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| THIS ITEM IS INCLUDED IN OUR BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE OFFER ! Choose any two prints in this special offer and the lower priced item is half price. (Any free bonus prints already supplied with an item are separate and will also be included !) Hundreds of items across our websites are included in this offer! |
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| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Fokker D.VII | |
| DH4 | The DH.4 entered service with the RFC in January 1917, first being used by No. 55 Squadron. More squadrons were equipped with the type to increase the bombing capacity of the RFC, with two squadrons re-equipping in May, and a total of six squadrons by the end of the year. As well as the RFC, the RNAS also used the DH.4, both over France and over Italy and the Aegean front. The DH.4 was also used for coastal patrols by the RNAS. One, crewed by the pilot Major Egbert Cadbury and Captain Robert Leckie (later Air Vice-Marshal) as gunner, shot down Zeppelin L70 on 5 August 1918. Four RNAS DH.4s were credited with sinking the German U-boat UB 12 on 19 August 1918. The DH.4 proved a huge success and was often considered the best single-engined bomber of World War I. Even when fully loaded with bombs, with its reliability and impressive performance, the type proved highly popular with its crews. The Airco DH.4 was easy to fly, and especially when fitted with the Rolls-Royce Eagle engine, its speed and altitude performance gave it a good deal of invulnerability to German fighter interception, so that the DH.4 often did not require a fighter escort on missions, a concept furthered by de Havilland in the later Mosquito in World War II. A drawback of the design was the distance between pilot and observer, as they were separated by the large main fuel tank. This made communication between the crew members difficult, especially in combat with enemy fighters. There was also some controversy (especially in American service) that this placement of the fuel tank was inherently unsafe. In fact, most contemporary aircraft were prone to catching fire in the air. The fire hazard was reduced, however, when the pressurised fuel system was replaced by one using wind-driven fuel pumps late in 1917,[11] although this was not initially adopted by American-built aircraft.[14] The otherwise inferior DH.9 brought the pilot and observer closer together by placing the fuel tank in the usual place, between the pilot and the engine. Despite its success, numbers in service with the RFC actually started to decline from spring 1918, mainly due to a shortage of engines, and production switched to the DH.9, which turned out to be disappointing, being inferior to the DH.4 in most respects. It was left to the further developed DH.9A, with the American Liberty engine, to satisfactorily replace the DH.4. When the Independent Air Force was set up in June 1918 to carry out strategic bombing of targets in Germany, the DH.4s of 55 Squadron formed part of it, being used for daylight attacks. 55 Squadron developed tactics of flying in wedge formations, bombing on the leader's command and with the massed defensive fire of the formation deterring attacks by enemy fighters.[15] Despite heavy losses, 55 Squadron continued in operation, the only one of the day bombing squadrons in the Independent Force which did not have to temporarily stand down owing to aircrew losses. After the Armistice, the RAF formed No. 2 Communication Squadron, equipped with DH.4s to carry important passengers to and from the Paris Peace Conference. Several of the DH.4s used for this purpose were modified with an enclosed cabin for two passengers at the request of Andrew Bonar Law. These aircraft were designated DH.4A, with at least seven being converted for the RAF, and a further nine for civil use |
| Artist Details : Stan Stokes |
| Click here for a full list of all artwork by Stan Stokes |
 Stan Stokes Stan Stokes is a California native with more than 37 years as a full time professional artist, who developed a passion for vintage cars, trains and airplanes at an early age. Model building and RC planes filled the many hours of the young enthusiasts free time. However, unlike most other young aviation enthusiasts Stokes also displayed a great gift for artistic talent. After studying art in College, Stan decided to pursue a career as a professional artist. Stokes initially focused his great talents on depicting uniquely realistic landscapes of the western desert and mountain scenes. More than thirty years ago a good friend suggested that Stan combine his passion for aviation history and flying with his artistic talents, and render an aircraft or two. The rest is history. Stan has won many prestigious awards including the Benedictine Art Award in 1975 and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museums Golden Age of Flight award in 1985. In May of 2000, Stan was honored with the National Museum of Naval Aviations R. G. Smith Award for Excellence in Naval Aviation Art. Commissioned by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, Stans 12 x 120 foot mural of the History of the Flying White House is on permanent display in the Air Force One Pavilion. In addition Stans painting of the USS Ronald Reagan is hanging in the Legacy Room of the library. In 2005 Stan also completed a painting of our nations next aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, which is on permanent display at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas. Stan has also completed several impressive murals for the Palm Springs Air Museum including: The Tuskegee Airmen at 12 x 60 feet and contains 51 portraits of the original Tuskegee Airmen. Dauntless at Midway at 12 x 34 feet and Corsair on Approach at 19 x 55 feet. Stans work also hangs in the Air Force art collection, the Pentagon, San Diego Aerospace Museum, and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC. Stan has had the pleasure of meeting and working with many of his boyhood aviation heroes, including the late General Jimmy Doolittle, the late Pappy Boyington, Chuck Yeager, and many many others. A true aviation history buff, Stan often spends more time pouring over research materials for his paintings to assure their accuracy to the smallest detail than he does behind the canvas. Noted for his incredible detail and strikingly realistic illustration, Stans canvases have a life-like three-dimensional effect that often leaves viewers spellbound. Today his work encompasses not only aviation and space but also portraits, landscapes, ships, classic cars and his new collection of cat-related fine art paintings. Stan particularly enjoys the tough assignment. During his 37 years as a professional artist, he has been asked to produce literally hundreds of paintings documenting historical events, people and places. Although Stan has logged many hours flying his own airplanes, in recent years pleasure flying has had to take a backseat to the artistic demands of his backlog. Stan was commissioned to paint more than twenty original paintings for an aviation museum being in the Philippines. Since the mid-1980s NASA has also tapped Stans talents from time to time and he has completed more than fifteen paintings ranging from the space shuttles to the SR 71 Blackbird. Stan has also painted numerous works for the cutting edge genius in aviation and space design, Burt Rutan. More about Stan Stokes |
Related Pages :
World War One Aviation Art
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