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  Erich Hartmann by Ivan Berryman. |   Tribute to Johannes Steinhoff by Graeme Lothian. |   Tribute to Franz Schieß by Ivan Berryman. |   Heading Home to Raydon 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. | |
| Name | Info |
  Hauptmann Ernst Wilhelm Reinert (deceased) Died : 2007 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Limited edition of publishers proofs. | Reinert, Ernst Wilhelm (Hauptmann Ernst Wilhelm Reinert (deceased)) Ernst Wilhelm Reinert flew with JG77, before transferring to the Eastern Front in 1941. He was posted to Tunisia in January 1943 where he became the most successful Luftwaffe Ace in North Africa during that period. On January 2nd 1945 he was given the leadership of IV./JG27. In March he transferred to III./JG7 flying the Me262. In his 715 missions Reinert scored 174 aerial victories. he was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Born 2nd February 1919 in Lindenthal, died 5th September 2007. |
  Major Erich Rudorffer (deceased) Died : 2016 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Limited edition of publishers proofs. | Rudorffer, Erich (Major Erich Rudorffer (deceased)) Erich Rudorffer was born on November 1st 1917 in the town of Zwickau in Saxony. Erich Rudorffer joined the Luftwaffes I./JG2 Richthofen in November 1939, and was soon flying combat patrols in January 1940 and was assigned to I/JG 2 Richthofen with the rank of Oberfeldwebel. He took part in the Battle of France, scoring the first of his many victories over a French Hawk 75 on May 14th, 1940. He went on to score eight additional victories during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. Rudorffer recalled an incident in August 1940 when he escorted a badly damaged Hurricane across the Channel - ditching in the English Channel was greatly feared by pilots on both sides. As fate often does, Rudorffer found the roles reversed two weeks later, when he was escorted by an RAF fighter after receiving battle damage. By May 1st 1941 Rudorffer had achieved 19 victories, which led to the award of the Knights Cross. In June 1941 Rodorffer became an Adjutant of II./JG2. In 1942 Rudorffer participated in Operation Cerberus (known as the Channel Dash) and flew over the Allied landings at Dieppe. Erich Rudorffer along with JG2 was transferred to North Africa in December 1942. It was in North Africa that Rudorffer showed his propensity for multiple-victory sorties. He shot down eight British aircraft in 32 minutes on February 9th 1943 and seven more in 20 minutes six days later. After scoring a total of 26 victories in Tunisia, Rudorffer returned to France in April 1943 and was posted to command II./JG54 in Russia, after Hauptmann Heinrich Jung, its Kommodore, failed to return from a mission on July 30th 1943. On August 24th 1943 he shot down 5 Russian aircraft on the first mission of the day and followed that up with three more victories on the second mission. He scored seven victories in seven minutes on October 11th but his finest achievement occurred on November 6th when in the course of 17 minutes, he shot down thirteen Russian aircraft. Rudorffer became known to Russian pilots as the fighter of Libau. On October 28th 1944 while about to land, Rudorffer spotted a large formation of Il-2 Sturmoviks. He quickly aborted the landing and moved to engage the Russian aircraft. In under ten minutes, nine of the of the II-2 Sturmoviks were shot down causing the rest to disperse. Rudorffer would later that day go on and shoot down a further two Russian aircraft. These victories took his total to 113 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves on April 11th 1944. Rudorffer would on the 26th January 1945 on his 210th victory receive the addition of the Swords. In February 1945 Rudorffer took command of I./JG7 flying the Me262. He was one of the first jet fighter aces of the war, scoring 12 victories in the Me262. He shot down ten 4-engine bombers during the 'Defense of the Reich missions'. He was the master of multiple scoring - achieving more multiple victories than any other pilot. Erich Rudorffer never took leave, was shot down 16 times having to bail out 9 times, and ended the war with 222 victories from over 1000 missions. He was awarded the Knights Cross, with Oak Leaves and Swords. Erich Rudorffer died on 8th April 2016. |
  Major Richard Bud Peterson (deceased) Died : 2000 *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Limited edition of publishers proofs. | Peterson, Richard Bud (Major Richard Bud Peterson (deceased)) Bud Peterson was born in Hancock in 1923 and attended the University of Minnesota before joining the Army Reserve. He went through the cadet program and became a second lieutenant. He was sent to Europe to join the 357th Fighter Group. He scored his first victory in March 1944, bringing down an Fw190 in his P-51 Mustang. He eventually became the top scorer in 364th Fighter Squadron, with a final tally of 15.5 victories, and was the 10th Ace of the 357th Fighter Group. All his victories were scored in the P-51 Mustang, and he also scored 3.5 ground victories, and has the distinction of scoring victories over every piston-engined Luftwaffe aircraft flown in WWII. Peterson flew 150 missions over Europe. Major Richard Bud Peterson became a major at age 21, at the time the youngest person to achieve that rank in the Army Air Force. He would later be awarded the Air Medal, the Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross. Major Richard Bud Peterson also received the Croix de Guerre, one of France's highest honors for bravery. After the war he was selected as a staff officer to interview Adolf Galland, commander of the German Air Force fighter forces, on aerial combat tactics and strategy. He later pursued his architecture career and worked for such companies as Cerny Associates Inc. before co-founding Peterson, Clark & Griffith, Architects, in 1960. He was involved in the construction of many Twin Cities buildings and the Minnesota Zoo. Bud Peterson, died Sunday 4th of June 2000 of cancer at a Walker Methodist home in Minneapolis. He was 77. |
  Leonard Kit Carson (deceased) Died : 1994 *Signature Value : £75 Editions signed : Limited edition of publishers proofs. | Carson, Leonard Kit (Leonard Kit Carson (deceased)) Leonard 'Kit' Carson with 18.5 victories was the top ace of the 357th Fighter Group. His first victory was on April 8th 1944. He scored all his 18.5 victories flying five mustangs all named Nooky Booky. Kit Carson went onto to run the 357th's combat training school or 'Clobber College'. Captain Leonard K. Kit Carson, on the 38th mission of his second tour and having nine previous credits, became the second 357th pilot to become an ace in a day. He was squadron commander between 8 April 1945–1 November 1945. He died on 8th March 1994. |
| Squadrons Related to This Print |
| 357th Fighter Group |
| Aircraft Related to This Print |
| Me109 |
|
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Signature(s) value alone : £270