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CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL NICOLAS TRUDGIAN PRINTS BY TITLE |
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Signatures on this item | |
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. 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 |
1st Sergeant Egbert Duke Buniff *Signature Value : £35 | Already a member of the National Guard, Duke transferred to the regular US First Army in 1941. Posted to Europe he arrived in England before D-Day, took part in the invasion and fought his way through France and Belgium, and on to Cologne. He then fought in the Ardennes at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and on to the Rhine Crossing and the capture of Cologne. |
Corporal Gordon Hearne *Signature Value : £35 | Gordon joined the Army in February 1943, nd was posted to the 447th AAA (anti-aircraft) Battalion. As part of the 28th Artillery Division, 109th Field artillery Battalion, he landed in Normandy on 7th June during the D-Day invasion force, and advanced through the constant fighting in France. He took part in the hectic fighting in the dreadful winter conditions during the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, and advanced with the Division into Germany until the final day of the war. |
Corporal Peter Howenstein (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | As soon as he was able to enlist, Peter Howenstein joined the Army in March 1943, and following basic training found himself en-route to Europe, landing in England as part of the 319th Infantry Regiment, 80th Division. As part of the US 3rd Army under General Patton, he landed at Utah Beach during the Normandy landings, and fought his way with the unit through France and Belgium, having the Bronze Star pinned on him by General Patton personally on 11th November 1944. Peter served throughout the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, and on into Germany. He died on 25th May 2017. |
Flt Lt Howard M Park *Signature Value : £45 | Having joined the service in 1942, Howard Park trained as a fighter pilot. Posted to Europe to join the 406th Fighter Group in April 1944, he flew over 140 combat missions with the 513th Fighter Squadron on rocket firing ground attack P47 Thunderbolts, Howard flew the P47 'Big Ass Bird'. On D-Day the 406th were the first Fighter Group in action over Utah Beach. Engaged heavily on attacking ground targets, Howard sank a German naval vessel in Brest harbour using air-to-ground rockets, but still managed to notch up victories over three Me109s in only five aerial encounters with the enemy. During the Battle of the Bulge, the 406th FG were the only 9th Air Force unit exclusively assigned to the defence of the beleaguered town of Bastogne, attacking the besieging German forces with devastating success. Howard flew P47s in combat through until the final days of the war in May 1945. |
Private Frank Denison (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Joining up in 1943, Frank Denison was posted to the ETO after training, arriving in England for training in the long months prior to D-Day. Serving with C Company, 326 Parachute (Engineer) Battalion, part of the 101st Airborne he took part in the 6th June D-Day landings in Normandy, and fought his way with the unit through Holland, before swinging into action during the violent fighting around Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. During the crossing of the Rhine, at Hagenaw, he was hit by enemy fire and wounded. He died on 24th November 2014 aged 90. |
Sergeant William True (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Bill True served with the 506th Parachute Regiment which was attached to the 101st Airborne. He took part in the initial parachute drop into France with the 101st on D-Day, and by the end of the day they were in control of the high ground overlooking the invasion beach. Bill made his second combat drop with the 101st near Eindhoven during Operation Market Garden, before, in December 1944, finding himself in the thick of the action defending the town of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, where the 506th defended the eastern perimeter section of the town. Advancing into Germany, the 506th's final mission of the war was the capture of Hitler's Eagle Nest at Berchtesgaden on 4th - 5th May 1945. He died on 20th March 2017. |
Staff Sergeant Murray Shapiro (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Murray Shapiro joined the army in September 1941, and after training went on active service with the 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division, moving to Europe in October 1943 for further training in England and Wales prior to the Normandy Invasion. Going into combat a few weeks after D-Day, Murray advanced through France with his unit and was in the thick of the fighting when Von Rundstedt launched his crack divisions at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. He died on 26th September 2020 aged 97. |
Technical Sergeant John Moseley *Signature Value : £35 | Technician John Moseley went to Europe with A Company, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Division, landing with the unit in Normandy and seeing his first action just outside St Lo before the 28th began its drive towards Paris, taking part in the liberation of the city. He took part in the heavy fighting in the Hurtgen forest, followed by the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne. The 28th were the first US Division into Germany. John returned to the US in September 1945 with the same Tech unit he had arrived with. |
The Aircraft : | |
Name | Info |
Thunderbolt | Alexander Kartveli was a engineer with Seversky Aircraft who designed the P-35, which first flew in 1937. With Republic Aviation Kartveli supervised the development of the P-43 Lancer. Neither of these aircraft were produced in large numbers, and neither was quite successful. However, the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, also nicknamed the Jug, was quite a different story. The Jug was the jewel in Kartvelis design crown, and went on to become one of the most produced fighter aircraft of all time with 15,683 being manufactured. The P-47 was the largest and heaviest single seat fighter of WW II. The P-47 immediately demonstrated its excellent combat qualities, including speed, rate of climb, maneuverability, heavy fire power, and the ability to take a lot of punishment. With a wingspan of more than 40 feet and a weight of 19,400 pounds, this large aircraft was designed around the powerful 2000 HP Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine. The first P-47 prototype flew in May of 1941, and the primary variant the P-47D went into service in 1943 with units of the U.S. Armys Eighth Air Force. The Jug had a maximum speed in excess of 400 MPH, a service ceiling in excess of 42,000 feet, and was heavily armed with either six or eight heavy caliber machine guns. With its ability to carry up to a 2,500 pound bomb load, the Jug saw lots of use in ground attack roles. Until the introduction of the N model, the P-47 lacked the long range required for fighter escort missions which were most often relegated to P-51 Mustangs or P-38 Lightnings. In his outstanding painting entitled Bridge Busting Jugs, noted aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts Eighth Air Force Jugs in a ground attack mission in the Alps in June of 1944. The top P-47 ace was Francis Gabreski who had flown with the 56th Fighter Group, the first unit to be equipped with the P-47. In August of 1943 Gabreski attained his first aerial combat victory (over an Fw-190) and by years end he had reached ace status with 8 confirmed victories. As Commander of the 61st Squadron, Gabreski continued to chalk up victory after victory, and on seven different occasions he achieved two victories during the same mission. However, in July of 1944 Gabreski damaged the prop on his Jug during a low level attack on an airfield near Coblenz. Forced to make a crash landing, he was captured and remained a prisoner of war until Wars end in 1945. Following the War Gabreski returned to military service with the Air Forces 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea. Flying the F-86 Sabre Jet, Gabreski attained 6.5 more aerial victories in 1951 and 1952 becoming an ace in two different wars |
Lightning | Designed by Kelly Johnson the P38 made its maiden flight on the 27th January 1939 and introduced into service in 1941. they cost $134,284 at the time each and a total of 10,037 were built. The Lockheed P-38 was introduced as a inceptor fighter but soon proved a valuable long range bomber escort for the 8thUS Air Force's B-17 and-24 bombers as they bombed targets further into Germany. |
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