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  Squadron Leader Schuck, Germany, Spring 1945 by David Pentland. |   Cat Among the Pigeons (FW190) by Ivan Berryman. |   Alpine Thunder by Nicolas Trudgian. |   The End by David Pentland. | |
| 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 |
  Hannes Trautloft (deceased) Died : 1995 *Signature Value : £70 Editions signed : Me262 Pilot Presentation Edition of Artist Proofs Nos. 1 - 5. | Trautloft, Hannes (Hannes Trautloft (deceased)) Hannes Trautloft is one of the Luftwaffe's great fighter leaders, scoring his first air victory in the Spanish Civil War in August 1936. Returning to Germany in 1937 he joined the national aerobatics team flying the Me109. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, Hannes took command of I./JG20 taking part in the Battle of Britain, before moving to the Balkans as Kommodore of JG54. Now leading the group on the Russian Front, JG54 took part in the heavy fighting, first in the Me109, then the Fw190. In the summer of 1943 Hannes Trautloft joined General Galland's staff. As a 'mutineer' he was sacked by Goering, thus ending an illustrious combat career comprising 550 combat missions and 57 aerial victories. he died 11th January 1995. |
  General Walter Krupinski (deceased) Died : 2000 *Signature Value : £75 Editions signed : Me262 Pilot Presentation Edition of Artist Proofs Nos. 1 - 5. | Krupinski, Walter (General Walter Krupinski (deceased)) Walter Krupinski first saw combat against the RAF on the Western Front. Transferring to the east, he became a Squadron Commander in the legendary JG52. In 1943 his victories reached 150 but, in March 1944 with 177 victories to his name, he was transferred to Germany to command JG11. Flying high altitude Me109s, he chalked up another 12 victories before being wounded. In September 1944 he was promoted Kommandeur of III./JG26 and led them on Operation Bodenplatte before joining Galland's famous JV44. He completed the war with 197 victories in over 1100 missions. Walter Krupinski, known as Graf Punski or Count Punski in the Jagdwaffe, was a swashbuckling fly-boy with a phenomenal record of 197 aerial victories. Krupinski not only never lost a wingman, but also had the ability to help beginners develop to their full potential. He joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 as a student in the 11th Flying Training Regiment. He first served with the Jagderganzungsgruppe JG52, a combat replacement unit, flying the Me109, in October 1940. By the end of 191, he had earned the Iron Cross 1st class after his seventh victory and was awarded the German Cross in Gold and the Knights Cross one year later after scoring over 52 aerial victories. Krupinski taught the aerial art of closing with the enemy aircraft until it filled the windscreen before firing. It was during this time that the young Erich Hartmann was assigned as Krupinskis wingman. The young and overly enthusiastic Hartmann was seriously struggling in his first attempts at aerial combat, resulting in severe reprimands by the group commander. However, under Krupinskis expert tutelage, Hartmann mastered the art of aerial combat and went on to become the top scoring fighter ace in the world with 352 victories. While still a first lieutenant, Krupinski was selected as Dquadron Commander of 7.JG52 in the spring of 1943. On 5th of July of the same year, he scored victories 80 to 90 - 11 in one day! He later transferred to the Reich Defence in the west with 1./JG5 in the spring of 1944. His units mission was to help halt the Allied strategic bombardment campaign against Germany. Krupinski continued to rack up aerial victories and was awarded Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross after his 177th victory. He was promoted to Captain and became Group Commander of II./JG 11. Later, Krupinski became Group Commander of II./JG 26 Schlageter Group. In March 1945 he joined General Adolf Gallands famed Jagdverband 44 and flew Messerschmitt Me262 jet fighters until the end of the war. After logging a total of 1,100 combat missions, Krupinski was officialy credited with 197 aerial victories. Krupinski was also wounded seven times in aerial combat and received the Verwundetenabzeichen in Gold - the German equivalent of the American Purple Heart. A civilian after the war, Krupinski later joined the new Luftwaffe in 1952 and was promoted to major in 1955. He received jet fighting training from the Royal Air Force and became the first commander of the Jagdbomber Geschwader, Fighter-Bomber Wing - 33. Krupinski flew various jet fighters in the German Air Force, but held dear the last aircraft he flew until his retirement, his beloved F-104G Starfighter. General Krupinski retired as Commander of the German Air Force Tactical Air Command in 1976. He received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves. He died 7th October 2000. |
  Hauptmann Georg Csurusky *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Me262 Pilot Presentation Edition of Artist Proofs Nos. 1 - 5. | Csurusky, Georg (Hauptmann Georg Csurusky) After completing his pilot training, Georg was posted in January, 1943, to 1.KG51 on the eastern front, flying the JU-88 all-weather medium bomber. In August, 1943, he converted to fly the ME-410 Hornet. On October 3rd 1943 Hauptmann Georg Csurusky was awarded the Deutsches Kreuz in Gold (The German Cross in Gold). In 1944, 1 Gruppe KG51 converted to train on the ME-262 jet fighter-bomber for the Western Front. Georg flew the 262 on the attack on the Ludendorff Bridge. At the war's end he had flown 209 combat missions on both fronts, 68 of which were in the ME-262. |
  Oberfeldwebel Rony Lauer (deceased) Died : 2002 *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Me262 Pilot Presentation Edition of Artist Proofs Nos. 1 - 5. | Lauer, Rony (Oberfeldwebel Rony Lauer (deceased)) Rony Lauer joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 but was still in pilot training at the start of the war. In 1942 he was posted to join KG30, flying the JU-88 on operations over England and later in the Mediteranean theater. In June, 1944, he transferred to 1./KG51 for training on the ME-262 and flew in in combat a few months later. Rony flew one of the lead aircraft in the attack on the Bridge at Remagen, and flew the 262 until the end of the war. Rony Lauer was witness to the first recorded Allied destruction of a Me262, belonging to the unit known as Kommando Schenk, on 28th August 1944, claimed as destroyed by 78th FG pilots Major Joseph Myers and Second Lieutenant Manford O. Croy flying P-47 Thunderbolts. On August 28th 1944, General William Kepner's men came up against Oberfeldwebel Hieronymus 'Rony' Lauer, a straightforward, clean-cut young man who exuded quiet confidence and seemed incapable of being afraid. He had been living on the edge longer than any of the Americans who were fighting Hitler's jets. Lauer joined the Luftwaffe in 1937 and was in pilot training at the start of the war, in those early days when the Luftwaffe could afford the time for the same kind of rigorous training program that was typical of the Americans. That luxury would vanish, though, and Lauer would eventually find himself fighting alongside men with relatively little experience. With an initial assignment similar to that of his fellow pilot Hans Busch, Lauer flew the twin-prop Junkers Ju 88 in the Mediterranean theater. In 1944, he was transferred to unit 1/KG51 for training on the Me 262 and flew in combat a few months later. He appeared to have a natural feel for the jet aircraft and to be stoic about its flaws. Lauer was to achieve several firsts as a jet pilot and one was becoming the first Me 62 pilot claimed as an aerial victory by the Allies. It happened when Major Joseph Myers led the Surtax Blue Flight of P-47 Thunderbolts of the 82nd Fighter Squadron, 78th Fighter Group, on a fighter sweep at eleven thousand feet near Termonde, Belgium. At 7:15 p.m., Myers saw what he thought was a B-26 Marauder going south very fast and very low. He dove at forty-five degrees registering 450 miles per hour and got right above the aircraft at five thousand feet, observing that it was painted slate blue with no markings. The plane began doing ninety-degree-wide evasive turns, apparently demonstrating in the process what many pilots would conclude later - that it could not turn inside a P-47. Myers cut him off and closed in to within eight hundred yards. That is when Myers remembered that intelligence officers had shown him recognition plats of a new aircraft called the Me 262. The pilot: Rony Lauer. Lauer's guns weren't even loaded. He was ferrying the Me262 on a transfer from Juvincourt, near Reims, France, to Chievres, Belgium. Myers and 2nd Lt. Manford O. Croy Jr. latched on and chased Lauer. As Myers held his thumb over the firing switch, Lauer slowed down and crashed in a plowed field. Myers started shooting as the Me262 touched the ground and continued pumping bursts into it at close quarters, getting hits in the cockpit and both engines. The Me262 skidded across a field, on fire. Lauer leaped out and ran. By then Croy was opening up with his eight .50-caliber guns, and the after-action report indicated that Croy hit the pilot as he ran from the jet. In fact, Lauer was never touched. Myers and Croy are each credited with one-half of an air-to-air victory, officially the first American kill of a jet. Lauer wasn't finished being shot down - it would happen again - but at the very time Allied armies were making a breakout in France, there was a lull in engagements. Rony Lauer died in 2002. |
  Oberfeldwebel Hermann Wieczorek *Signature Value : £55 Editions signed : Me262 Pilot Presentation Edition of Artist Proofs Nos. 1 - 5. | Wieczorek, Hermann (Oberfeldwebel Hermann Wieczorek) Hermann Wieczorek joined the Luftwaffe in 1935 and served as a flight mechanic before training as a pilot. Upon qualifying, he served initially as a flying instructor before joining Oberfehlshaber Sud, under General Kesselring, flying photoreconnaissance missions in the ME-110 and JU-88 over Italy and North Africa. In June, 1944, he was transferred to 1./KG51, flying the ME-262 on the Western Front. Hermann flew the 262 in the action against the Bridge at Remagen and afterword until the end of the war. |
  Walter Wolfrum (deceased) Died : 2010 *Signature Value : £60 Editions signed : Walter Wolfrum Knights Cross signature edition of 6 signed limited edition prints from the edition of 500, Nos 1 to 6. | Wolfrum, Walter (Walter Wolfrum (deceased)) Walter Wolfrum first saw combat in the Crimea with 5/JG52. He was shot down three times, and wounded twice before scoring his first victory. With his score at 70 he was again wounded, but returned to take command of 1/JG52 in May 1944, taking part in the fiercely fought defence of the Ploesti oilfields. he was again wounded, but returned to command 1/JG52 until the end of the war. he had flown 423 missions, achieved 137 victories, and was awarded the Knights Cross. Sadly, Walter Wolfrum passed away on 26th August 2010. |
  Leutnant Hugo Broch *Signature Value : £60 Editions signed : Hugo Broch Knights Cross signature edition of 6 signed limited edition prints from the edition of 500, Nos 7 to 12. | Broch, Hugo (Leutnant Hugo Broch) Vital to all fighter units are the pilots who make such superb wingmen that their leaders are loath to part with them. Hugo Broch was one such wingman. Having joined VI./JG54 in January he flew first with Horst Adameit (166 victories), and later with Bazi Sterr (130 victories), but soon demonstrated his own skill in combat. By the end of 1944 he had lifted his personal score to 71 victories. One of JG54s great Fw190 Aces, Hugo Broch saw combat on the Eastern and Baltic Fronts, and completed the war having flown 324 combat missions, and claiming 81 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross. |
| Aircraft Related to This Print |
| Me262 |
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Signature(s) value alone : £310
Signature(s) value alone : £60