| Defiant but Doomed by Stan Stokes.
Jagdeschwader 26, or JG 26, was one of the Lufwaffes elite fighter forces. Nicknamed the Abbeville Boys, or the Abbeville Kids,JG 26 gained tremendous notoriety early in the War while operating out of Abbeville in Northern France. Although JG 26 never operated with more than 124 fighter aircraft, the unit dominated its airspace over Northern France and Belgium for more than a two year period. Adolf Galland was one of Germanys top fighter aces of the War, with more than 100 confirmed victories. For most of his flying career Galland was associated with JG 26. By year-end 1940 he had attained 57 victories, and was awarded the Oak Leaves, the highest award of the time. Galland took over command of JG 26 in August 1940 during the Battle of Britain. In Stan Stokes painting, entitled Defiant, But Doomed, Galland is depicted during a mission with the Abbeville Kids on August 28, 1940. Flying low cover for a formation of Heinkel bombers Galland was shocked to see a squadron of 12 Royal Air Force Defiants flying directly below the bombers. The Defiant was a unique British aircraft which was utilized as a daylight fighter incorporating four machine guns enclosed in a top mounted hydraulic turret operated by a gunnery officer. Despite serving admirably during the Dunkirk evacuation, the Luftwaffe had devised tactics which made the Defiant only marginally successful. By utilizing its turret guns RAF 264 Squadron was preparing to decimate the Heinkels with an attack on their vulnerable underbellies. Climbing straight up into the formation Galland broke up the attack. Minutes later he was engaged with the Defiant piloted by 264 Squadron Commander Garvin. Although struck four times by the Defiants machine guns, Galland was ultimately victorious. Gallands JG 26 flew the Messerschmitt Bf-109 (also often referred to as the ME-109) of which over 30,000 were produced. The first large scale production model of the 109 was the E series. Powered by a 12 cylinder water cooled engine the 109e was capable of 360 MPH, and had a ceiling of 33,000 feet. The 109 was very maneuverable and had a very strong airframe capable of sustaining high G maneuvers. Utilizing a low-wing cantilever design, the 109 had retractable landing gear and initially was produced with fuselage mounted machine guns. Galland complained about this configuration and actually modified several of his aircraft to incorporate wing mounted machine guns, which would provide a wider field of fire. A few of these aircraft were utilized during the Spanish Civil War in 1939, and proved vastly superior to anything they faced. The 109, unlike many other fighters which were in service at the start of the War, remained effective for the entire War, and in fact became a de facto standard by which many other aircraft would be judged. Adolf Galland was promoted to General of the Fighter Arm in late 1941, and became preoccupied with fighter tactics for the duration of the War. |
| Item Code : STK0121 | Defiant but Doomed by Stan Stokes. - This Edition | Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price! |
| TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | PRINT | Signed limited edition of 4750 prints.
Supplied with signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. | Print size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) | Artist : Stan Stokes | £15 Off! | Now : £35.00 |
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Other editions of this item : | Defiant but Doomed by Stan Stokes. | STK0121 |
| TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | PRINT | 225 prints from the signed limited edition of 4750 prints, with signature of Stan Stokes and pilot, and a remarque. | Image size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) | Galland, Adolf + Artist : Stan Stokes
Signature(s) value alone : £80 | £60 Off! | Now : £195.00 | VIEW EDITION... | PRINT | Prints from the 225 prints from the signed limited edition of 4750 prints, with signature of Stan Stokes and pilot. | Image size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) | Galland, Adolf + Artist : Stan Stokes
Signature(s) value alone : £80 | £80 Off! | Now : £175.00 | VIEW EDITION... |
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Extra Details : Defiant but Doomed by Stan Stokes. | About all editions : | A photo of an edition of the print.
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The Aircraft : | Name | Info | Defiant | BOULTON PAUL DEFIANT Built as a fighter, with a crew of two. Maximum speed of 304 mph, and a ceiling of 30,350 feet. armament on the defiant was four .303 browing machine guns in the Boulton Paul Turret. Designed as a intercepter fighter, the Defiant first flew in August 1937. and entered service with the Royal Air Force in October 1939 with no 264 squadron. and first flew in operations in march 1940 the Boulton Paul Defiant was certainly no match for the German Fighters, due to their lack of fire power as the defiant had no wing mounted machine guns. Heavy losses. The aircraft was re deployed as a night -Fighter in the autumn of 1940. This role also being taken over by Bristol Beaufighters in 1941, leaving the defiant for training, target tug, and air-sea rescue roles. A Total of 1075 Boulton Paul Defiant's were built | Me109 | Willy Messerschmitt designed the BF109 during the early 1930s. The Bf109 was one of the first all metal monocoque construction fighters with a closed canopy and retractable undercarriage. The engine of the Me109 was a V12 aero engine which was liquid-cooled. The Bf109 first saw operational service during the Spanish Civil War and flew to the end of World War II, during which time it was the backbone of the Luftwaffe fighter squadrons. During the Battle of Britian the Bf109 was used in the role of an escort fighter, a role for which it was not designed for, and it was also used as a fighter bomber. During the last days of May 1940 Robert Stanford-Tuck, the RAF ace, got the chance to fly an Me109 which they had rebuilt after it had crash landed. Stanford-Tuck found out that the Me109 was a wonderful little plane, it was slightly faster than the Spitfire, but lacked the Spitfire manoeuvrability. By testing the Me109, Tuck could put himself inside the Me109 when fighting them, knowing its weak and strong points. With the introduction of the improved Bf109F in the spring of 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the invasion of Yugoslavia and during the Battle of Crete and the invasion of Russia and it was used during the Siege of the Mediteranean island of Malta. The Bf109 was the main fighter for the Luftwaffe until 1942 when the Fw190 entered service and shared this position, and was partially replaced in Western Europe, but the Me109 continued to serve on the Eastern Front and during the defence of the Reich against the allied bombers. It was also used to good effect in the Mediterranean and North Africa in support of The Africa Korps. The Me109 was also supplied to several German allies, including Finland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia. The Bf109 scored more kills than any other fighter of any country during the war and was built in greater numbers with a total of over 31,000 aircraft being built. The Bf109 was flown by the three top German aces of the war war. Erich Hartmann with 352 victories, Gerhard Barkhorn with 301 victories and Gunther Rall with 275 kills. Bf109 pilots were credited with the destruction of 100 or more enemy aircraft. Thirteen Luftwaffe Aces scored more than 200 kills. Altogether this group of pilots were credited with a total of nearly 15,000 kills, of which the Messerschmitt Bf109 was credited with over 10,000 of these victories. The Bf109 was the most produced warplane during World War II, with 30,573 examples built during the war, and the most produced fighter aircraft in history, with a total of 33,984 units produced up to April 1945. Bf109s remained in foreign service for many years after World War II. The Swiss used their Bf109Gs well into the 1950s. The Finnish Air Force did not retire their Bf109Gs until March 1954. Romania used its Bf109s until 1955. The Spanish Hispanos flew even longer. Some were still in service in the late 1960s. |
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