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Mustangs Over the Eagles Nest by Nicolas Trudgian.
Obersalzberg, a spectacularly picturesque area of southern Germany in the
Bavarian Alps, became a focal point for the Allies as World War II was drawing
to its close. This mountain village had become a Nazi stronghold after the Third
Reich had seized houses, farms, and some 600 acres, and built private residences
for Martin Bormann and Hermann Goering, an SS barracks, and erected a 30kmn
fence around the perimeter to deter intrusion. At its centre was the Berghoff,
Adolf Hitlers private mountain retreat. Crowning Bormanns lavish building
programme was the house he had built on a rocky spur almost 3000 feet above the
Obersalzberg, some 6000 feet above sea level. Reached via a twisting road
blasted out of the mountainside, the house was approached after entering a
tunnel via a large brass two story elevator rising over 400 feet to the
building. The Kelilsteinhaus was Martin Bormanns present for Hitter on the
occasion of his 50th birthday in 1939. It was known by the Allies as the Eagles
Nest. Believing the Obersalzberg to be where Hitler and his closest henchmen
would make their final stand, in April 1945 Allied bombing raids reduced much of
the area to ruins. The Eagles Nest, intended as a private retreat from which
Hitler could gaze over a conquered Europe, being an isolated target, survived
this onslaught, and endures to this day. Nicolas Trudgians painting shows P-51Ds
of the 339th Fighter Group roaring over the rooftop of Hitlers now abandoned
folly. With Germany and the Third Reich on the brink of defeat, this majestic
aviation image conveys the poignant irony of the greatest lost cause in human
history, with P-51 Mustangs providing a fitting symbol of victory over tyranny. |
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Mustangs Over the Eagles Nest by Nicolas Trudgian.
Obersalzberg, a spectacularly picturesque area of southern Germany in the Bavarian Alps, became a focal point for the Allies as World War II was drawing to its close. This mountain village had become a Nazi stronghold after the Third Reich had seized houses, farms, and some 600 acres, and built private residences for Martin Bormann and Hermann Goering, an SS barracks, and erected a 30kmn fence around the perimeter to deter intrusion. At its centre was the Berghoff, Adolf Hitlers private mountain retreat. Crowning Bormanns lavish building programme was the house he had built on a rocky spur almost 3000 feet above the Obersalzberg, some 6000 feet above sea level. Reached via a twisting road blasted out of the mountainside, the house was approached after entering a tunnel via a large brass two story elevator rising over 400 feet to the building. The Kelilsteinhaus was Martin Bormanns present for Hitter on the occasion of his 50th birthday in 1939. It was known by the Allies as the Eagles Nest. Believing the Obersalzberg to be where Hitler and his closest henchmen would make their final stand, in April 1945 Allied bombing raids reduced much of the area to ruins. The Eagles Nest, intended as a private retreat from which Hitler could gaze over a conquered Europe, being an isolated target, survived this onslaught, and endures to this day. Nicolas Trudgians painting shows P-51Ds of the 339th Fighter Group roaring over the rooftop of Hitlers now abandoned folly. With Germany and the Third Reich on the brink of defeat, this majestic aviation image conveys the poignant irony of the greatest lost cause in human history, with P-51 Mustangs providing a fitting symbol of victory over tyranny.
Signed limited edition of 350 Anniversary edition prints. Paper size 35.5 inches x 27 inches (90cm x 69cm). Price £185.00 Signed by Master Sergeant Dale Moon, Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Powell, 1st Lieutenant Ivan Hasek, Captain John L Minech and Major Robert W. Sternfels.
Signed limited edition of 150 Commemorative Proof edition prints. Paper size 35.5 inches x 27 inches (90cm x 69cm). Price £215.00 Signed by Master Sergeant Dale Moon, Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Powell, 1st Lieutenant Ivan Hasek, Captain John L Minech, Major Robert W. Sternfels, Captain Clinton DeWitt Burdick and Colonel Arthur C Fiedler.
Nicolas Trudgian Promotional Flyer. A4 Size Double Sheet 11.5 inches x 8 inches (30m x 21cm) . Price £1.50
ITEM CODE DHM2657
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Mustangs Over the Eagles Nest by Nicolas Trudgian
- The Signatures
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Master Sergeant Dale Moon
Flying B17s with the 381st Bomb Group, Dale Moon was based at Ridgewell with the 533rd Bomb Squadron. Dale undertook his first combat mission in April 1944 during the build up to D-Day, and went on 4 big raids to Berlin during his tour - surviving two crash landings following heavy action. After the war Dale saw service in Korea, and flew the B29 and B36 Peacemaker - the largest American bomber ever produced.
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 | Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence Powell
Commissioned and rated a pilot in December 1943, Lawrence Powell was posted to England, joining the 339th Fighter Group at Fowlinere. Flying P51 s, Lawrence notched up the first of his 5.5 victories, over an Fw 190 south of Hamburg, on 4 August 1944, and attained Ace status on 23 September. Shot down by flak in January 1945, and was made POW.
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1st Lieutenant Ivan Hasek
Ivan Hasek flew P47s in Europe with the 353rd FS - The Fighting Cobras, 354th Fighter Group, attached to the 9th Air Force, scoring his first victory - against an Fw190, on Boxing Bay 1944. Converting to P5 IDs in early 1945 his tally continued to mount, and he finished his tour an Ace with 5.5 victories.
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 | Captain John L Minech
A pilot with the 647th Squadron, 410th Light Bomb Group, John Minech flew the first of his sixty-five combat missions in May 1944, flying the Douglas A20 Havoc. he flew two missions on d-Day itself, the second of which was a low level attack at 300ft during the evening. He flew thirty-five missions as a Flight Leader, and was Squadron Operations Officer for 5 months. He flew in Europe until the end of the war.
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 | Major Robert W. Sternfels
Pilot Bob Sternfels was posted to the 98th Bomb Group flying B24 Liberators, and by April 1943 was in Libya where he took part in the first big Ploesti raid on 1 August 1943, flying the much photographed B24 Sandman. Flying 50 combat missions, he later commanded his squadron out of Libya and Italy, including a big Ragensberg raid.
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 | Captain Clinton DeWitt Burdick
Clinton Burdicks father, Lt Howard Burdick, had been an Ace with 8 victories during the First World War. So perhaps it was natural that Clinton signed up for the service on his 18th birthday in 1942. After pilot training he transferred to join the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group at Martlesham Heath in England, in October 1944. Flying his first combat mission in Noveber, his first victory came quickly on the 25th of that month, and like his father, he too was to become an Ace. Clinton flew 53 combat missions during his tour with the 356th, his last coming on 20th February 1945, and with 6 victories was one of only five aerial Aces in the 356th.
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 | Colonel Arthur C Fiedler
Arthur Charles Fiedler was born in Oak Park, Illinois on August 1, 1923. In April of 1942, five months after America entered WW 11, Fiedler enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He was sent to Avon Park, Florida for primary training, followed by basic training at Macon, Georgia, and advanced training at Marianna, Florida. He graduated with Class 43G in July of 1943, and was assigned as a flight instructor, flying Republic P-47 Thunderbolts at Dover, Delaware. In April of 1944 Second Lieutenant Feidler was assigned to combat duty, and was assigned to the 317'h Fighter Squadron of the 325th Fighter Group (the "Cheekertails"), based in Lesina, Italy. He transitioned to the North American P-51 Mustang, naming his assigned aircraft after his wife "Helen" whom he had married in 1943. On June 24, Fiedler claimed a probable. On June 28 he attained his first two aerial victories. At that morning's briefing Fiedler was elated to learn that his squadron's mission would be a fighter sweep over Polesti, Rumania, in advance of a bombing mission targeting the massive oil refining operations in that area.. When flying fighter escort for bombers the fighters were prohibited from flying below 15,000-feet. This gave the Germans a dog fighting advantage, as the early Allison-powered Mustangs were good performers at low altitudes but relatively poor performers at higher altitudes. Forty P-5 Is from the 325th 17G took off at 0725 hours for the fighter sweep. Sweeping the target area at 25,000-29,000 feet for about 45 minutes a total of 47 enemy aircraft were encountered. During this mission Fiedler would earn his first two victories. Fiedler became an ace on July 26 when he downed his fourth and fifth aircraft, a Fw- 190, south of Vienna, and a 109 several minutes later. Promoted to Captain, Fiedler attained his eighth and final victory on January 20, 1945 while escorting B-17s to Regerisbuurg. His flight of four P-51s broke-up an attacking force of 40 German fighters. Following the War Fiedler left the military and attended the University of Illinois, earning a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. He was recalled for active duty during the Korean War, and decided to make a career in the Air Force. In addition to his 66 combat missions flown in WW 11, Fiedler would fly 247 combat missions in C-130s during the Vietnam War Col. Fiedler retired from the USAF in 1975, and currently resides in Southern California. His decorations include the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross with one OLC, the Air Medal with 22 OLCs, and the Partisan Star.
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