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| CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL NICOLAS TRUDGIAN PRINTS BY TITLE |
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Captain J Richard Butler
'Dick' Butler joined the service in January 1942 and was posted to the 44th Bomb Group, with whom he flew B-24s throughout the war. His first combat mission was in April 1943 and he saw action in Europe, North Africa and the Mediterranean. On the Ploesti Raid, Dick was co-pilot of 'Earthquake McGoon'. Badly damaged and flying at tree-top height it was only the skill of Dick and pilot Walter Burke that kept 'Earthquake' in the air and brought the crew home.
| Captain J Richard Butler - Signed Nicolas Trudgian Aviation Art Prints Pilot and Aircrew Signatures |
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| Text for the above items : |
End Game by Nicolas Trudgian. For bomber crews, any daylight-bombing mission almost certainly meant combat. If it werent the attentions of determined Luftwaffe fighter pilots, it would be an aerial carpet of flak that welcomed the bombers en route to the target - and again on the journey home. On most missions the Eighth Air Force aircrews had to contend with both. Enduring up to ten hours of concentrated flying under cramped conditions, extreme cold, with the constant noise and vibration produced by four powerful engines, made every mission uncomfortable enough without being shot at. But the USAAF aircrews confronted the odds - a one in three chance of completing a 25-mission tour of operations - cheerfully and with gallant resolve. Playing a major role in the great raids on Germany and other targets in occupied Europe from early in 1944, equipped with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, the USAAF Second Air Division flew no fewer than 95,048 sorties. Based in Norfolk, England, the crews also attacked targets far distant in Norway, Poland and Rumania, unloading almost 100,000 tons of bombs and claiming over 1000 enemy fighters shot down. Published 2001. |
Operation Tidal Wave by Nicolas Trudgian. At first light on August 1st, 1943 a force of 178 B-24 Liberator bombers lifted off dusty airstrips in the Libyan desert. They were to fly a 2000 mile round-trip deep into enemy territory, bomb a heavily defended target, and return to their North African base - without fighter escort. So began one of the bloodiest and heroic missions in the annals of aerial warfare. The target - the oil refineries at Ploesti. One third of Germany's petroleum products were supplied from Ploesti, situated deep in Rumania and well beyond the range of Allied bombers based in England. Deprived of this vital supply of fuel, Germany's mighty war machine would grind to a halt. The high command were aware of this and the installations at Ploesti were defended accordingly. To attack such a heavily defended target with the required degree of accuracy it was necessary to bomb from a perilously low level, a task for which the B-24 was notoriously unsuited. The mission called for inspired leadership, cool determination and courage beyond the call of duty - and all of these were given in plenty. As the first wave of bombers roared into the target, some as low as 50 feet, the German defenses opened up with a barrage of fire. Within moments the entire area erupted with exploding bombs, bursting shells, gushing flames and billowing palls of smoke. One by one the gallant crews took their aircraft through the intense wall of Ack-Ack and 88mm ground fire, and into the burning inferno to deliver their deadly cargo. Of the 178 B-24s dispatched, 52 were lost and all but 35 aircraft suffered damage, one limping home after 14 hours and holed in 365 places. Ploesti witnessed countless acts of heroism, for which the crews received more decorations for bravery than any other mission of the war. |
B-24 Liberator by Nicolas Trudgian. Part of a small print series of six American WW2 aircraft, signed by some of the great American pilots, some no longer with us. Cranston Fine Arts have purchased the last remaining stocks of this aviation series. |
| Captain J Richard Butler Squadron details |
| Captain J Richard Butler Aircraft details |
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