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Pacific Dolls by Stan Stokes. - Cranston Military Prints

Pacific Dolls by Stan Stokes.


Pacific Dolls by Stan Stokes.

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was undoubtedly the best all-around strategic bomber of WW 11. Because of its fairly late deployment in the War, fewer (3,970) Superfortesses were built than any other U.S. strategic bomber. Because of its large payload, and incredible range, a decision was made to utilize the B-29 exclusively in the Pacific and production models began to arrive in India and China in the spring of 1944. By mid 1945 the B-29 was being operated from bases established in the Mariana Islands, and devastating bombing raids were being flown against Japan on a regular basis. The Texas Doll was a Saipan-based B29 of the 497th Bomb Group, which was under the command of Col. Edward Cutler in 1944 & 1945. In a soon to be published book entitled Flying the Red Carpet, Lt. Col. Don Julin, Cutlers navigator, chronicles in both words and photographs his experiences flying out of Saipan in 1945. The Texas Doll participated in the massive fire bombing raid on Tokyo on March 10, 1945. General Lemay insisted on an all-out low level attack and the Doll was stripped of armor plate and left two of its gunners at home for that mission. Follow-up raids on Nagoya, Osaka, and Kobe followed within days, and it was clear from that point on that Imperial Japans days were numbered. These missions were not without risk. On his first mission with the Doll, Julin recounts how the bomb bay was hit with a 20mm round from a Japanese twin-engine fighter. The concussion from this shell distorted the shape of one of the Dolls fuel tanks, leading to some harrowing fuel shortages on future flights. On Julins first mission from Saipan his B-29 depressurized over Japan. One of the crew members flak jacket, oxygen mask, and shirt were stripped from him, and the pilot was forced to make a emergency dive to 10,000 feet. Returning to Saipan on another mission Cutler and his crewmates watched a B-29 ditch 100 miles short of making it back. In June of 1945 the Dolls crew witnessed two B-29s collide at only 1000 feet in altitude. On April 1, 1945 Cutlers crew watched in terror as the aircraft just ahead of them crashed into the Pacific and exploded upon takeoff. On March 25, 1945 Cutler and his crew flew their final mission with the Doll painted on the nose of their aircraft. It appears that a number of people back at the Pentagon were giving in to pressure, and all the voluptuous nose art which was so inspirational to the crews which risked their lives on each mission, was now deemed inappropriate. In his nostalgic painting entitled Pacific Dolls, award-winning aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts the Texas Doll at Salpan following a mission in March of 1945. This painting is dedicated to all the courageous crews which both flew and serviced all those Pacific Dolls during the War, and is a tribute to this great aircraft which explicitly helped America win the War in the Pacific.
Item Code : STK0095Pacific Dolls by Stan Stokes. - Editions Available
DESCRIPTIONSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSPRICEPURCHASINGPACKS
Signed limited edition of 950 prints.Size 26 inches x 22 inches (66cm x 56cm)
Anderson, Bill
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Bill Anderson
Crew, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Signature Value : £20
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

Cutler, Ed
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Died : 2007
Ed Cutler (deceased)
Pilot, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll. Passed away 11th July 2007.
Signature Value : £35
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE
 
Bisany, Jack
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Jack Bisany
Crew, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Signature Value : £30
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

Erickson, Stan
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Stan Erickson
Crew, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Signature Value : £25
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

Julin, Don
NO
PHOTO
AVAILABLE
Don Julin
Navigator, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Signature Value : £30
CLICK HERE FOR FULL PROFILE

+ Artist : Stan Stokes

Signature(s) value alone : £140		£20 Off!Now : £180.00

Quantity:


Some other related items available from this site.

Boeing B29 Superfortresses of the USAAF 40th Bomb Group come under attack from a Kawasaki Ki64 Hein (Tony) of the Japanese Army Airforces 244th Sentai.

Mission to Yokohama by David Pentland. 		A New Zealander who flew with No.161 Sqn and No.138 Sqn during WW2, he flew B29s with the USAF in Korea before becoming Station Commander at RAF Wittering - home of the UK's V-Bomber fleet. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Distinguished Service Order. He died in 1998. <br><br><b>Please note that this particular signature has been written in pen - not in pencil like most of our signatures.</b><br>

Clipped Signature - Sir Alan Boxer.		 6th August 1945, Col. Paul Tibbets puts his aircraft, Enola Gay, into a violent turn to evade the blast of the atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. This marked a turning point in the war and history.

Turning Point by David Pentland. 		Assigned to the 393rd Bombardment Squadron, USAAF, <i>Enola Gay</i> was one of 15 Boeing B-29s with the 'Silverplate' modifications necessary to deliver the new atomic weapons. She is depicted here in company with <i>The Great Artiste</i>, one of the other two B-29s that took part in the first nuclear bombing mission against the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6th August 1945. The three ship mission consisted of <i>Enola Gay</i> (victor number 82), piloted by Colonel Paul W Tibbets, <i>The Great Artiste</i> (89), piloted by Major Charles W Sweeney and number 91, later named <i>Necessary Evil</i>, piloted by Captain George W Marquardt. Tibbets' aircraft was assigned for weapons delivery, whilst Sweeney's carried blast measurement instrumentation and Marquardt's was the camera ship. This mission and that against the city of Nagasaki a short time later changed the course of history forever and remain to this day the only time that nuclear bombs have been used in anger.

New Frontiers - Enola Gay by Ivan Berryman.
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
Bill Anderson
*Signature Value : £20

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.


Anderson, Bill
(Bill Anderson)

Crew, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Ed Cutler (deceased)
Died : 2007
*Signature Value : £35

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.


Cutler, Ed
(Ed Cutler (deceased))

Pilot, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll. Passed away 11th July 2007.
Jack Bisany
*Signature Value : £30

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.


Bisany, Jack
(Jack Bisany)

Crew, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Stan Erickson
*Signature Value : £25

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.


Erickson, Stan
(Stan Erickson)

Crew, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Don Julin
*Signature Value : £30

Editions signed :

Signed limited edition of 950 prints.


Julin, Don
(Don Julin)

Navigator, B-29 Superfortress The Texas Doll
Aircraft Related to This Print
Superfortress

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