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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 |
  General Gunther Rall (deceased) *Signature Value : £75 | A young pilot with III/JG52 at the outbreak of war. He quickly demonstrated his natural ability and leadership qualities, scoring his first air victory early in the Battle of Britain, and by July 1940 was leading 8/JG52. After transfer to the Eastern Front his air victories mounted at an astonishing rate. A crash hospitalised him but within nine months he was back in the cockpit, and, when commanding III/JG52, gained the Wings 500th victory. Gunther fought throughout the war to become the 3rd highest Ace in history with 275 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. Gunther Rall was born on March 10, 1918 in the small Bavarian town of Gaggenau, Baden. Immersing himself in Boy Scout activities during the difficult economic times in Germany following WW 1, Rall finished school in 1936 and joined the German Army. Influenced by a friend, who was a young officer in the Luftwaffe, Rall entered pilots school in 1938. His initial posting was with JG52. He attained his first aerial victory during the Battle of France in May of 1940. During the Battle of Britain JG52 absorbed many casualties, and Rall was promoted to Squadron Commander at the young age of 22. With his fair-hair and smooth complexion the young officer looked even younger than his years. But behind this pleasant exterior was a fierce competitor with the heart of a tiger. Later, Ralls squadron would support the attack on Crete, followed by deployment to the Southern Sector on the Eastern Front. Ralls victory totals began to mount. Following his 37 th victory, GiInther was himself shot down. He was lucky to survive the crash, but with a badly broken back he would spend most of the next year in various hospitals. In Vienna at the University Hospital he would meet his future wife, Hertha. Miraculously, Rall recovered and returned to the Luftwaffe in August of 1942. By November his score exceeded 100 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves to accompany the Knights Cross he was awarded only weeks earlier. As the War progressed against Russia, Rall began to encounter ever more experienced Soviet pilots flying better performing aircraft. Despite this fact, and being shot down several more times himself, Ralls victory tally kept rising. By March of 1944 the ace had attained 273 aerial victories. With the War now going badly for Germany, Rall was transferred to the Western Front. He was able to attain only two more victories against the swarms of Allied bombers and fighter escorts which now pounded Germany every day and night. In May of 1944 Rall was shot down by a P-47. Losing his thumb in the battle he remained out of combat until later in 1944. Ralls final assignments included flying 190Ds as Kornmodore of JG300, and flying the Me-262 jet. Ralls 275 aerial victories (attained on less than 700 combat sorties) make him the third highest scoring ace of all time. If not for the down time suffered as a result of his broken back, Rall might have actually equaled or exceeded Erich Hartmanns alltime record of 352 aerial victories. Rall was not much for socializing during the War. He was a fierce competitor with a businessmans attitude about flying. He was an excellent marksman, and possibly the best deflection shot expert of the War. He continued to fly with the Bundeslufwaffe following the War, serving as its Commander-In Chief in 1970-74. Sadly Gunther Rall died on 4th October 2009. |
  Walter Wolfrum (deceased) *Signature Value : £60 | Walter Wolfrum first saw combat in the Crimea with 5/JG52. He was shot down three times, and wounded twice before scoring his first victory. With his score at 70 he was again wounded, but returned to take command of 1/JG52 in May 1944, taking part in the fiercely fought defence of the Ploesti oilfields. he was again wounded, but returned to command 1/JG52 until the end of the war. he had flown 423 missions, achieved 137 victories, and was awarded the Knights Cross. Sadly, Walter Wolfrum passed away on 26th August 2010. |
| Artist Details : Jason Askew |
| Click here for a full list of all artwork by Jason Askew |
 Jason Askew Jason Askew was born in south africa, went to the Johannesburg school of art ballet,and music, and attended the City and Guilds of London Art College, Kennington. His interest in military history started as a teenager in the history of South Africa, The Zulu and South African wars, where he got his inspiration for his first major epic series of the Zulu war. Everyone doing national service had a choice of going to the army or the police. He was in the police - the police and army training being very similar. In South Africa, the police service was, and is still bearing the brunt of the civil unrest, and the crime wave (average of 19000 murders per year for the last ten years) It is through the experience of the police, and what he had to confront, that motivated him to paint these experiences, and it was very good for somoene with an interest in military history to see the effects of fighting first hand, particularly in the brutal, sometimes hand to hand killing that is the norm in South African situations. He was based at Hillbrow (the bronx of Joburg) and also served with the SAPS flyng squad. All the experiences that he had in the SAPS directly inform the paintings that Jason Askew does. : I never lose sight of the fact that real people are often caught in the middle of conflicts that are created by politicians/governments/reasons beyond the control of individuals, yet it is always individuals that suffer. Jason Askew is often commisisoned by many British and overseas regiments. 2RGR the gurkhas,The Queens Lancashire Regiment, the Coldstream Guards,the Staffordshire Regiment to name a few. He was also an official war artist for the Staffordshire Regiment in Iraq. Cranston Fine Arts are proud to be publishing a majority of art prints by Jason Askew since 2005 and are planning a major series of releases which they have commissioned over the next few months, including an outstanding series of eight First World war battlescenes of many of the major western front battles. This series started in 2007 and will be completed by the end of 2008. Also included is a series of four Battle of Waterloo and four Zulu War limited editions, all specially priced for collectors.
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Rall, Gunther 
(signed in person)
