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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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| 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 |
![]() Captain Jerome M Coe *Signature Value : £45 | Lead pilot with the 647th Sqn. Flew the first of his 61 combat missions in the A-20 on 15 Aug 1944 |
![]() ![]() Captain John L Minech *Signature Value : £45 | 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 a Flight Leader, and was Squadron Operations Officer for 5 months. He flew in Europe until the end of the war. |
![]() Captain Narval F Davis (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Narval Francis Davis proudly served in the Army Air Corp during World War Two as a Captain with the 647th Squadron, part of the 410th Bomb Group flying 72 combat missions on both the A-20 and A-26 aircraft, the first on D-Day June 1944. He participated in five major battles including the Battle of the Bulge and earned the prestigious Distinguished Flying Cross. Sadly Captain Narval F Davis passed away on 27th June 2002. |
![]() Lt Colonel Gordon Jones *Signature Value : £35 | 410th Bomb Group - Bombardier/Navigator with the 644th Squadron. Gordon Jones was awarded the Silver Star for his actions on the Blankenheim Mission. |
![]() Lt Colonel J Duane Wethe (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Pilot with the 646th Sqn. 65 mission pilot over occupied Europe. Awarded the Silver Star for heroism in action. Lt Col Jay Duane Wethe was born on 21st May 1921 and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He entered the army in July 1940 and trained to become an A-20 Havoc bomber pilot with the 646th Squadron of the 410th Bomb Group, flying 65 missions as pilot over occupied Europe. Awarded the Silver Star for heroism in action, he was at the controls of his plane when the twin-engine aircraft of the 410th Bombardment Group struck at a vital enemy railhead at Ahutte, Germany, a key link in the German communications network supplying the front. Spearheading ground assaults, the 'Raiders' winged over Ahutte through a wall of flak and Capt. Wethe's right engine was disabled. Although stability and control were difficult, Wethe kept on the bombing run and strike attack photos showed 'excellent' results after the raid. Winging over the target, Capt. Wethe was hit again by flak, this time being wounded by a flak splinter. He kept control however, and piloted his crew home to a successful emergency landing. Lt Col Jay Duane Wethe died in California on 2nd October 2004 aged 83. |
![]() Lt Colonel Jame F Barkalow (deceased) *Signature Value : £35 | 49 combat mission A-20 Lead Pilot in the ETO. Born in Bradley Beach, he was a resident of Wildwood for over thirty years before residing in Northfield. He was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Untied States Army and served as a pilot with the 410th Bomb Group in the U.S. Army Air Corps in England and France. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross, received nine Air Medals and received the Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation. He was the Commanding Officer of the New Jersey National Guard Division, Cape May County for 19 years. Mr. Barkalow worked as a supervisor for the NJ Bell Telephone Company in Wildwood and Atlantic City for thirty two years. Sadly, Lt Colonel Jame F Barkalow passed away at his home aged 89, on 17th November 2009. |
![]() Major Charles D LaMond *Signature Value : £35 | Pilot with the 644th Squadron. 41 combat missions in the A-20. |
![]() Major Howard B Aines *Signature Value : £40 | Lead Bombardier / Navigator with the 644th Sqn. Flew the first of his 65 combat mission in the A-20 on 4th May 1944. |
![]() Major James R Nicols *Signature Value : £40 | Bombardier / Navigator with the 644th Sqn. Flew his first mission August 15th 1944 against Chantilly fuel dump in France. |
![]() Staff Sergeant Donald Bjornson (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Born on February 8th 1923 in Bentley - Alberta, Canada, and raised raised in Spokane, Washington. He worked briefly in the Civilian Conservation Corps at age 16. Moved to Portland, Oregon and after some temporary jobs, received training and went to work for Boeing Aircraft in Seattle. Don went on to serve in the Army-Air Force during World War Two. He received 21 weeks of training in airplane mechanics, sheet metal fabrication, arc welding, and 50 caliber gunnery operation. He became a Aerial Gunner with the 645th Sqn and was assigned to an A-20 Havoc Light Bomber. He flew 65 combat missions with his crew in the battles of Normandy, Rhineland, the Ardennes, including the Blankenheim Strike and Northern France, Europe and Western Europe, engaging some of America's adversaries of that time, firing his two 50 caliber machine guns in direct airborne combat. He earned the silver star and five oak leaf clusters, the European-African-Middle Eastern Service, American Victory, and Good Conduct Medals. Separated from the 645th Bomb Squadron, then honorably discharged from the Army-Air Force on June 16th, 1945. Donald died on the 7th of May 2012 in West Sacramento. |
![]() Staff Sergeant Karl Haeuser (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Born February 14th, 1922, in Paso Robles, California, Karl attended local schools until he went off to Concordia High School in Oakland. In February of 1943 Karl and his best friend, Gene Ernst, compelled by their deep love of their country, went to San Francisco to enlist in the military. Gene became a Marine and Karl enlisted in the Army Air Corps. Karl became a Turret Gunner with the 644th Sqn and his first combat mission was in July 1944. Shot down and taken prisoner in August 1944, he was sent to Stalag Luft 4 near Grosstychow, Prussia, which is now Tychowo, Poland. There were 6,660 American POWs held there. Karl was imprisoned for 601 days - one year and nine months. He was included in the number of survivors liberated when released to Americans after the 86 day German Death March, as the war ended. Karl died on 29th March 2017. |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Havoc | A-20 |
| 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! |
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This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com |
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