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Though
some 1400 of Germany’s remarkable Me262 jet aircraft
were built, fewer than 300 ever saw action during its short
10 month combat career, the 550 mph fighter-bomber arriving
in service too late to make any impression on the course of
the war.
Most famous of all Me262 units was Jagdverband 44, commanded
by General Adolf Galland. Instructed by Hitler to set up a
small defensive fighter unit to make the most of the new Me262,
Galland’s JV44 attracted other top-scoring pilots, including
top aces Macky Steinhoff and Walter Krupinski, and the unit
soon became dubbed Galland’s
Squadron of Experts.
Though doing their best to repel daylight attacks on jet
production plants in Southern Germany, JV44 were fighting
a losing battle. During a raid on 9 April 1945 the unit lost
nine aircraft – a pattern that was to continue. Also,
American fighter pilots, unable to catch the 262 in the air,
found success taking the jets out as they took off or landed,
catching them while at their most vulnerable. With the Allies
driving deeper and deeper into Germany, production of aircraft,
spares, fuel, and ammunition, steadily dried up. The point
came when JV44, Galland’s now legendary Squadron
of Experts, finally ground to a halt.
Running the Gauntlet, a superb
painting by Robert Taylor, shows Me262s of JV44 returning
to base in southern Germany, having come under attack from
P-51 Mustangs of the 353rd Fighter Group. Almost out of fuel
and ammunition, the Me262s have little option but to complete
their landing sequence, hoping fervently they are not “bounced”
by American fighters loitering in the area. They are out of
luck on this occasion, and although Galland has organised
a unit flying Focke-Wulf Fw190D-9s to provide air cover in
the area of the airfield, they too have been caught by the
353rd Fighter Group’s surprise attack. At the relatively
slow speed required on final approach, the Me262’s handling
is sluggish and the pilot is having enough trouble without
the attentions of a bunch of P-51 pilots. At this point the
JV44 Me262 remains unscathed, and with the arrival of the
Fw190s, there is the possibility this particular jet pilot
will survive the day.
THE
ACES EDITION
Joining artist Robert Taylor, each
print has been individually signed in pencil by FOUR outstanding
WWII fighter pilots.
 Major
General Donald J. Strait
Don Strait received his pilots wings
in January 1944. In August he was posted with the 356th Fighter
Group to Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, as one of the original
361st Fighter Squadron pilots. Flying first the P47, in which
he claimed three victories, he took part in long-range bomber
escort and ground support missions, taking part in the D-Day
operations. Later in P51s, he scored a further 10 ½
victories to make him the top scoring Ace of the 356th Fighter
Group. Don finished his second tour in March 1945, and in
his two combat tours he had flown 122 missions, and commanded
the 361st Fighter Squadron. He later commanded the 108th Tactical
Wing in Korea, and flew F-86, F-84, and F-105 jets.
 Lieutenant
Colonel Clyde B. East
As a volunteer, Clyde East joined
the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941, and flew combat operations
from England. He transferred to the USAAF in January 1944,
flying over 200 combat missions and finishing the war with
14 ½ victories. He later flew combat during the Korean
War.
 Leutnant Norbert Hannig
Joining the JG7 in 1944 at Königsberg,
Norbert Hannig notched up an impressive 42 combat air victories
in a short time flying the Me109G. In early 1945 he converted
to fly the new jet, the Me262, flying in combat with III./JG7
from their airfield at Brandenberg-Briest.
 Oberleutnant Walter Schuck
After a spell with JG3 in 1940 Walter
Schuck was posted to 7./JG5, arriving at Petsamo on the Arctic
Front in April 1942. By April 1943 he had collected 54 aerial
victories. On 17 March 1944 he brought down 17 bombers and
in April of that year was awarded the Knights Cross with his
tally standing at 84. On 15 June 1944 he chalked up his 100th
victory during a day when he shot down 6 aircraft. Two days
later he had his most successful day, achieving 12 victories
in twenty-four hours, a feat never surpassed in JG5. On 1
August he assumed command of 10./JG5. December 1944 was a
black month for JG5 when the Tirpitz was sunk and their Kommodore,
Heinrich Ehrler, was made a scapegoat for the disaster. He
later transferred to fly the Me262 as Staffelkapitän
of 3./JG7, and achieved 8 further victories flying the new
jet. His final tally was 206 air victories and had been awarded
the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves.
THE WAR IN EUROPE EDITION
The EIGHT signature WAR IN EUROPE
Edition is additionally signed by an extra four fighter Aces.
All the above plus:
 Colonel Donald Cummings
Don Cummings saw action in England,
Italy – where he took part in the Battle of Anzio, and
served in occupied Germany after the war had ended. Flying
P51s first with the 12th Air Force, and then with the Eighth
Air Force, he flew a total of 150 combat missions during the
war. In February 1945 he became one of only two fighter Aces
to shoot down two Me262 jets on a single mission, bringing
his total to 6 ½ victories.
 Brigadier General Robin
Olds
After leaving West Point in June
1943, Robin Olds was posted to the 479th Fighter Group in
England. Based at Wattisham in East Anglia, and flying P38s,
he was involved in heavy bomber escort duties and fighter
sweeps until the Normandy invasion, soon after which his Squadron
converted to P51 Mustangs. By early 1945 Robin Olds was in
command of 434 Squadron taking part in the Battle of the Bulge,
flying escort missions, and providing air support to the airborne
attack across the Rhine. At the end of World War II Robin
Olds had 24 1/2 victories, of which 13 were in the air. Later
in Vietnam, Robin Olds gained four more victories, flying
F4 Phantoms.
 Major Erich Rudorffer
When Erich Rudorffer achieved his
first victory in May 1940, it was the start of a spectacular
career. In November 1942 he transferred to North Africa with
II./JG-2 and on one occasion shot down 8 enemy aircraft in
32 minutes. Returning to France he led II./JG-2 and IV./JG-54.
Moving to the Eastern Front as Kommandeur of II./JG-54, he
acquired a fearsome reputation - achieving more multiple kills
than any other fighter pilot. On November 6, 1943 he downed
13 Russian aircraft in a mere 17 minutes! By the end of the
war he was flying the Me262 and achieved 12 more victories.
Erich Rudorffer flew more than 1000 missions, achieved 222
air victories and was shot down 16 times. He was awarded the
Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
 Leutnant Alfred Ambs
Born in 1923, Alfred Ambs joined
the Luftwaffe in 1942. Commissioned as an officer in 1943,
he flew the Ju88, Me109, Me110 and Fw190 before converting
to fly the new Me262A in combat in early 1945 with III./JG7
at Brandenburg-Briest. He finished the war with six victories
to his credit.
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