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Nicholas
Trudgian. Renowned aviation artist Nicholas
Trudgian, aviation art prints of the United States Air force shown in
aviation art prints available from American Art Prints subsidiary of Cranston Fine Arts.
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Return to Rattlesden by Nicolas Trudgian.
With their crews, the 447th Bomb Group B-17 Fortresses arrived at Rattlesden in late 1943, the East Anglian base from which the group flew all its missions until the end of the war. Entering combat on December 24, the 447th targeted submarine pens, naval installations, ports and missile sites, airfields and marshalling yards in France, Belgium and Germany in preparation for the Normandy invasion. In the thick of the bomber offensive, the 447th took part in the Big-Week raids, supported the D-Day landings, aided the breakthrough at St. Lo, pounded enemy positions during the airborne invasion of Holland, and dropped supplies to the Free French forces fighting behind enemy lines. During the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944 - January 1945, the group attacked marshalling yards, railroad bridges and communications centers in the combat zone, later resuming their offensive against targets deep inside Germany. When the war ended the 447th had flown over 257 individual missions, with one of their aircrew, Robert Femoyer, being awarded the Medal of Honor. Theirs was typical of the action packed campaigns flown by the American Eighth Air Force bomb groups in Europe during WWII.
Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Paper size 37 inches x 22 inches (94cm x 56cm). Price £150.00 Signed by T/Sgt John C Bitzer, T/Sgt Norman Bussel, Colonel Edward A Dingivan, First Lt Frank Frision, S/Sgt John H Osbah, S/Sgt Orlando Pete Petrillo, Sgt Byron Schlag and S/Sgt Don Sherman, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Paper size 37 inches x 22 inches (94cm x 56cm). Price £200.00 Signed by T/Sgt John C Bitzer, T/Sgt Norman Bussel, Colonel Edward A Dingivan, First Lt Frank Frision, S/Sgt John H Osbah, S/Sgt Orlando Pete Petrillo, Sgt Byron Schlag and S/Sgt Don Sherman, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 25 publishers proofs. Paper size 37 inches x 22 inches (94cm x 56cm). Price £180.00 Signed by T/Sgt John C Bitzer, T/Sgt Norman Bussel, Colonel Edward A Dingivan, First Lt Frank Frision, S/Sgt John H Osbah, S/Sgt Orlando Pete Petrillo, Sgt Byron Schlag and S/Sgt Don Sherman, in addition to the artist.
ITEM CODE DHM2176
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Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian
From the day they began their aerial campaign against Nazi Germany to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the USAAF bomber crews plied their hazardous trade in broad daylight. This tactic may have enabled better sighting of targets, and possibly less danger of mid-air collisions, but the grievous penalty of flying daylight missions over enemy territory was the ever presence of enemy fighters. Though heavily armed, the heavy bombers of the American Eighth Air Force were no match against the fast, highly manoeuvrable Me109s, Fw190s and, late in the war, Me 262 jet fighters which the Luftwaffe sent up to intercept them. Without fighter escort they were sitting ducks, and inevitably paid a heavy price. Among others, one fighter group earned particular respect, gratitude, and praise from bomber crews for their escort tactics. The 356th FG stuck rigidly to the principle of tight bomber escort duty, their presence in tight formation with the bombers often being sufficient to deter enemy attack. Repeatedly passing up the opportunity to increase individual scores, the leadership determined it more important to bring the bombers home than claim another enemy fighter victory. As the air war progressed this philosophy brought about an unbreakable bond between heavy bomber crews and escort fighter pilots, and among those held in the highest esteem were the pilots of the 356th. Top scoring ace Donald J Strait, flying his P-51 D Mustang Jersey Jerk, together with pilots of the 356th Fighter Group, are seen in action against Luftwaffe Fw 190s while escorting B-17 bombers returning from a raid on German installations during the late winter of 1944. One minute all is orderly as the mighty bombers thunder their way homeward, the next minute enemy fighters are upon them and all hell breaks loose.
Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Paper size 35 inches x 24 inches (89cm x 61cm). Price £150.00 Signed by Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck, Captain Clinton DeWitt Burdick and Major General Donald J Strait, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Paper size 35 inches x 24 inches (89cm x 61cm). Price £210.00 Signed by Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck, Captain Clinton DeWitt Burdick and Major General Donald J Strait, in addition to the artist.
ITEM CODE NT0008
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Warm Winters 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.
Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Image size 23 inches x 17 inches (58cm x 43cm). Price £150.00 Signed by Colonel C E Bud Anderson, Captain Robert P Winks, First Lieutenant John Skara and First Lieutenant Raymond T Conlin.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Image size 23 inches x 17 inches (58cm x 43cm). Price £200.00 Signed by Colonel C E Bud Anderson, Captain Robert P Winks, First Lieutenant John Skara and First Lieutenant Raymond T Conlin.
ITEM CODE NT0005
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Eagles of the Eighth by Nicolas Trudgian.
Major Jim Goodson taxies his 4th (The Eagles) Fighter Group P-51 D Mustang at Debden following a mission to supply air support over the Normandy beaches soon after D-Day, June 1944. Having previously flown Spitfires and Hurricanes with the RAF, Spitfires with 133 Eagle Squadron, and P-47 Thunderbolts with the Fourth fighter group, Jim Goodson became one of the USAAFs top fighter pilots of WWII.
Limited edition of 400 prints. Special Promotion : This print is 30% off for a limited time only! Paper size 12 inches x 9.5 inches (31cm x 24cm). Price £42.00 Signed by Jim Goodson.
ITEM CODE NT0001
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D-Day Armada by Nicolas Trudgian.
There was never a greater concentration of air power deployed in an active theater of war as over the English Channel in May and June 1944. As D-Day approached, the USAAFs Ninth Air Force had assembled over 3500 aircraft a day, they were pounding enemy positions all the way from Pas de Calais to the coast of Normandy. 6 June 1944, arguably the most decisive single day in modern military history, saw the sky filled with waves of troop carrying aircraft towing gliders, dropping over 20,000 highly trained men in support of the massed sea-borne landings on the beaches below. Grabbing all the airspace they could find, the combat wings of the Ninth Air Force were creating havoc among the German ground forces as they scrambled to get troops and armor to the battlefront.
Limited edition of 350 prints. Print size 35 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm). Price £155.00 Signed by Captain Clayton Gross, Colonel Maurice Long, Major General Donald Strait, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs, with eight signatures. Paper size 35 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm). Price £250.00 Signed by Captain Clayton Gross, Colonel Maurice Long, Major General Donald Strait, Colonel Ricahrd Dick Denison, First Lieutenant Wayne E Downing, Captain John L Minech, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Milow and Lieutenant Colonel William Bill D Mitchell, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 150 prints. Paper size 35 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm). Price £240.00 Signed by Captain Clayton Gross, Colonel Maurice Long, Major General Donald Strait, Colonel Ricahrd Dick Denison, First Lieutenant Wayne E Downing, Captain John L Minech, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Milow and Lieutenant Colonel William Bill D Mitchell, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 50 remarques, with eight signatures. Inscribed with original pencil drawing by Nicolas Trudgian. Paper size 35 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60m). Price £325.00 Signed by Captain Clayton Gross, Colonel Maurice Long, Major General Donald Strait, Colonel Ricahrd Dick Denison, First Lieutenant Wayne E Downing, Captain John L Minech, Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Milow and Lieutenant Colonel William Bill D Mitchell, in addition to the artist.
Nicolas Trudgian Promotional Flyer. A4 Size Double Sheet 11.5 inches x 8 inches (30m x 21cm) . Price £1.50
ITEM CODE DHM2275
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Mustang Mayhem by Nicolas Trudgian.
As Red Dog Norleys P-51D screams across the field at hangar height with his squadrons Mustangs fanned out behind him, the 4th Fighter Group pilots jink through the intense groundfire wreaking havoc on the ground. In this, its final major mission of the war, the group destroyed no fewer than 105 enemy aircraft in two blishtering airfield attacks.
Signed limited edition of 600 prints. Paper size 34 inches x 23 inches (86cm x 58cm). Price £200.00 Signed by Captain Richard Braley, Major General Carroll W McColpin and Colonel Steve N Pisanos, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Paper size 34 inches x 23 inches (86cm x 58cm). Price £270.00 Signed by Captain Richard Braley, Major General Carroll W McColpin and Colonel Steve N Pisanos, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of 100 artists special reserve edition prints. Paper size 34 inches x 23 inches (86cm x 58cm). Price £105.00
ITEM CODE DHM2053
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Mustangs Over the Mediterranean by Nicolas Trudgian.
Mustangs of the 31st Fighter Group pass low over an Italian fishing village, heading out on another combat patrol.
Signed limited edition of 1250 prints. Paper size 34 inches x 24 inches (86cm x 61cm). Price £135.00 Signed by Captain Jim Brooks, Bob Curtis, Colonel Bob Goebel, and George Loving.
Limited edition of artist proofs. Paper size 34 inches x 24 inches (86cm x 61cm). Price £140.00 Signed by Captain Jim Brooks, Bob Curtis, Colonel Bob Goebel, and George Loving.
Limited edition of 125 publishers proofs. Paper size 34 inches x 24 inches (86cm x 61cm). Price £160.00 Signed by Captain Jim Brooks, Bob Curtis, Colonel Bob Goebel, and George Loving.
ITEM CODE DHM2027
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Last Man Home by Nicolas Trudgian.
In a scene that was repeated almost daily throughout the long war years, the pilots of the 357th Fighter Group have returned from a gruelling mission to their base in Leiston, Suffolk. As they clamber out of their aircraft, all eyes are turned anxiously skyward, awaiting the return of the last man home.
Signed limited edition of 1000 prints. Paper size 36 inches x 24 inches (91cm x 61cm). Price £155.00 Signed by Colonel C E Bud Anderson, Brigadier General Thomas L Hayes, Captain William R OBrien and Major Richard Bud Peterson, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of artist proofs. Paper size 36 inches x 24 inches (91cm x 61cm). Price £210.00 Signed by Colonel C E Bud Anderson, Brigadier General Thomas L Hayes, Captain William R OBrien and Major Richard Bud Peterson, in addition to the artist.
ITEM CODE DHM2025
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Checkertail Clan by Nicolas Trudgian
With their brightly coloured checkertail tails there was no mistaking the P.51 Mustangs of the 325th Fighter Group. Escorting B-24s over Austria in August 1944, tangled with a group of Fw190 fighters. The ensuing dogfight spiraled down below the mountain peaks as Herky Green led the Checkertails in a low-level chase. Herky nails one Fw190. Behind him his pilots will take out the two Fw190. When all is done this day the 325th will be credited with 15 enemy fighters destroyed.
Signed limited edition of 600 prints. Paper size 27 inches x 19 inches (69cm x 48cm). Price £145.00 Signed by Major Robert M Barkey, Colonel Arthur C Fielder and Major Herky Green, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of artist proofs. Paper size 27 inches x 19 inches (69cm x 48cm). Price £210.00 Signed by Major Robert M Barkey, Colonel Arthur C Fielder and Major Herky Green, in addition to the artist.
Limited edition of publishers proofs. Paper size 27 inches x 19 inches (69cm x 48cm). Price £190.00 Signed by Major Robert M Barkey, Colonel Arthur C Fielder and Major Herky Green, in addition to the artist.
ITEM CODE DHM2023
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| Hellcat Fury by Nicholas Trudgian
Truk, the small atoll in the South
Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a
magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought
impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the
Pacific. But on 16-17 February 1944 a violent two-day aerial assault by
carrierborne aircraft of Task Force 58 exploded the myth. In just two days
the US Navy flyers sunk over 200,000 tons of Japanese naval shipping and
destroyed an estimated 275 enemy aircraft, totally eliminating all
effectiveness of the Japanese base. Light as the US Navy losses were only
25 aircraft failed to return the battle for Truk was ferocious. The ground
installations, ships, and airfield batteries put up intense antiaircraft
fire against the attacking American aircraft, while Zeros did their best
to repel the onslaught. The air above the atoll became a maelstrom of
flak, tracer, flying lead and shrapnel, while below huge explosions rocked
the ground as ammo and fuel dumps were hit, fires raged, and the acrid
smoke of battle pervaded the entire area. In this important new painting,
his first featuring the F6F Hellcat, Robert Taylor brings to life the
scenario that was crucial to Admiral Spruance’s forceful drive through
the Central Pacific. The once feared Japanese base at Truk is being
reduced to a statistic of war. Hellcats of VF6 hurtle across the lagoon at
masthead height with guns blazing, creating havoc as they tear into the
enemy positions below. Seen in the foreground is the F6F-3 of Lt. Alex
Vracui, subsequently to become one of the Navy’s top guns.
Hellcat Fury by Nicholas TrudgianSignatories: Commander Willis E Hardy USN
Commander Hamilton McWhorter USN
Commander Alex Vraciu USN
The Black Sheep by
Nicolas Trudgian.
Nicolas Trudgian’s outstanding new painting captures the
scene at Vella Lavella as Pappy Boyington leads his VMF-214 ‘Black
Sheep’ Squadron off the island strip to escort a B-17 Fortress raid on
Rabaul in December 1943 Signed by Lieutenant Colonel ROBERT W. McCLURG
Brigadier General BRUCE J. MATHESON USMC Additionally signed by Lieutenant Colonel W. THOMAS EMRICH
USMC
Colonel EDWIN A. HARPER USMC Lieutenant Colonel WILLIAM D. HEIER USMC
Lieutenant Colonel JAMES J. HILL USMC
Captain FRED S. LOSCH USMC |
| End Game by Nicholas Trudgian
B-24 Liberators of the USAAF
in combat over the Alps For bomber crews, any daylight bombing mission almost certainly meant
combat. If it wasn't 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. |
| Return to Rattlesden by Nicholas Trudgian
The painting shows a battle damaged B-17G of the 447th on final
approach to Rattlesden, returning from a strike against road and rail
communications in northern Germany in February, 1945. A P-51 pilot from
359th Fighter Group, having escorted the bomber all the way home, sees his
charge safely back to base.
With their crews, the 447th Bomb Group B-17
Fortresses arrived at Rattlesden in late 1943, the East Anglian base from
which the group flew all its missions until the end of the war. Entering
combat on December 24, the 447th targeted submarine pens, naval
installations, ports and missile sites, airfields and marshalling yards in
France, Belgium and Germany in preparation for the Normandy invasion.
In the thick of the bomber offensive, the 447th took part in the Big
Week raids, supported the D-Day Landings, aided the breakthrough at St Lo,
pounded enemy positions during the airborne invasion of Holland, and
dropped supplies to the Free French forces fighting behind enemy lines.
During the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944- January 1945, the group
attacked marshalling yards, railroad bridges and communications centres in
the combat zone, later resuming their offensive against targets deep
inside Germany. When the war ended the 447th had flown over 257 individual
missions, with one of their aircrew, Robert Femoyer, being awarded the
Medal of Honour. Theirs was typical of the action packed campaigns flown
by the American Eight Air Force bomb groups in Europe during WWII.
Operation Tidal Wave by Nicholas Trudgian Signed by William Brandon, Dick Butler, William Cameron and
Charles Hughes.
Ruhr Valley Invaders by Nicholas Trudgian Signed by Dick Denison, Carl Oates and Earl
Slanker.
Tokyo Bound by Nicholas Trudgian Signed by Everett
Holstrom, Howard Sessler, Royden Stork and
Griffith Williams.
Safe Haven by Nicholas Trudgian Returning from a dogfight raid over Germany, B-24s of 93rd Bomb Group
fly low over an East Anglian fishing village on Britains east coast.
Gunfight Over Rabaul by Nicholas Trudgian Signed by John Bolt, Roger
Conant, Archie Donahue and Kenneth
Walsh. |
| FIRST STRIKE ON BERLIN by Nicholas Trudgian
"No bomb shall fall on German soil"
was the brash claim made by Reichmarshal Hermann Göring before the start
of World War II.
A couple of years into the war the Luftwaffe's boastful commander
up-dated his arrogant statement with "If enemy bombers ever appear
over Berlin you can call me Meier". On March 6, 1944 they called him
Meier. The German supremo would have kept his head well down on that day,
for it was the day the Eighth Air Force arrived overhead the German
capital.
Berlin - Big B to the bomber crews - was protected by the cream of the
Luftwaffe, and by thousands of anti-aircraft batteries strategically
positioned around the city. To approach Berlin from the air was the bomber
pilots nightmare. Of the 700 bombers that set out that historic day, 69
would not return; but the B-17 gunners and their escort fighters gave as
good as they got.
On that first successful daylight raid, and on the many missions to
Berlin that followed, losses were high, but the daytime bomber strikes
against the heart of Nazi Germany had an incalculable effect on enemy
morale, to say nothing of the disruption to the German war machine. They
did more: they signalled to Göring and his Führer that their fate, and
that of the Third Reich, was sealed; and the 140,000 USAAF aircrew who
flew the torturous attacks to Berlin earned themselves a special place
among those who have endeavoured against tyranny.
Nicolas Trudgian's new painting relives the fearsome aerial combat on
March 6, 1944, as B-17 Flying Fortresses are attacked en-route for Berlin.
Screaming in head-on, Fw190s of II./JG I based at Stormede, charge into
the bomber stream. With throttles wide open, 56th Fighter Group P-47
Thunderbolts come hurtling down to intercept. B-17 gunners are working
overtime; the air is full of cordite, smoke, jagged pieces of flying metal
and hot lead. We are in the midst of one of the fiercest aerial battles of
the war.
In the foreground Lucky Lee survives the first onslaught, but her luck
won't hold today. Our Girl Sal to the right of the picture will fare
better - she will be the only 100th BG aircraft to make it back to her
home base from this epic raid.
Limited edition prints are signed by bomber and fighter pilots who flew
the Berlin raids more than half a century ago. |
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