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Pack 513. Pack of two US B24 Liberator aviation prints by Nicolas Trudgian.
PCK0513. Pack of two US WW2 bomber prints by Nicolas Trudgian, depicting B-24 Liberators in action. Aviation Print Pack.
Items in this pack :
Item #1 - Click to view individual item
DHM2030. Safe Haven by Nicolas Trudgian. Returning from a dogfight raid over Germany, B-24s of 93rd Bomb Group fly low over an East Anglian fishing village on Britains east coast. Signed by Philip Ardery (deceased),
John Brooks,
Bill Cameron
and
Al Shower (deceased), B-24 Aircrew, in addition to the artist. Signed limited edition of 1000 prints. Paper size 36 inches x 24 inches (91cm x 61cm)
Item #2 - Click to view individual item
DHM2261. End Game by Nicolas Trudgian. For bomber crews, any daylight-bombing mission almost certainly meant combat. If it werent the attentions of determined Luftwaffe fighter pilots, it would be an aerial carpet of flak that welcomed the bombers en route to the target - and again on the journey home. On most missions the Eighth Air Force aircrews had to contend with both. Enduring up to ten hours of concentrated flying under cramped conditions, extreme cold, with the constant noise and vibration produced by four powerful engines, made every mission uncomfortable enough without being shot at. But the USAAF aircrews confronted the odds - a one in three chance of completing a 25-mission tour of operations - cheerfully and with gallant resolve. Playing a major role in the great raids on Germany and other targets in occupied Europe from early in 1944, equipped with the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, the USAAF Second Air Division flew no fewer than 95,048 sorties. Based in Norfolk, England, the crews also attacked targets far distant in Norway, Poland and Rumania, unloading almost 100,000 tons of bombs and claiming over 1000 enemy fighters shot down.
Published 2001. Signed by S/Sgt Vernon R Swain,
Captain George E Hammond,
T/Sgt Perry Morse,
Lt Col James P Dyke,
Colonel Charles H Booth,
Lt Col Robert Dubowsky (deceased),
S/Sgt C W Will Lundy,
Captain Everett R Jones,
Captain J Richard Butler
and
Lt Col Elmo W Geppelt, in addition to the artist. Signed limited edition of 600 prints. Image size 28 inches x 16 inches (71cm x 41cm)
Website Price: £ 270.00
To purchase these prints individually at their normal retail price would cost £410.00 . By buying them together in this special pack, you save £140
All prices are displayed in British Pounds Sterling
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| Signatures on this item | | *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | | Name | Info | 
Colonel Albert Shower (deceased)
*Signature Value : £40 (matted)
| Al Shower was the only Group Commander in the Eighth Air Force to bring a Group to the U.K. and to command it until the end of hostilities. His dedication and leadership on 30 missions, gave the 467th Bomber Group's B-24s the best overall standing for bombing accuracy in the Eighth Air Force during World War II. Colonel Albert J Shower passed away on 15th October 2001. | 
Colonel William R Cameron (deceased)
*Signature Value : £40 (matted)
| Bill Cameron flew all his 38 combat missions with the 44th Bomb Group. He first saw combat in Nov 1942. He was the only pilot who came over to Europe with 44th BG and returned with them at the end of the war. Described by General Leon Johnson as 'one of the best combat leaders we had', Bill was the pilot of 'Buzzin' Bear' on the Ploesti Raid. Before the mission he asked British anti-aircraft gunners which plane, in a low flying formation, they would fire at. They told him they would shoot the highest: Bill Cameron took 'Buzzin' Bear' through the Ploesti inferno lower than most other pilots and got her home with only minor damage, earning the DSC for his part in the historic raid. William R. Cameron died on his 93rd birthday on June 24th 2013
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John Brooks (deceased)
*Signature Value : £40 (matted)
| John Brooks graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in June 1941 and began a distinguished military career that lasted for 29 years. He completed pilot training in August 1941 and was assigned to the 389th Bomb Group where he trained in the B-24 Liberator bomber. One of his first missions was as a Group Deputy Commander on the famous 1st August 1943 low level raid on the Ploesti, Rumania oil fields. John went on to fly 25 combat missions out of England for the Mighty 8th Air Force. Soon after, he was selected to command the 2nd Scouting Force, leading the entire 8th Air Force bomber fleet, day after day, through the terrible weather of central Europe. Though aerial combat was not the primary mission, on 9th February 1945, John and his wingman attacked over 100 German fighters and John shot down 2 while completely stopping the German attack on the bomber fleet, saving hundreds of bomber crew lives. For his leadership and heroic action he was awarded the nations second highest military medal, the Distinguished Service Cross. In addition to the DSC, John's awards include 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, The Silver Star, 6 Air medals, the 3 Legions of Merit and many other citations. His crew Destroyed 2 Me109s SE of Magdeburg on 9th February 1945. Brigadier General John Brooks died in September 2001. | 
Philip Ardery (deceased)
*Signature Value : £40 (matted)
| Convinced that America would join the war in Europe, he applied for pilot training in the summer of 1940, performing so well he became an instructor. After Pearl Harbor, he was assigned to England as a pilot on the B-24 Liberator and took part in many of the well known missions in North Africa and Britain. He died on 26th July 2012. |
| Signatures on item 2 | | *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | | Name | Info | 
Captain Everett R Jones
*Signature Value : £40 (matted)
| A pilot of B-24 Liberators, he completed a tour of 21 missions with the 466th Bomb Group. He also later piloted the P-47 Thunderbolt, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. | 
Captain George E Hammond
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| Flew as bombardier on B-24 Liberators with the 389th Bomb Group, including the raid on Ploesti on 1st August 1943. | 
Captain J Richard Butler
*Signature Value : £40 (matted)
| 'Dick' Butler joined the service in January 1942 and was posted to the 44th Bomb Group, with whom he flew B-24s throughout the war. His first combat mission was in April 1943 and he saw action in Europe, North Africa and the Mediterranean. On the Ploesti Raid, Dick was co-pilot of 'Earthquake McGoon'. Badly damaged and flying at tree-top height it was only the skill of Dick and pilot Walter Burke that kept 'Earthquake' in the air and brought the crew home. | Colonel Charles H Booth
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| Charles Booth entered the military in July 1941, two years after he received a pilots license. Pilots such as Wylie Post and Charles Lindbergh were Booths idols. Charles Booth was a major in the Army Air Force on March 8, 1944, when he, as command pilot, led one section of a heavy bombardment group on a mission against military installations in Germany. When anti-aircraft fire struck his B-24 Liberator above Hanover, Booth was still about an hour of flight time from his destination of Berlin. Wounded in both legs and one hand, Booth dragged himself to the flight deck and continued to direct the battle against enemy fighter attacks until the bombing run ended about two hours later, according to an award citation. The March 1944 mission to Berlin was only his second. He flew 28 more before his service in the war ended. | 
Lt Col Elmo W Geppelt
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| Lt Elmo W. Geppelt was the DR Navigator. He had trained with the crew in the States and had flown to England with them. Geppelt was elevated to Assistant Squadron Navigator for the 755th in December 1944, completing his tour in February 1945. | 
Lt Col James P Dyke (deceased)
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| A pilot of B-24 Liberators, he completed 35 missions flying Star-Eyes with the 733rd Bomb Squadron of the Eighth Air Force flying from England. He died on 11th April 2012 aged 91. | 
Lt Col Robert Dubowsky (deceased)
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| Bob was born on the 19th of February 1921 in Mineola, NY. After graduating from high school at 18, he embarked on an ambitious coast to coast road trip in 1931. Robert Dubowsky attended Hofstra College and enlisted in the US Army Air Corp and while waiting to be called up he worked for Grumman. He became a B24 bomber pilot during WWII and flew 35 missions out of East Anglia, England. His first mission was on July 20th, 1944 and he completed his last mission March 24th, 1945. He was shot down on mission 33 on January 16, 1945 en route to a bombing raid on Dresden, Germany but all crew members survived. He received the DFC, Air Medal, 4 OLC commendation medals, and the Purple Heart. Dubowsky held a BS in Military Science from the University of Maryland. Finally retiring from the military in 1964 he went onto a career in the Civil Service at the Eastern Test Range as a down range manager for multiple missile projects over a period of 20 years. Robert Dubowsky passed away peacefully at home on February 5th, 2011. | 
S/Sgt C W Will Lundy
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| Served with the United States Eighth Air Force in England. At the time he served, B-24 Liberators were flying daylight missions in support of operations on the ground in the advance through Europe after D-Day. | 
S/Sgt Vernon R Swain
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| Flew in B-24 Liberators with the 328th Bomb Group, 93rd Bomb Squadron. Enlisted in 1942, he was part of the Eighth Air Force flying from Norfolk England. | 
T/Sgt Perry Morse
*Signature Value : £35 (matted)
| Flying as tail gunner in B-24 Liberators with the 506th Bomb Squadron, he completed 35 missions between June and November 1944 and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. Flying with the Eighth Air Force from England, they once came back with more than 200 holes in the aircraft. |
| Artist Details : Nicolas Trudgian | | Click here for a full list of all artwork by Nicolas Trudgian |
Nicolas Trudgian
Cranston Fine Arts have now taken over all remaining stocks of Nicolas Trudgian prints from his previous publishers. We have made available a great many prints that had not been seen for many years, and have uncovered some rarities which lay unnoticed during this transition. Having graduated from art college, Nicolas Trudgian spent many years as a professional illustrator before turning to a career in fine art painting. His crisp style of realism, attention to detail, compositional skills and bright use of colours, immediately found favour with collectors and demand for his original work soared on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, more than a decade after becoming a fine art painter, Nicolas Trudgian is firmly established within a tiny, elite group of aviation artists whose works are genuinely collected world-wide. When he paints an aircraft you can be sure he has researched it in every detail and when he puts it over a particular airfield, the chances are he has paid it a recent visit. Even when he paints a sunset over a tropical island, or mist hanging over a valley in China, most probably he has seen it with his own eyes. Nick was born and raised in the seafaring city of Plymouth, the port from which the Pilgrim Fathers set sail in 1620, and where Sir Francis Drake played bowls while awaiting the Spanish Armada. Growing up in a house close to the railway station within a busy military city, the harbour always teeming with naval vessels and the skies above resonating with the sounds of naval aircraft, it was not at all surprising the young Nick became fascinated with trains, boats and aircraft. It was from his father, himself a talented artist, that Nick acquired his love of drawing and surrounded by so much that was inspiring, there was never a shortage of ideas for pictures. His talent began to show at an early age and although he did well enough at school, he always spent a disproportionate amount of time drawing. People talked about him becoming a Naval officer or an architect but in 1975 Nick's mind was made up. When he told his careers teacher he wanted to go to art school the man said, 'Now come on, what do you really want to do? After leaving school Nick began a one-year foundation course at the Plymouth College of Art. Now armed with an impressive portfolio containing paintings of jet aircraft, trains, even wildlife, he was immediately accepted at every college he applied to join. He chose a course at the Falmouth College of Art in Cornwall specialising in technical illustration and paintings of machines and vehicles for industry. It was perfect for Nick, and he was to become one of the star pupils. One of the lecturers commented at the time: Every college needs someone with a talent like Nick to raise the standards sky high; he carried all the other students along with him, and created an effect which will last for years to come. Two weeks after leaving art college Nick blew every penny he had on a trip to South Africa to ride the great steam trains across the desert, sketching them at every opportunity. Returning to England, in best traditions of all young artists, he struggled to make a living. Paintings by an unknown artist didn't fetch much despite the painstaking effort and time Nick put into each work, so when the college he had recently left offered him a job as a lecturer, he jumped at the chance. The money was good and he discovered that he really enjoyed teaching. Throughout the 1970s Nick was much involved with a railway preservation society near Plymouth and it was through the railway society that he had his first pictures reproduced as prints. But Nick felt he needed to advance his career and in summer 1985 Nick moved away from Cornwall to join an energetic new design studio in Wiltshire. Here he painted detailed artwork for many major companies including Rolls Royce, General Motors, Volvo Trucks, Alfa Romeo and, to his delight, the aviation and defence industries. He remembers the job as exciting though stressful, often requiring him to work right through the night to meet a client's deadline. Here he learned to be disciplined and fast. Towards the end of the 1980's Nick had the chance to work for the Military Gallery. This was the break that for years he had been striving towards and with typical enthusiasm, flung himself into his new role. After completing a series of aviation posters, including a gigantic painting to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Royal Air Force, Nick's first aviation scene to be published as a limited edition was launched by the Military Gallery in 1991. Despite the fact he was unknown in the field, it was an immediate success. Over the past decade Nick has earned a special reputation for giving those who love his work much more than just aircraft in his paintings. He goes to enormous lengths with his backgrounds, filling them with interesting and accurate detail, all designed to help give the aircraft in his paintings a tremendous sense of location and purpose. His landscapes are quite breathtaking and his buildings demonstrate an uncanny knowledge of perspective but it is the hardware in his paintings which are most striking. Whether it is an aircraft, tank, petrol bowser, or tractor, Nick brings it to life with all the inordinate skill of a truly accomplished fine art painter. A prodigious researcher, Nick travels extensively in his constant quest for information and fresh ideas. He has visited India, China, South Africa, South America, the Caribbean and travels regularly to the United States and Canada. He likes nothing better than to be out and about with sketchbook at the ready and if there is an old steam train in the vicinity, well that's a bonus!
More about Nicolas Trudgian
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