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Flying Tigers by Stan Stokes. - Cranston Military Prints

Flying Tigers by Stan Stokes.


Flying Tigers by Stan Stokes.

Claire Chennault retired from the USAAF in 1937. Chennault had been an outspoken supporter of advanced fighter aircraft, but was at odds with many of his superiors who favored development of bombers. Chennault went to China to assist Chiang-Kai-shek in resurrecting the Chinese Air Force. In 1941 President Roosevelt authorized a plan to allow American servicemen to volunteer for a one-year duty assignment in China as members of Chennaults American Volunteer Group. 100 Curtis P-40s were rerouted from the UK to Burma. A like number of pilots and a few hundred support personnel filtered into the group from various branches of the service. The AVG engaged the Japanese in combat from late 1941 through mid-1942. Despite being greatly outnumbered, and facing critical shortages of supplies and spare parts, the AVGs official victory tally included 299 aircraft shot down and another 240 destroyed on the ground. The Flying Tigers have a special place in the hearts of aviation history enthusiasts.
Item Code : STK0163Flying Tigers by Stan Stokes. - Editions Available
DESCRIPTIONSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSPRICEPURCHASINGPACKS
Signed limited edition of 1500 prints, signed by 24 AVG Flying Tiger pilots, and the artist. Size 27 inches x 20 inches (69cm x 51cm)Artist : Stan StokesSOLD
OUT		NOT
AVAILABLE


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The very first air combat fought by American pilots following the surprise attack upon Pearl Harbor. In less than one hour America struck back in a war that was to end in total victory. As the assault mounted on the Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, simultaneously the air base at Wheeler Field came under heavy attack. Two young USAAF pilots, Kenneth Taylor and George Walsh, quickly got their P-40 Tomahawks airborne. Winging southwards towards Ewa Field they ripped into a dozen or more enemy planes attacking the marine field. Diving into the formation they each downed Val fighter-bombers. Robert Taylors painting shows Ken Taylor in his P-40 tomahawk, with George Walsh in close company, bringing down his second enemy aircraft on December 7, 1941, an Aichi D-3Al Val dive-bomber. In the background palls of smoke rise from Hangar 6 housing the naval float planes, and the up-turned battleship Oklahoma.

America Strikes Back by Robert Taylor		 Curtiss had been the primary supplier of fighter aircraft to the U.S. Army Air Corps. since its inception, and the company was dismayed when the Army procured the Boeing P-26 Peashooter in 1932. Curtiss responded by hiring Mr. Donovan Berlin, a bright young engineer who was working for Northrop. Donovan developed the Hawk 75, a streamlined, low-wing, monoplane coastal defense fighter. With an enhanced Twin Wasp engine the Hawk 75 evolved into the P-36, which had a brief and fairly undistinguished career with the Air Corps. In 1938 a P-36 was retrofitted with the Allison in-line 12-cylinder, 1150 HP engine, and the P-40 was born. This was the beginning of what would eventually be a production run of more than 13,000 aircraft. Depending on its theater of operation and the particular model, the P-40 was alternatively known as the Tomahawk, the Kittyhawk, or the Warhawk. By mid-1942 P-40s were serving in every major conflict. The aircraft excelled in ground attack missions, but lacked the speed and maneuverability to challenge the top Japanese or German fighters in dogfights. As a result, P-40 pilots developed strategies which took advantage of the aircrafts structural integrity and excellent flying characteristics, while minimizing the aircrafts limitations. The final production version of the P-40 was the N model, which achieved a top rated speed of 378 MPH by eliminating two machine guns and by reducing fuel tank capacity. The American Volunteer Group was a group of American mercenary pilots which fought for the Chinese early in the War. Organized by Army Capt. C.L. Chennault, the Flying Tigers, as the group was more popularly referred to, consisted of 100 pilots and 100 P-40B aircraft. Three squadrons, the Panda Bears, the Hells Angels, and Adam and Eve, made up the unit. The primary mission of the Flying Tigers was to keep Chinas vital supply link to the outside world, the Burma road, open. Under Chennault the Flying Tigers utilized diving attacks as a means of providing tactical advantage against the lighter, faster, and more maneuverable Japanese aircraft. Prior to the group being disbanded in 1942 the Tigers had chalked up 286 confirmed victories with losses of only 23 aircraft. Pilots received a $500 bonus for every Japanese plane shot down. Depicted in Stan Stokes extraordinary painting is Ken Jernstedt, one of the 39 Flying Tiger aces of the War, with 10.5 confirmed victories. In Stokes scene Jernstedt has just achieved a victory over a Japanese Nakajima Ki-27, referred to as the Nate by the USAAC. The gnat-like Nate was the first monoplane fighter to serve with the JAAF. Although a fragile craft Chenault described the Nate as follows: ....it climbs like a rocket and maneuvers like a squirrel. The Flying Tigers did a lot of squirrel hunting in the few short months of their existence.

Tigers Claws by Stan Stokes.		 One of America's best known Aces, 'Tex' Hill scored his first victories in 1942 with the American Volunteer Group (AVG) known as the Flying Tigers. In his P-40 Warhawk, he was credited with 12 and a quarter victories while flying in aid of the Chinese against the Japanese, including the Ki.27 'Nate' depicted here. After the AVG was disbanded, he scored 6 more victories flying P-51 Mustangs with the USAAF. Tex Hill died in 2007 aged 92.

Tribute to David Lee 'Tex' Hill by Ivan Berryman. 		Claire Chennaults American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) continue to capture the imagination and interest of aviation history buffs more than fifty years after they flew combat missions for the Chinese Air Force. Composed of about ninety pilots and another 200 ground support personnel, the Tigers arrived in China in mid-1941. Flying Curtiss P-40s which had been rerouted from Britain to China, the Tigers flew from December of 1941 until mid-1942. Engaging a numerically superior Japanese force over a very wide front, the AVG was officially credited with downing 299 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat, and an additional 240 aircraft destroyed during ground attack missions. The Flying Tigers slowed the Japanese conquest in China, and caused Japan to focus more resources on this theater of operations than they had planned. Charles R. Bond was Vice Squadron Leader for the AVGs 1 Pursuit Squadron, the Adam and Eves. Bond was born in Dallas, Texas in 1915. He joined the Texas National Guard, and was commissioned following aviation cadet training in 1939. Bond joined the AVG in September of 194 1. The bulk of his aerial combat took place over Burma, and he was credited with downing three Japanese aircraft on one mission over Ragoon to become an ace. Charlie rejoined the USAAF in 1942. He earned a degree in Management Engineering from Texas A&M University, and he retired from the USAF in 1968 with the rank of Major General. Carl K. Brown, a 1 Pursuit Squadron Flight Leader, was born in 1917, and joined the USN as an aviation cadet in 1939 after attending Michigan State University. He was assigned to a Torpedo squadron initially based on the USS Saratoga. Brown joined the AVG in mid- 194 1. Brown volunteered to fly night patrols over Toungoo, Burma. Following the disbandment of the AVG in 1942, Carl continued to fly with the CNAC until 1945. Following the War, Brown was involved for a while with the upstart Flying Tigers Airline. He later would attend medical school, graduating from USC in 1952. He had a lengthy career as a doctor specializing in neurology and anaesthetics. Camille Joe Rosbert, a I Pursuit Squadron Flight Leader, was born in Philadelphia in 1917. He graduated summa cum laude from Villanova University, and joined the USN as an aviation cadet. He was awarded his naval aviator wings and his commission at Pensacola in 1940. He became a commander of a PBY, but decided to join the AVG in hopes of becoming a fighter pilot. Rosbert became an ace on June 12, 1942 when he downed a pair of Japanese bombers. Following the War, Rosbert joined eight other AVG pilots in forming the Flying Tiger Airline. Later he joined Claire Chennault with his newly formed Civil Air Transport. Rosbert and his wife spent more than a decade operating a hotel in Spain before returning to the States in 1972. John R. Dick Rossi, a Flight Leader with the I Pursuit Squadron, was born in Placerville, California in 1915. He attended the University of California at Berkley prior to joining the Navy in 1939. He left the Navy in 1941 to join the AVG. He became an ace with the AVG, and remained in China for the balance of the war flying more than 700 missions over the hump. Since the end of the War, s been involved in a number of aviation-related undertakings. He currently serves as President of the Flying Tigers Association.

Flying Tigers and Buffalos by Stan Stokes.
Squadrons Related to This Print
Flying Tigers
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Tomahawk

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