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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 |
 Theodore R Wiebe *Signature Value : £40 | Ted Wiebe joined the USN in 193 8, and was sent to San Diego for training. He served as a crewman on the USS Lexington, and in 1940 he applied for and was accepted for Bombsight and Stabilized Bombing Approach Equipment School. Following graduation he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron Two onboard the Lady Lex. The Lex, along with the Yorktown and Enterprise were based at Pearl Harbor. Fortunately the three American carriers were not in port on December 7 . Wiebe remembers the attack on the Shoho on May 7, 1942. They made their first run on the Shoho from the port side, but their torpedo wasn't released. They came around and made a run on the starboard side of the Japanese carrier. They were right down on the water and closing fast, as the Zeros in the area were preoccupied with S13Ds. They released their torpedo at about 250 yards and executed a climbing right turn over the bow of the Shoho. Later in the War Wiebe served onboard the USS Saratoga under command of the British Eastern Fleet. Wiebe retired from the Navy following the War, and worked for General Dynamics on the Atlas Missile project. He left General Dynamics in 1963 and joined Bank of America. Following a period of running his own business, Ted went to work in the restaurant and bar supply industry from which he retired in 1982. He has been married for 55 years, and currently does volunteer work with the Chula Vista, CA Police Dept. Nelson's awards include the DFC, the Air Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation. |
 Walter N Nelson (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Walter Nelson was born in Minnesota in 1920 and joined the Navy in 1939. Following three months of training at the Great Lakes boot camp he reported aboard the USS Lexington. He served as a radioman before being transferred to Torpedo Squadron Two. He was trained in aerial gunnery and joined the crew of a TBD Devastator with Ted Wiebe and Lt. Farrington, the pilot. Married just before the Pearl Harbor attack, Nelson missed the attack on December 7 th , as he was ferrying ground crew for a USMC Fighter squadron aboard his TBD to Johnson Island. Nelson remembers watching Butch O'Hare down five aircraft on an early mission. He flew a raid against Japanese forces in New Guinea which destroyed several ships including two heavy cruisers. On May 7, 1942 a large Japanese fleet was sighted in the Coral Sea. Nelson's TBD attacked the Shoho and they put their 'fish' into the Japanese carrier's bow. On May 8th Nelson was in action again, and his squadron was attacked by a large force of Japanese fighters on their return. They were shot at by their own fleet, but somehow managed to get their TBD down on the Lady Lex' deck. With no fuel available due to the fires on board, they would later abandon ship and board the Destroyer Phelps, which would later sink the Lex. Nelson returned to the States after his first combat tour and was later assigned to V17- 17 on the USS Hornet where he served until the end of the War. He rejoined the Navy during the Korean War serving with antisubmarine squadrons in several locations. He retired from the Navy\after 30 years of service. Nelson's awards include the D17C, the Air Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the American befense Service Medal. Walter would sadly pass away on the 4th of October, 2014. |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Devastator | The Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo-bomber was the first low-wing, all metal monoplane to see service with the US Navy. The TBD Devastator was the first with a totally enclosed cockpit and the first with hydraulically folding wings. The Devastator also had a semi-retractable undercarriage was fitted, with the wheels designed to protrude 10 in (250 mm) below the wings to permit a wheels up landing with only minimal damage. A total of 129 of the type were purchased by the U.S. Navys Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), equipping the carriers USS Saratoga, USS Lexington, USS Wasp, USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, USS Ranger and USS Yorktown. And delivered in 1937 about 100 TBDs were in service when the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into WW II. Powered by a 811-HP Pratt and Whitney radial engine, the TBD had a maximum speed of about 200 MPH and a range of about 700 miles. Unfortunately, given the design of the torpedoes used, attacks had to be made at a maximum speed of only about 110 MPH, and at an altitude of no more than 100 feet. This made the Devastator a sitting duck for both enemy fighters or anti-aircraft gunners |
| 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 |
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Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price!
Nelson, Walter N 
(signed in person)
Nelson, Walter N 
(signed in person)
