Nicolas Trudgian range of German Albatros Bi Plane aircraft aviation signed art prints.  These pages are dedicated to the artwork of aviation artist Nicolas Trudgian, including the full range of aviation prints published by the Military Gallery of which Cranston Fine Arts have purchased the last remaining prints. These include many rare items.  Many of Nicolas Trudgian prints have been signed by many of the top fighter and bomber pilots of World War Two over the past decade and many of these great pilots are no longer with us.  This could be the last chance to own a piece of history which will soon be no longer available except on the more expensive secondary market.

The D.I was designed by Robert Thelen, R. Schubert and Gnädig,  was uilt to repsond to the Allied fighters which were fast becoming dominant in the air war. such as the Airco DH 2 and the Nieuport II. The D.1 was built using plywood semi-monocoque fuselage compared to the fabric skinned pre deccors the plywood  fuselage was lighter and stronger. It was powered by either the 160Hp Mercedes D.III six cylinder  inline engine or the 150 HP Benz BZ.II.   Powered by these engines and the streamlined fuselage enabled the aircraft to be equipped with two fixed Spandau machine guns. with no loss of performance.  Only a total of 50 D1 were built.  The DII was the next version with a total of 200 being built. It was first flown by Jagdstaffel 2 which was the first German specialized squadron. and many famous German Pilots flew them including Oswald Boelcke and Manfred von Richthofen.  The next variant was the DIII. with over 1800 being built. it first saw service in  December 1916.  In total their were 12 variants. built  during the war with the last being in October 1918.