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B17 flying Fortress US Bomber aircraft in aviation art prints. B17 flying
Fortress in aviation art prints by Anthony Saunders, Robert Taylor. Prints
available from Cranston Fine Arts, the aviation art print company.
Art prints
and paintings of the Memphis Belle
In
the mid-1930s engineers at Boeing suggested the possibility of designing
a modern long-range monoplane bomber to the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1934
the USAAC issued Circular 35-26 that outlined specifications for a new
bomber that was to have a minimum payload of 2000 pounds, a cruising
speed in excess of 200-MPH, and a range of at least 2000 miles. Boeing
produced a prototype at its own expense, the model 299, which first flew
in July of 1935. The 299 was a long-range bomber based largely on the
Model 247 airliner. The Model 299 had several advanced features
including an all-metal wing, an enclosed cockpit, retractable landing
gear, a fully enclosed bomb bay with electrically operated doors, and
cowled engines. With gun blisters glistening everywhere, a newsman
covering the unveiling coined the term Flying Fortress to describe the
new aircraft. After a few initial test flights the 299 flew off to
Wright Field setting a speed record with an average speed of 232-mph. At
Wright Field the 299 bettered its competition in almost all respects.
However, an unfortunate crash of the prototype in October of 1935
resulted in the Army awarding its primary production contract to Douglas
Aircraft for its DB-1 (B-18.) The Army did order 13 test models of the
299 in January 1936, and designated the new plane the Y1B-17. Early work
on the B-17 was plagued by many difficulties, including the crash of the
first Y1B-17 on its third flight, and nearly bankrupted the Company.
Minor quantities of the B-17B, B-17C, and B-17D variants were built, and
about 100 of these aircraft were in service at the time Pearl Harbor was
attacked. In fact a number of unarmed B-17s flew into the War at the
time of the Japanese attack. The German Blitzkrieg in Europe resulted in
accelerated aircraft production in America.
The B-17E was the first truly heavily armed variant and made its
initial flight in September of 1941. B-17Es cost $298,000 each and more
than 500 were delivered. The B-17F and B-17G were the truly
mass-produced wartime versions of the Flying Fortress. More than 3,400
B-17Fs and more than 8,600 B-17Gs would be produced. The American
daylight strategic bombing campaign against Germany was a major factor
in the Allies winning the War in Europe. This campaign was largely flown
by B-17 Flying Fortresses (12,677 built) and B-24 Liberators (18,188
built.) The B-17 bases were closer to London than those of the B-24, so
B-17s received a disproportionate share of wartime publicity. The first
mission in Europe with the B-17 was an Eighth Air Force flight of 12
B-17Es on August 12, 1942. Thousands more missions, with as many as 1000
aircraft on a single mission would follow over the next 2 ½ years,
virtually decimating all German war making facilities and plants. The
B-17 could take a lot of damage and keep on flying, and it was loved by
the crews for bringing them home despite extensive battle damage.
Following WW II, B-17s would see some action in Korea, and in the 1948
Israel War. There are only 14 flyable B-17s in operation today and a
total of 43 complete airframes. |
 | Coming Home by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | An Interesting Dog Fight by Stan Stokes. | 2 editions available from £40.00 |  | Back to English Soil by Keith Woodcock. | £95.00 |  | Schweinfurt - The Second Mission by Robert Taylor. | 4 editions available from £200.00 |  | Cat Among the Pigeons (FW190) by Ivan Berryman. | 5 editions available from £70.00 |  | Eagle Attack by Nicolas Trudgian | 2 editions available from £60.00 |  | Rubys Fortress by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | Return to Rattlesden by Nicolas Trudgian. | 3 editions available from £150.00 |  | Defenders of the Reich by Graeme Lothian. | 10 editions available from £95.00 |  | B-17 Memphis Belle by Keith Woodcock. | £16.00 |  | Thundering Home by Nicolas Trudgian. (B) | £335.00 |  | Guardian Angel by Anthony Saunders. | 6 editions available from £37.00 |  | They Fought With What They Had by John D Shaw. | 3 editions available from £130.00 |  | B17G Flying Fortress Little Miss Mischief by Barry Price. | £13.00 |  | A Welcome at the Inn by Nicolas Trudgian. | 4 editions available from £225.00 |  | Skipper Comes Home by Robert Taylor | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | Berlin Bound by Anthony Saunders. | 4 editions available from £18.50 |  | B-17 Flying Fortress by Nicolas Trudgian. | 4 editions available from £37.80 |  | Portrait of a Queen by Stan Stokes. | £94.00 |  | Scheherazade by Tim Fisher. | 5 editions available from £95.00 |  | Return from Schweinfurt by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | Flying Into a War by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | Nine-o-Nine by Stan Stokes. | 5 editions available from £40.00 |  | Birth of a Legend by Stan Stokes. | 5 editions available from £40.00 |  | Legend of Colin Kelly by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | Coming Home by Tim Fisher. | 6 editions available from £73.92 |  | A Welcome Return by Anthony Saunders. | 3 editions available from £85.00 |  | Heaven Can Wait by Nicolas Trudgian. | 2 editions available from £155.00 |  | Combat over the Reich by Robert Taylor. | 1 editions available from £ |  | First Strike on Berlin by Nicolas Trudgian. | 4 editions available from £165.00 |  | Helping Hand by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | Silent Fortress by Randall Scott. | 3 editions available from £85.00 |  | Clash of Eagles by Anthony Saunders. | 3 editions available from £85.00 |  | Rocket Attack by Nicolas Trudgian. | 3 editions available from £95.00 |  | US Bombadier by Chris Collingwood. | 2 editions available from £56.00 |  | Those Golden Moments by Philip West. | 2 editions available from £125.00 |  | The Safe Return by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |  | Thunderheads Over Ridgewell by Robert Taylor. | 3 editions available from £200.00 |  | Bringing the Peacemaker Home by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | Fortress Under Siege by Stan Stokes. | 5 editions available from £40.00 |  | Safe Pastures by Mark Postlethwaite. | £75.00 |  | The Memphis Belle by Philip West. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | A Green Hill Far Away by Robert Tomlin. | £105.00 |  | Final Encounter by Philip West. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | Top Cover by Stan Stokes. | 2 editions available from £40.00 |  | Out of Fuel and Safely Home by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | Fortress under Attack by Robert Taylor. | £700.00 |  | Teamwork by Nicolas Trudgian. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | Homeward Bound by Philip West. | £75.00 |  | The Veteran by Simon Smith. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | Red Tail Escort by Richard Taylor. | 4 editions available from £95.00 |  | Last One Home by Ivan Berryman. | 8 editions available from £75.00 |
| SHOWCASE PRODUCT | |

| ARTIST | Nicolas Trudgian

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. 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!
You can see more prints by Nicolas Trudgian by clicking here.
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| | Back From Normandy by Nicolas Trudgian | Normandy Special - £50 off until July 12th!
Like the Messerschmitt 109, its great adversary throughout almost six years of aerial combat, the Spitfire was a fighter par excellence. Good as many other types may have been, these two aircraft became symbols of the two opposing air forces they represented. Their confrontation, which began in 1940 during the Battle of Britain, continued without interruption until the last days of World War Two. From an air force teetering on extinction in the dark days of 1940, by the summer of 1944 the pilots of RAF Fighter Command had fought their way back to become top dogs. And when the invasion of northern France came, they swept over the beaches in force, cutting deep into enemy occupied territory, hammering the enemy in the air and on the ground. Key to this air superiority was the supreme performance of the Spitfire, its ability to out-fly the Luftwaffes best, and the wily leadership of the pilots who had survived the early air battles of the war. Among the best was 26 year old Pete Brothers, by 1944 a highly successful and experienced fighter pilot commanding his own Wing. Having fought through the battles of France and Britain, now with a clutch of air victories to his credit, in 1944 he took command of first the Exeter Wing, and then the Culinhead Wing, ideally placed to support the coming invasion of Normandy. Nick Trudgians striking painting recreates a typical scene as Mk IX Spitfires of 126 Squadron, led by Wing Commander Pete Brothers flying his Mk V11 Spitfire wearing high altitude paint scheme, race back to base at RAF Culinhead after a low-level attack on enemy transport in Normandy. The Culinhead Spitfire Wing flew constant armed Rhubarb attacks in support of the invasion from D-Day - June 6 1944 - till the first improvised strips were established in France a few weeks following the invasion. This beautiful aviation print, contrasting the frenetic pace of war with a restful English coastal landscape, evokes the memory of a legendary fighter aircraft that, flown by gallant pilots, helped change the course of history. Prints are signed by Pete Brothers and two other pilots who flew Spitfires in combat during World War II. Signed by Air Commodore Peter Brothers CBE, DSO, DFC* (deceased), Lieutenant General Avi Baron M Donnet CVO DFC FRAeS and Squadron Leader Arthur Leigh DFC, DFM. |
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See more David Pentland Tank Art at David Pentland .com See more Military Art Prints at Directart.co.uk
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Cranston Fine Arts. Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu,
Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE
Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269. Fax:
(+44) (0) 1436 820473. Email:

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www.roberttaylorprints.com
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