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Please note that our logo (below) only appears on the images on our website and is not on the actual art prints. When you are ready to add this item to your basket, click the button below.       Website Price: £ 280.00       339th and 357th USAAF Fighter Groups Aviation Art Prints by Nicolas Trudgian. PCK2146. 339th and 357th USAAF Fighter Groups Aviation Art Prints by Nicolas Trudgian. Aviation Print Pack. Items in this pack : Item #1 - Click to view individual item DHM2591. Welcome Respite by Nicolas Trudgian. Wherever the GIs went they took their Jeeps with them, and before the war was run the little quarter-ton, 4-wheel drive, utility vehicle was as well known around the world as the Model T Ford. Nicolas Trudgian has painted a compelling image, set back in time when the little Jeep was omnipresent on and around the roads and battlefields of a war-torn world. It is Christmas 1944 and, as a gaggle of 339th FG P-51 Mustangs disturb the peace of this ancient English village, a little Jeep waits patiently outside the pub while her occupants sample the local ale. A wonderfully nostalgic painting that will bring back pleasant memories to many. Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Print paper size 20 inches x 22 inches (51cm x 56cm) Item #2 - Click to view individual item NT5. Warm Winter's Welcome by Nicolas Trudgian. As the Autumn of 1944 turned to winter, the USAAF Eighth Air Force bombers were penetrating ever deeper into enemy territory, attacking distant targets in central and south-east Germany. Large formations of seven or eight hundred bombers, escorted by as many fighters, darkened the skies over the Reich. Central to the massive daylight raids was the long-range capabilities of the P-51 Mustang, the most versatile fighter of the war. Despite incessant pounding from the air, the Luftwaffe were putting up determined resistance, particularly in the south, often sending up several hundred fighters to meet the challenge. Huge aerial battles were fought between the opposing groups of fighters, and though the Allied pilots usually gained the upper hand in these encounters, the air fighting was prolonged and furious. Typical of those encounters, on a single mission in November the Allied estimate of Luftwaffe sorties flown against them exceeded 750, but often the German fighters were handicapped by poor direction from the ground, hampering their effectiveness - on the 27th, several Gruppen were vectored directly towards the P-51s of the 357th and 353rd Groups believing them to be in-coming bombers. They paid the price, the Leiston based pilots of the 357th bagging 30 enemy fighters before they knew what hit them. Successful as they were, the long-range escort missions flown by the P-51s were both hazardous and grueling. The weather, particularly in winter, was often appalling, and even an experienced pilot could become disoriented after hectic combat, and lost in the far reaches of the Reich. The return to base in England after combat over distant enemy territory was always exhilarating, and the pilots often hedgehopped gleefully over towns and villages on their way home after crossing the English coast. Nicolas Trudgians painting depicts such a scene, with P-51 Mustangs of the 357th Fighter Group racing over a typical English village as they head for Leiston and home. As the evening light fades, the peace and tranquillity of the snowy village, broken momentarily by the roar of Merlin engines, seems to bid the returning fighter boys a warm winters welcome. Published 2000. Signed by four P-51 Mustang pilots who flew with the 357th Fighter Group in combat during World War II. Less than 12 copies remaining. Signed by Colonel C E Bud Anderson, Captain Robert P Winks (deceased), First Lieutenant John Skara and First Lieutenant Raymond T Conlin (deceased). Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Image size 23 inches x 17 inches (58cm x 43cm) Website Price: £ 280.00   To purchase these prints individually at their normal retail price would cost £310.00 . By buying them together in this special pack, you save £30 All prices are displayed in British Pounds Sterling   Signatures on item 2 *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 Captain Robert P Winks (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 (matted) Robert Winks joined the service in 1943, and after training was posted to England. Flying his first combat mission in July 1944, he served with the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group. His year long tour in Europe took in the heavy fighting over the Battle of the Bulge, the missions to support the Arnhem operations, and the Battle of Berlin, when the 357th destroyed 56 enemy aircraft. During this time he flew some 69 combat missions. His personal P-51D was 'Trusty Rusty'. His victories included an Me262 jet fighter claimed on 15th January 1945. Sadly, he died on 19th May 2008. Colonel C E Bud Anderson (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 (matted) Bud Anderson went to England with the 357th Fighter Group in 1943, the first Eighth Air Force Group to be equipped with the P-51 Mustang. He got himself on the score sheet on one of the first Berlin missions, dog fighting with a bunch of Me109s who had set upon a straggling B-17. On 29th June 1944, leading his squadron on a mission to Leipzig, they ran into a formation of Fw190s. In the ensuing battle Anderson shot down the leader, and two more Fw190s. After a short rest in the U.S., Bud returned for a second tour, just in time for the 357th's big day on 27th November 1944. With the 353rd they took on a huge formation of some 200 enemy fighters, Anderson adding three more to his score. He finished the war with 16 air victories and many more probables. Sadly Bud passed away on the 17th of May 2024. First Lieutenant John Skara *Signature Value : £35 (matted) John Skara joined the service in June 1942. After training he was posted to England to join the 357th Fighter Group at Leiston in Suffolk, flying both the P51B and later the P51D. He undertook his first combat mission in March 1944, and took part in the long and hazardous escort missions both to Russia, and to Italy. For most of his combat tour he flew as wingman to Bud Anderson First Lieutenant Raymond T Conlin (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 (matted) 'Ted' Conlin joined the service in July 1942, arriving in england in March 1944 to join the 362nd Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, flying P-51s. He flew the first of his combat missions on 13th May 1944, and the next few weeks saw much activity in the build up to D-Day. In September he took part in the air operations in support of Market Garden, the airborne landings in Holland around Arnhem and Nijmegen, and also escort on the 'Russian Shuttle' missions. He finished his combat tour in November 1944. Ted Conlin died on 12th March 2012.