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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 |
George H Maynor *Signature Value : £25 | Aviation Machinist 1st Class aboard USS Hornet at the time of the Doolittle Raid. As Plane Captain he was directly involved with the B-25 Mitchell bombers and was on the flight deck when the Raiders took off. Entering the US Navy in May 1941 he joined the crew of the recently commissioned USS Hornet CV-8 immediately after training. As a Plane Captain assigned to GQ he was in charge of a team responsible for the maintenance of TBD Devastators and then TBM Avengers of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8). He was directly involved with the preparation of the B-25 Mitchells for the Doolittle Raid and was on the Hornet's flight deck to witness their departure. As a crew member of the Hornet he saw action at the Battle of the Coral Sea, Guadalcanal and Midway and during the Hornet's final battle, when she was sunk at Santa Cruz on October 26th 1942., he was lucky to escape when the destroyer that rescued him was strafed by a Japanese fighter. He subsequently served on the USS Juneau and USS Nassau (CV-16) and was awarded a Presidential Unit Citation. |
Lieutenant Colonel Edward J Saylor *Signature Value : £45 | Ed Saylor was born on March 15, 1920, in Brusett, Montana. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps on December 7th, 1939. Ed Saylor trained in aircraft maintenance and as a flight engineer. Sgt Saylor was serving as a B-25 Mitchell flight engineer with the 34th Bomb Squadron of the 17th Bomb Group when he was selected for the Doolittle Mission in February 1942. Sgt Saylor was the flight engineer aboard the 15th B-25 to take off from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet (CV-8) on April 18th, 1942. After bombing their assigned targets in Kobe, Japan the crew ditched their B-25 Mitchell in the water off the coast of China. After returning to the United States, Sgt Saylor was deployed to England before accepting a commission as a 2nd Lt in the Army Air Force on March 4th, 1945. Lt Saylor served as an Aircraft Maintenance Officer until leaving active duty on March 29, 1946. The B-25 used of the Doolittle Raid, from 89th Reconnaissaince Squadron, was #40-2267. Aside from Saylor, the crew were : Pilot - Lt. Donald G. Smith - b 15 Jan 1918, Oldham, SD - d 12 Nov 1942 (killed/action, British Isles) Co-Pilot - Lt. Griffith Paul Williams - b 10 Jul 1920, Chicago, IL (P.O.W., Germany, 2 years) Navigator-Bombadier - Lt. Howard Albert Sessler - b 11 Aug 1917, Boston, MA Gunner - Lt. Thomas Robert White - b 29 Mar 1909, Haiku, HI (Medical Corps) - d 29 Nov 1992 |
Lieutenant Colonel Richard E Cole *Signature Value : £50 | Richard E Cole was born in Dayton Ohio on 7th September 1915. Cole graduated from Steele High School, Dayton, Ohio and completed two years college at Ohio University. On 20th November 1940 Richard Cole enlisted with the USAF. Cole completed pilot training and commissioned as Second Lieutenant, July, 1941. Cole was co-pilot of General Jimmy Doolittles B-25 plane #1, their Mitchell attacked the city of Tokyo and they bailed out over China. Cole remained in China-Burma-India flying bombing and transport missions over the Hump untill June 1943, and served again in the China-Burma-India theater from October, 1943 until June, 1944. Relieved from active duty in January, 1947 but returned to active duty in August 1947. Was Operations Advisor to Venezuelan Air Force from 1959 to 1962. Peacetime service in Ohio, North Carolina, and California. Rated as command pilot. Decorations include Distinguished Flying Cross with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and Chinese Army, Navy, Air Corps Medal, Class A, 1st Grade. |
Major Thomas C Griffin (deceased) *Signature Value : £35 | Thomas C Griffin was Born July 10, 1917, Green Bay, Wisconsin and graduated from university of Alabama with BA in Political Science in 1939. Entered service on July 5, 1939 as Second Lieutenant, Coast Artillery, but requested relief from active duty in 1940 to enlist as a Flying Cadet. Was rated as a navigator and re-commissioned on July 1, 1940. Griffin became the navigator on Doc Watsons plane #9, attacked a factory on Tokyo Bay in Kawasaki. Arrived back in US in June, 1942. Flew combat in North Africa, shot down and captured in July 1943. POW. Major Thomas C Griffin's awards include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters and the Chinese Army, Navy, Air Corps Medal, Class A, 1st Grade. He died on 26th February 2013. |
Staff Sergeant David J Thatcher (deceased) *Signature Value : £50 | Graduated from Steele high School, Dayton, Ohio and completed two years college at Ohio University. Enlisted November 22, 1940. Completed pilot training and commissioned as Second Lieutenant, July, 1941. became Co-pilot of General Jimmy Doolittles B-25 plane #1, attacked the city of Tokyo and bailed out over China. Remained in China flying bombing and transport missions over the Hump. Relieved from active duty in January, 1947 but returned to active duty in August 1947. Between 1959 to 1962 Cole was Operations Advisor to Venezuelan Air Force . Peacetime service in Ohio, North Carolina, and California. Rated as command pilot. Cole's decorations include Distinguished Flying Cross with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster, Bronze Star Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal, and Chinese Army, Navy, Air Corps Medal, Class A, 1st Grade. He died on 22nd June 2016. |
The Aircraft : | |
Name | Info |
Mitchell | On April 18, 1942, Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle led a group of 16 B-25 bombers on a carrier-launched raid on industrial and military targets in Japan. The raid was one of the most daring missions of WW II. Planning for this secret mission began several months earlier, and Jimmy Doolittle, one of the most outstanding pilots and leaders in the United States Army Air Corps was chosen to plan, organize and lead the raid. The plan was to get within 300 or 400 miles of Japan, attack military and industrial targets in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kobe shortly after nightfall, and then fly on to a dawn landing at secret airfields on the coast of China. The twin engine B-25 Mitchell bomber was selected by Doolittle for the mission and practice indicated that it should be possible to launch these aircraft from a carrier deck with less than 500 feet of runway. On April 2, 1942 the USS Hornet and a number of escorts set sail from Alameda, California with the 16 B-25s strapped to its deck. This task force rendezvoused with another including the USS Enterprise, and proceeded for the Japanese mainland. An element of surprise was important for this mission to succeed. When the task force was spotted by a Japanese picket boat, Admiral Halsey made the decision to launch the attack earlier than was planned. This meant that the raiders would have to fly more than 600 miles to Japan, and would arrive over their targets in daylight. It also meant that it would be unlikely that each aircraft would have sufficient fuel to reach useable airfields in China. Doolittle had 50 gallons of additional fuel stowed on each aircraft as well as a dinghy and survival supplies for the likely ditchings at sea which would now take place. At approximately 8:00 AM the Hornets loudspeaker blared, Now hear this: Army pilots, man your planes! Doolittle and his co-pilot R.E. Cole piloted the first B-25 off the Hornets deck at about 8:20 AM. With full flaps, and full throttle the Mitchell roared towards the Hornets bow, just barely missing the ships island superstructure. The B-25 lifted off, Doolittle leveled out, and made a single low altitude pass down the painted center line on the Hornets deck to align his compass. The remaining aircraft lifted off at approximately five minute intervals. The mission was planned to include five three-plane sections directed at various targets. However, Doolittle had made it clear that each aircraft was on its own. He insisted, however, that civilian targets be avoided, and under no circumstances was the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to be bombed. About 30 minutes after taking off Doolittles B-25 was joined by another piloted by Lt. Travis Hoover. These two aircraft approached Tokyo from the north. They encountered a number of Japanese fighter or trainer aircraft, but they remained generally undetected at their low altitude. At 1:30 PM the Japanese homeland came under attack for the first time in the War. From low altitudes the raiders put their cargoes of four 500 pounders into a number of key targets. Despite antiaircraft fire, all the attacking aircraft were unscathed. The mission had been a surprise, but the most hazardous portion of the mission lay ahead. The Chinese were not prepared for the raiders arrival. Many of the aircraft were ditched along the coast, and the crews of other aircraft, including Doolittles were forced to bail out in darkness. There were a number of casualties, and several of the raiders were caught by Japanese troops in China, and some were eventually executed. This painting is dedicated to the memories of those airmen who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and the thousands of innocent Chinese citizens which were brutally slaughtered as a reprisal for their assistance in rescuing the downed crews. |
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