|
|
|
Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased)
Jim Swett became one of the top-scoring F4U Aces, with 15.5 victories in 94 missions in the Corsair, but he had already earned himself the Congressional Medal of Honor piloting the F4F Wildcat before switching to the F4U. Leading a four plane section with VMF 221 on April 7, 1942 he shot down no fewer than 7 Japanese Val dive-bombers in an engagement over Tulagi Harbor, before taking a hit himself, and ditching in the sea. In all Jim Swett flew 211 combat missions, 94 in F4U Corsairs, made 120 carrier launches and recoveries, and in addition to his Medal of Honor, was awarded 6 DFCs and 2 Purple Hearts. Sadly, Jim Swett died on 18th January 2009.
Citation for Medal of Honor For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty, as a division leader in Marine Fighting Squadron TWO TWENTY-ONE in action against enemy Japanese aerial forces in the Solomon Islands Area, April 7, 1943. In a daring flight to intercept a wave of 150 Japanese planes, First Lieutenant Swett unhesitatingly hurled his four-plane division into action against a formation of fifteen enemy bombers and during his dive personally exploded three hostile planes in mid-air with accurate and deadly fire. Although separated from his division while clearing the heavy concentration of anti-aircraft fire, he boldly attacked six enemy bombers, engaged the first four in turn, and unaided, shot them down in flames. Exhausting his ammunition as he closed the fifth Japanese bomber, he relentlessly drove his attack against terrific opposition which partially disabled his engine, shattered the windscreen and slashed his face. In spite of this, he brought his battered plane down with skillful precision in the water off Tulagi without further injury. The superb airmanship and tenacious fighting spirit which enabled First Lieutenant Swett to destroy seven enemy bombers in a single flight were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
|
Items Signed by Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased) |
| Victory Flyover by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT | The mass flyover, Toyko Bay, 1945, heralding the surrender on board USS Missouri. ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Beach Head Strike Force by Robert Taylor. SOLD OUT | F4U Corsairs search and destroy enemy positions during landings in the Marshall Islands, 1944. ...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Holding the Tide by Richard Taylor. (AP) SOLD OUT | On 7 August 1942, just eight months after the dramatic events at Pearl Harbor, the United States First Marine Division stormed ashore on the island of Guadalcanal. It was the opening gambit of the land war in the Pacific. The painting depicts Capta...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Holding the Tide by Richard Taylor. (B) SOLD OUT | On 7 August 1942, just eight months after the dramatic events at Pearl Harbor, the United States First Marine Division stormed ashore on the island of Guadalcanal. It was the opening gambit of the land war in the Pacific. The painting depicts Capta...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Holding the Tide by Richard Taylor. (C) Price : £1095.00 | On 7 August 1942, just eight months after the dramatic events at Pearl Harbor, the United States First Marine Division stormed ashore on the island of Guadalcanal. It was the opening gambit of the land war in the Pacific. The painting depicts Capta...... |
| Holding the Tide by Richard Taylor. (RM) Price : £395.00 | On 7 August 1942, just eight months after the dramatic events at Pearl Harbor, the United States First Marine Division stormed ashore on the island of Guadalcanal. It was the opening gambit of the land war in the Pacific. The painting depicts Capta...... | |
| Holding the Tide by Richard Taylor. (RMB) SOLD OUT | On 7 August 1942, just eight months after the dramatic events at Pearl Harbor, the United States First Marine Division stormed ashore on the island of Guadalcanal. It was the opening gambit of the land war in the Pacific. The painting depicts Capta...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. Price : £150.00 | Corsairs of VMF 121 provide close air support to the US landings on Rendova, June 30, 1943. Fiercely contested, the invasion force was heavily attacked by Zero fighters and Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty bombers, flying from their base at Rabaul. Dog-fightin...... | |
| Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian (AP) Price : £200.00 | Corsairs of VMF 121 provide close air support to the US landings on Rendova, June 30, 1943. Fiercely contested, the invasion force was heavily attacked by Zero fighters and Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty bombers, flying from their base at Rabaul. Dog-fightin...... | |
| Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. (B) Price : £180.00 | Corsairs of VMF 121 provide close air support to the US landings on Rendova, June 30, 1943. Fiercely contested, the invasion force was heavily attacked by Zero fighters and Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty bombers, flying from their base at Rabaul. Dog-fightin...... |
| Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. (RM) Price : £400.00 | Corsairs of VMF 121 provide close air support to the US landings on Rendova, June 30, 1943. Fiercely contested, the invasion force was heavily attacked by Zero fighters and Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty bombers, flying from their base at Rabaul. Dog-fightin...... | |
| Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. (XX) Price : £120.00 | Corsairs of VMF 121 provide close air support to the US landings on Rendova, June 30, 1943. Fiercely contested, the invasion force was heavily attacked by Zero fighters and Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty bombers, flying from their base at Rabaul. Dog-fightin...... | |
| Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. (Y) Price : £120.00 | Corsairs of VMF 121 provide close air support to the US landings on Rendova, June 30, 1943. Fiercely contested, the invasion force was heavily attacked by Zero fighters and Mitsubishi G4M1 Betty bombers, flying from their base at Rabaul. Dog-fightin...... | |
| Okinawa by Robert Taylor. (AP) Price : £425.00 | Following their victory at Midway, American forces had fought a long, bloody and bitter campaign to retake the Japanese held islands in the Pacific. By the end of March 1945, however, they had finally captured Iwo Jima and looked towards Okinawa, a...... | |
| Okinawa by Robert Taylor. (B) Price : £315.00 | Following their victory at Midway, American forces had fought a long, bloody and bitter campaign to retake the Japanese held islands in the Pacific. By the end of March 1945, however, they had finally captured Iwo Jima and looked towards Okinawa, a...... |
| Okinawa by Robert Taylor. (C) Price : £445.00 | Following their victory at Midway, American forces had fought a long, bloody and bitter campaign to retake the Japanese held islands in the Pacific. By the end of March 1945, however, they had finally captured Iwo Jima and looked towards Okinawa, a...... | |
| Okinawa by Robert Taylor. (D) SOLD OUT | Following their victory at Midway, American forces had fought a long, bloody and bitter campaign to retake the Japanese held islands in the Pacific. By the end of March 1945, however, they had finally captured Iwo Jima and looked towards Okinawa, a...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Okinawa by Robert Taylor. (RM) SOLD OUT | Following their victory at Midway, American forces had fought a long, bloody and bitter campaign to retake the Japanese held islands in the Pacific. By the end of March 1945, however, they had finally captured Iwo Jima and looked towards Okinawa, a...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Okinawa by Robert Taylor. (RMB) SOLD OUT | Following their victory at Midway, American forces had fought a long, bloody and bitter campaign to retake the Japanese held islands in the Pacific. By the end of March 1945, however, they had finally captured Iwo Jima and looked towards Okinawa, a...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
| Hellcat Fury by Robert Taylor (C) SOLD OUT | Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci...... | NOT AVAILABLE |
The Unlucky Eight by Stan Stokes. Price : £150.00 | James Elms Swett was born in Seattle, Washington on June 15, 1920. He attended San Mateo Junior College in California, and entered the Navys flight training program during his second year of college. In April of 1942 Jim received his wings and was c...... |
Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased) |
Pacific Theater Aviation Prints by Ivan Berryman and Nicolas Trudgian. Pack Price : £175.00 Saving : £115 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Zero Hour by Ivan Berryman. Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. | ||
Vought F-4 Corsair Aviation Art by Nicolas Trudgian. Pack Price : £260.00 Saving : £170 | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. The Black Sheep by Nicolas Trudgian (B) | ||
Corsair Aircraft Aviation Art by Nicolas Trudgian and Brian Bateman. Pack : SOLD OUT | Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Battle for the Islands by Nicolas Trudgian. Valley Forge Fly-By by Ivan Berryman. | NOT AVAILABLE |
Squadrons for : Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased) | ||
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased). A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name. | ||
Squadron | Info | |
Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of VMF-221 | VMF-221 Full profile not yet available. |
Aircraft for : Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased) | |||
A list of all aircraft associated with Colonel James E Swett USMC MOH (deceased). A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name. | |||
Squadron | Info | ||
Manufacturer : Chance-Vought Production Began : 1940 Number Built : 12000 | Corsair The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was arguably the finest naval aviation fighter of its era. Work on this design dates to 1938 and was headed-up by Voughts Chief Engineer, Rex Biesel. The initial prototype was powered by an 1800-HP Pratt & Whitney double Wasp radial engine. This was the third Vought aircraft to carry the Corsair name. The graceful and highly recognizable gull-wing design of the F4U permitted the aircraft to utilize a 13-foot, three-blade, Hamilton Standard propeller, while not having to lengthen the landing gear. Because of the rigors of carrier landings, this was a very important design consideration. Folding wings were also required for carrier operations. The F4U was thirty feet long, had a wingspan of 41 feet and an empty weight of approximately 7,500 pounds. Another interesting feature was the way the F4Us gear rotated 90 degrees, so it would lay flush within the wing when in the up position. In 1939 the Navy approved the design, and production commenced. The Corsair utilized a new spot welding process on its all aluminum fuselage, giving the aircraft very low drag. To reduce weight, fabric-covered outer wing sections and control surfaces were fitted. In May of 1940 the F4U made its maiden flight. Although a number of small bugs were discovered during early flight tests, the Corsair had exceptional performance characteristics. In October of 1940 the prototype F4U was clocked at 405-MPH in a speed test. The initial production Corsairs received an upgraded 2,000-HP radial giving the bird a top speed of about 425-MPH. The production models also differed from the prototype in having six, wing-mounted, 0.5 caliber machine guns. Another change was a shift of the cockpit about three feet further back in the fuselage. This latter change unfortunately made naval aviators wary of carrier landings with the F4U, due to its limited forward visibility during landings. Other concerns were expressed regarding a severe port wing drop at landing speeds and a tendency of the aircraft to bounce off a carrier deck. As a result, the F4U was initially limited to land-based USMC squadrons. Vought addressed several of these problems, and the Royal Navy deserves credit for perfecting an appropriate landing strategy for the F4U. They found that if the carrier pilot landed the F4U while making a sweeping left turn with the port wing down, that sufficient visibility was available to make a safe landing. With a kill ratio of 11 -to- 1 in WW 11 combat, the F4U proved superior in the air to almost every opposing aircraft it encountered. More than 12,000 F4Us were built and fortunately a few dozen remain in flyable condition to this date. | ||
| Wildcat F4F |
About our Signatures Search for more Signatures
Contact Details |
Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
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 |
|