D Day Armada by Nicolas Trudgian

To commemorate the 60th Anniversary of D-Day - 6 June 1944 – perhaps the most decisive day in the Military events of World War II , a specially published D-Day Anniversary Edition, signed by no less than EIGHT aviators of the USAAF who flew combat on that historic day.

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 USAAF's 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.

Nicolas Trudgian's painting depicts a scene late on D-Day Plus One, as yet another aerial armada heads inland over the heavy fighting on the beaches below. Bearing their high profile invasion stripes, P-51 Mustangs of the 354th Fighter Group are seen escorting B-26 Marauders of the 397th Bomb Group as they cross the battle lines, the Marauders' mission to hit enemy targets ahead of advancing Allied ground forces. Below, endless flotillas of troop ships and landing craft are swarming onto the beaches as the second day of the invasion draws towards its close. A magnificent 60th Anniversary tribute to the men and machines of the Ninth Air Force who contributed so much to the greatest military invasion in history.

Overall Print Size: 35 1/4” wide x 23 1/2” high.

Image Size: 28 3/4” wide x 16” high.

D Day Armada by Nicolas Trudgian
The Aces Edition
350 s/n prints w/THREE signatures.	US $175

The D-Day Anniversary Edition
150 s/n prints w/EIGHT signatures.	US $250

The Aces Edition

Each print in the Aces Edition has been individually signed in pencil by THREE top P51 fighter Aces who flew combat missions on D-Day, 6 June 1944.

Captain Clayton Gross
Clayton Gross was one of 12 original pilots to fly with the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group. He first saw combat in 1943, and took part in the great D-Day air operations on 6 June 1944. He flew over 100 combat missions in two combat tours on P51s, was credited with six confirmed kills (including an Me262 jet),14 damaged, multiple ground vehicles destroyed, including 8 locomotives. He survived one bail-out behind enemy lines, and flew continuously in the ETO until VE Day.

Colonel Maurice Long
Maurice Long arrived in England in 1943, assigned to the 355th Fighter Squadron, 354th Fighter Group. Flying the P51B Mustang he served as a Flight Commander, Operations Officer and Squadron Commander, achieving 8 ½ Victories. In the ETO he took part in the vital D-Day missions over Normandy, later moving with the Squadron to French soil. In a long career he took part in 140 combat missions flying P51s in the ETO, and later F84s in Korea.

Major General Donald Strait
Don Strait received his pilots wings in January 1943. In August of that year he transferred with the 356th Fighter Group to Martlesham Heath in England flying first the P47. He took part in long-range bomber escort and ground support missions, taking part in all the D-Day operations before converting to P51s. In two combat tours he flew a total of 122 missions, commanded the 361st Fighter Squadron, and became the Group’s leading fighter Ace with 13 ½ air victories, all but three of these flying the P51. He later commanded the 108th Tactical Wing in Korea, where he flew the F86, F84 and F105 jet.

THE D-DAY ANNIVERSARY EDITION

In addition to the three Aces who have signed the Aces Edition, each copy of the D-Day Anniversary Edition has been signed by the following FIVE aviators who flew combat missions during the D-Day operations over Normandy.

Colonel Richard ‘Dick’ Denison
Navigator Dick Denison's first combat missions were flown during the D-Day invasion in C-47s towing gliders into the Normandy bridgehead and making casualty evacs. He then transferred to the 552nd Squadron, 386th Bomb Group flying the Martin B-26 Marauder, before converting over to the Douglas A-26 Invader. Dick completed a total of 40 combat missions, all A-26 missions flown as Squadron Navigator.

First Lieutenant Wayne E Downing
A pilot, Wayne Downing flew Douglas A20 Havoc light bombers with the 416th Bomb Group, the first Group to fly the A20 in Europe. On D-Day the 416th BG targeted Argentan, a major German troop crossroads, and later in the day a second mission to hit a major marshalling yard. Moving to France in September 1944, in October he converted over to flying the more advanced A26 Invader. Wayne Downing flew a total of 86 combat missions.

Captain John L Minech
A pilot with the 647th Squadron, 410th Light Bomb Group, John Minech flew the first of his sixty-five combat missions in May 1944, flying the Douglas A20 Havoc. He flew two missions on D-Day itself, the second of which was a low-level attack at 300ft. during the evening. He flew thirty-five missions as Flight Leader, and was Squadron Operations Officer for 5 months. He flew in Europe until the end of the war.

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Milow
Arthur Milow was Commanding Officer of the 643rd Squadron, 409th Bomb Group, and commanded a total of 66 combat missions flying the Douglas A20 Havoc, and A26 Invader. He flew combat missions during the D-Day operations, and later took part in the Battle of the Bulge.

Lieutenant Colonel William 'Bill’ D Mitchell
Receiving his pilots wings in 1942, Bill Mitchell trained on high altitude P38 Lightnings, to become a photo-reconnaissance pilot. Arriving in England in November 1943, he joined the 30th Photo-Reconnaissance Squadron, of which he was the commander for its missions with the Ninth Air Force. Bill flew a total of eighty-five operational missions, including three on D-Day.