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Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky
designed aircraft in aviation art print the Russian Giant by Stan Stokes.
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky Russian aircraft are part of the Stan
Stokes Collection of aviation art prints now available from Cranston
Fine Arts
Igor
Ivanovich Sikorsky was one of the early pioneers in the Russian aircraft
industry. He was a brilliant and tenacious designer. In contrast to the
accepted wisdom of the day, Sikorsky was convinced that very large
multi-engine aircraft would some day become commonplace. In 1913 he had
completed a 9,000 pound aircraft which was commonly referred to as the
Grand. Unfortunately this aircraft was destroyed in a freak accident
when the engine from another aircraft fell out of the sky and hit the
Grand while it was parked in its hangar. Not deterred by this stroke of
bad luck, Sikorsky went to work on an even more elaborate design. Called
the Ilya Muromets (after a Russian folk hero) the second of Sikorskys
Russian giants weighed slightly more than 10,000 pounds and was powered
by four German-made 100-HP Argus engines. With a 102 foot wingspan and a
70-foot fuselage, the Muromets was an extraordinary aircraft for its
time. An enclosed cabin was heated by the exhaust from the engines, and
two balconies were available. A washroom was included and the passenger
cabin was equipped with tables and chairs. Czar Nicholas II was a major
supporter of aviation, but many influential people in the military
questioned the value of the Muromets as a military weapon. Despite this
skepticism, Sikorsky took his pet dog and sixteen passengers aloft on
February 24, 1914. In June of 1914 Sikorsky piloted the Muromets on a
1,600 mile round trip flight from St. Petersburg to Kiev. Before
Sikorskys triumphant return to St. Petersburg, the seeds to WW I had
been sown by the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo.
Sikorsky immediately went to work on building new and improved models of
his giant aircraft, with the specific interest now in producing a long
range bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. In October of 1914 a Muromets
dropped 320 pounds of bombs from an altitude of 4,000 feet at the
Petrograd testing grounds. In February of 1915, as depicted in Stan
Stokes painting entitled Russian Giant, a Ilya Muromets V Kievsky II
model dropped 600 pounds of bombs on the railway station at Mlava,
significantly damaging the facility. A total of 75 of Sikorskys giant
bombers were sent to the front between 1914 and 1918. The aircraft had
defensive armament with machine gunners in various positions. The bomber
was typically flown with a crew of four. Only three of the aircraft sent
to the front were destroyed in combat. As Revolution swept Russia near
the end of WW II Sikorsky left his homeland for the United States, where
he would become one of the giants of the American aviation industry.
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Austro-Hungarian Ace by Stan Stokes.
Born in Wadowice, Galicia in 1889, Godwin Brumowski entered the military and served as an officer in the Field Artillery Regiment No. 6 on the Eastern Front during WW I. Interested in flying, Brumowski joined the Luftfahrtruppen as an observer. Learning to fly on his own, he was eventually promoted to command a fighting unit which was composed of both scout and fighter aircraft. In 1916 Brumowski visited the Western Front where he studied the tactics of the German fighting units. Very impressed by what he had seen, Brumowskis goal was to command a unit similar to von Richtofens Flying Circus. Upon his return Brumowski was put in command of another fighting unit equipped with Brandenburg D1s. The D1 was a fairly quick highly maneuverable aircraft. Unfortunately it lacked synchronized machine guns, being equipped instead with a top-wing mounted gun. This gun was not accessible by the pilot in flight to clear jams, and its location also negatively affected the aircrafts performance. Brumowski designed an insignia for his flight which included a white skull on a black background. By 1917 Brumowskis superiors agreed to put the officer in charge of a true fighter group which would be equipped with Albatros D IIIs. These nimble aircraft also had twin synchronized machine guns. Taking another page out of von Richtofens book, Brumowski quickly decided that the six aircraft under his command would be painted bright red. Flying primarily against Italian opponents, Brumowski would go on to attain forty victories, the most of any Austro-Hungarian ace. He would also survive the War, but was killed in a plane crash in 1937. The Albatros D III flown by Brumowski was produced under license by Oesterreichische Flugzeugfabrik A.G. for the Royal and Imperial Air Service of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although similar to their German counterparts, the Austrian Albatroses differed in several respects. Power was supplied by an excellent Austro-Daimer engine which had an output of 225-HP in the Series 253 model. The aircraft was armed with twin Schwarzlase machine guns. These guns were less reliable than their German counterparts. The Austrian engineers also re-engineered the wing structure in such a way as to minimize some of the structural problems which plagued the German models. Between early 1917 and late 1918 a total of 540 Austrian produced D IIIs were built. This was arguably the best single seat fighter to serve with the Imperial Air Service during the War. It was flown by most of the top-scoring Austro-Hungarian aces.
Signed limited edition of 4750 prints. Print size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) Supplied with signed and numbered certificate of authenticity.. Price £40.00
Limited edition of 100 giclee paper prints. Size 21 inches x 14 inches (53cm x 36cm). Price £109.00
Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints. Size 45 inches x 30 inches (114cm x 76cm). Price £624.00
Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints. Size 36 inches x 24 inches (91cm x 61cm). Price £484.00
Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints. Size 27 inches x 18 inches (69cm x 46cm). Price £294.00
ITEM CODE STK0009
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