51 Mustang played a major role in the Allied victory in WWII.  The P-51 was the first fighter with the range to accompany bombers into Germany, and tangle with the best of the Luftwaffes fighters on an equal basis.  Many Mustangs carried unique personalized paint schemes.  The Big Beautiful Doll is considered by many to be one of the classics with its checker board cowling, black rudder, and red accents.

Big Beautiful Doll by Stan Stokes.
  From the day they began their aerial campaign against Nazi Germany to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the USAAF bomber crews plied their hazardous trade in broad daylight. This tactic may have enabled better sighting of targets, and possibly less danger of mid-air collisions, but the grievous penalty of flying daylight missions over enemy territory was the ever presence of enemy fighters. Though heavily armed, the heavy bombers of the American Eighth Air Force were no match against the fast, highly manoeuvrable Me109s, Fw190s and, late in the war, Me 262 jet fighters which the Luftwaffe sent up to intercept them. Without fighter escort they were sitting ducks, and inevitably paid a heavy price. Among others, one fighter group earned particular respect, gratitude, and praise from bomber crews for their escort tactics. The 356th FG stuck rigidly to the principle of tight bomber escort duty, their presence in tight formation with the bombers often being sufficient to deter enemy attack. Repeatedly passing up the opportunity to increase individual scores, the leadership determined it more important to bring the bombers home than claim another enemy fighter victory. As the air war progressed this philosophy brought about an unbreakable bond between heavy bomber crews and escort fighter pilots, and among those held in the highest esteem were the pilots of the 356th. Top scoring ace Donald J Strait, flying his P-51 D Mustang Jersey Jerk, together with pilots of the 356th Fighter Group, are seen in action against Luftwaffe Fw 190s while escorting B-17 bombers returning from a raid on German installations during the late winter of 1944. One minute all is orderly as the mighty bombers thunder their way homeward, the next minute enemy fighters are upon them and all hell breaks loose.

Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian.
Mustang P51 Nooky Booky IV flown by Captain Leonard Kit Carson of the 362nd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, giving fighter escort top cover protection to the B17s of 381st Bomb Group, returning after a raid in Germany, January 1944. Kit Carson ended the war as top scorer of the 357th with 18.5 aerial victories in the last 6 months of the war.

Mustang Escort by Graeme Lothian
 Duxford became home to the 78th Fighter Group when they arrived in England with their P-47B Thunderbolts in 1943. The objective of the American fighter units was to gain air superiority over the Luftwaffe in support of their daylight bombing campaign. By 1944 they achieved their objective. Richard Taylor commemorates the valiant contribution of the 78th Fighter Group with a fine new rendition showing P-47D Thunderbolts departing Duxford en route for the north coast of France, and a low-level strafing mission. It is the spring of 1944, and with the Normandy invasion just days away, the Thunderbolts are already painted with invasion markings.
Days of Thunder by Richard 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


Colonel Donald Cummings (deceased)
Died : 2012
*Signature Value : £50

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.
Limited edition of artist proofs.


Cummings, Donald
(Colonel Donald Cummings (deceased))

Joining the USAAF in 1941, Don Cummings saw action in England, Africa and Italy, taking part in the Battle of Anzio. Flying first with the 12th Air Force and then posted to the 8th Air Force in England, flying with the 39th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group out of Wormingford. Don Cummings flew a total of 150 combat missions and on 25th February, 1945, became one of only two fighter Aces to shoot down two Me262 jet fighters on a single mission. He then served in occupied Germany after the war ended. Sadly, we have learned Don Cummings passed away in November 2012.




Captain Robert P Winks (deceased)
Died : 2008
*Signature Value : £45

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.
Limited edition of artist proofs.


Winks, Robert P
(Captain Robert P Winks (deceased))

Robert Winks joined the service in 1943, and after training was posted to England. Flying his first combat mission in July 1944, he served with the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group. His year long tour in Europe took in the heavy fighting over the Battle of the Bulge, the missions to support the Arnhem operations, and the Battle of Berlin, when the 357th destroyed 56 enemy aircraft. During this time he flew some 69 combat missions. His personal P-51D was 'Trusty Rusty'. His victories included an Me262 jet fighter claimed on 15th January 1945. Sadly, he died on 19th May 2008.




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

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.
Limited edition of artist proofs.


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.
Colonel Royce W Priest
*Signature Value : £40

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.
Limited edition of artist proofs.


Priest, Royce W
(Colonel Royce W Priest)

'Deacon' Priest arrived in England in May 1944, assigned to the 355th Fighter Group. Flying the P-51, combat missions comprised long-range escort, and intensive low-level ground attack. In August he landed behind the lines to pick up his C.O. downed by Ack-Ack fire. Within 6 months of his arrival in Europe he became an Ace, taking his fifth Luftwaffe fighter.
Colonel Duerr J Schuh
*Signature Value : £45

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.
Limited edition of artist proofs.


Schuh, Duerr J
(Colonel Duerr J Schuh)

Duerr Schuh flew his first combat mission in July 1944. Flying 61 missions in the P-51 with the 352nd Fighter Group, he took part in the Battle of the Bulge. The day following Christmas, 1944, while covering a bombing run, he jumped a group of Me109s, shooting down three in a single action. He ended the war an Ace.
Colonel Wilbur R Scheible
*Signature Value : £40

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.
Limited edition of artist proofs.


Scheible, Wilbur R
(Colonel Wilbur R Scheible)

After joining the USAAF in 1941, Wilbur completed flight training in 1942. Assigned to the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group based at Martlesham Heath, England, he flew P47s and P-51s, primarily engaged in bomber escort work. During his combat career he had single, double, and triple air victories, ending his war an Ace with 6 air victories.
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