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Moonlighting by Stan Stokes. - Cranston Military Prints

Moonlighting by Stan Stokes.


Moonlighting by Stan Stokes.

Stan Stokes painting depicts a P-38 mission flown by 10 Fighter Group pilots Milton B. Adams, Joe Gunder, and Bill Harris in early February 1945. The 18th Fighter Group, part of the Thirteenth Air Force, moved its base of operations to Lingayen Gulf from Mindoro in early 1945. The group participated in numerous daylight strafing missions of Japanese targets on Northern Luzon. The missions were largely very successful and the Japanese had a high chance of getting hit hard by the 18 h whenever they attempted to move men or supplies. In response to the punishment being inflicted by these missions, the Japanese switched to nighttime truck convoys. Typically accompanied by numerous trucks with either 50 caliber or 20min quad machineguns, the nighttime convoys became the principal means for moving both arms and supplies south. Although the P-38 Lightnings flown by the group were not equipped for night fighting, and the pilots lacked any training for such missions, the pilots felt that under the right conditions (clear skies and plenty of moonlight) that they could successfully navigate to and attack their targets. Harris and Adams decided to experiment with some evening missions when sufficient moonlight was available to identify targets. Their experiment proved successful, and Joe Gunder decided to join them on their moonlighting missions. With the moon at its peak, the three P-38 pilots had good hunting results for several evenings in a row. Although the moon was waning, the three agreed to one final mission that month. On this mission the three P-38 pilots lingered for about an hour over their target area without spotting anything. As they began to head for home they noticed a long convoy of approximately 100 vehicles. They were stopped in a narrow valley about three miles long surrounded by 2000-foot high steep hillsides. The road through the valley was straight, and the convoy was a sitting duck, All three pilots peeled off and made a high speed strafing pass. They got several hits, and a number of the fuel trucks in the convoy were set ablaze. The three made a second pass hitting additional vehicles and scattering the Japanese truck drivers. One final strafing pass was made. During this pass Joe Gunders right engine must have been hit. Gunder tried to feather his prop and still gain altitude to get out of the narrow valley. Instead Gunders aircraft lost speed and altitude and his P-38 slammed into the side of the valley. The next day a Philippine radio message was received indicating that Gunder had died and that his body had been recovered. Following the War, Bill Harris, who was the highest scoring ace of the Thirteenth Air Force with 16 victories, left the service and returned to his native California, where he has been active for more than fifty years in the farming, ranching, and lumber businesses. Milton Adams remained in the USAF until retirement, rising to the rank of Major General. Adams currently resides in Laredo, Texas. This painting is dedicated to the memory of USAAF Captain Joe Gunder whose ultimate sacrifice typifies the courage and resolve of Americas greatest generation.
Item Code : STK0033Moonlighting by Stan Stokes. - Editions AvailableExtra....

A photograph of an edition of the print :

DESCRIPTIONSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSPRICEPURCHASINGPACKS
Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Size 22 inches x 18 inches (56cm x 46cm)
Adams, Milton B

Died : 2009
Major General Milton B Adams (deceased)
General Adams was born in 1917 in Eagle Pass, Texas. He completed high school in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1934 and entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1935. He graduated in 1939, and was assigned to Kelly Field, Texas, where he received his pilot wings in 1940. Adams served with the 22nd Pursuit Squadron at Langley Field, Va., Puerto Rico and Trinidad from 1940 to 1943. After a short tour as commander of the 328th Fighter Group at Hamilton Field, California, in October 1943 Adams went to t
Signature Value : £50
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
Harris, Bill
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Lieutenant Colonel Bill Harris
Before joining the Army Air Force, Bill Harris had served in the US Navy for 4 years he got his flying wings and on 30th October 1942 was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Luke Field, Arizona and assigned to the 339th Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter Group. Flying a P-38G, Harris scored his first victory on 7th June 1943 by destroying two Zeros over the Russells. On the 16th Harris shot down two Zeros over Guadalcanal during a noontime attack by the Japanese. On 4th October he claimed a Z
Signature Value : £50
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

+ Artist : Stan Stokes

Signature(s) value alone : £100		£250.00

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Some other related items available from this site.

P-38 Lightnings launching a surprise attack on a German freight train as it winds its way through the hills of Northern France towards the battle front, shortly before D-Day, 1944.

Lightning Encounter by Nicolas Trudgian.		 The highest scoring US pilot of the Second World War, Richard Bong, is depicted in his personal P.38J <i>Marge</i>, claiming just one of his 40 confirmed victories. Insisting that he was not the greatest of marksmen, it was Bongs habit to manoeuvre to impossibly close distances before opening fire on his opponents. His eventual total may well have been greater than 40, as a further 8 probables could be attributed to him, together with 7 damaged. He was killed whilst testing a P.80 jet for the USAF in August 1945.

Richard Bong by Ivan Berryman. 		With 12 victories to his credit, William Sloan was the highest scoring pilot of the 96th FS/82nd FG and is shown here in his P.38 Snooks IV ½, a reference to the fact that this aircraft was made up of so many cannibalised parts from other P.38s.

Lt William J Dixie Sloan by Ivan Berryman. 		After graduating as a pilot he was posted to the Pacific to join his first operational squadron - the 431st Fighter Squadron, 475th Fighter Group, flying P-38 Lightnings from 1944. He served with the 431st Squadron throughout the remainder of the war in the Pacific, and finally left the service in January 1946.

Clipped Signature - Thomas Oxford.
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




Major General Milton B Adams (deceased)
Died : 2009
*Signature Value : £50

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 500 prints.


Adams, Milton B
(Major General Milton B Adams (deceased))

General Adams was born in 1917 in Eagle Pass, Texas. He completed high school in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1934 and entered the U.S. Military Academy in 1935. He graduated in 1939, and was assigned to Kelly Field, Texas, where he received his pilot wings in 1940. Adams served with the 22nd Pursuit Squadron at Langley Field, Va., Puerto Rico and Trinidad from 1940 to 1943. After a short tour as commander of the 328th Fighter Group at Hamilton Field, California, in October 1943 Adams went to the Southwest Pacific where he commanded the 18th Fighter Group until July 1945 when he returned to the United States. Milton Adams had flown a total of 275 combat missions. Eighteen months later he was assigned to Tehran, Iran, as advisor to the Imperial Iranian Air Force. In 1950 General Adams graduated from the Air War College. After a brief tour with the Air Tactical School, he served successively as faculty member of the Air War College; director of the Squadron Officer Course and director of the Field Officer Course of the Air University. General Adams became chief of staff, Headquarters Pacific Air Forces in July 1968 and retired on August 1st 1972. Sadly General Adams passed away on the 15th of May 2009


Lieutenant Colonel Bill Harris
*Signature Value : £50

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 500 prints.


Harris, Bill
(Lieutenant Colonel Bill Harris)

Before joining the Army Air Force, Bill Harris had served in the US Navy for 4 years he got his flying wings and on 30th October 1942 was commissioned as a second lieutenant at Luke Field, Arizona and assigned to the 339th Fighter Squadron, 347th Fighter Group. Flying a P-38G, Harris scored his first victory on 7th June 1943 by destroying two Zeros over the Russells. On the 16th Harris shot down two Zeros over Guadalcanal during a noontime attack by the Japanese. On 4th October he claimed a Zero on a B-24 escort to Kahili to become an ace. After downing a Zero three days later, on the 10th he was credited with two Zeros on a morning mission to Kahili and that afternoon downed one Zeke confirmed and shared a probable. Promoted to captain, on 27 October Harris became a double ace when he destroyed a Japanese dive-bomber over Treasury Island. Flying out of the Treasury Islands on 9th February 1944, Harris was credited with three Zeros on a sweep over the Admiralties, followed by another pair of Zekes over Vanakanau Airstrip on the 15th. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, Harris was sent to the Philippines to command the 18th Fighter Group in the spring of 1945. On 22nd June he downed an Oscar over Mandai Airdrome to become the top P-38 ace in the Thirteenth Air Force. With 16 victories in total under his belt, he sadly passed away on May 23rd May 2012 at the age of 95.
Squadrons Related to This Print
18th Fighter Group
Aircraft Related to This Print
Lightning (US)

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