|
| D
Day Armada
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. |
|
|
| The D-Day Anniversary
Edition |
| 150 s/n prints w/EIGHT
signatures. |
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
