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THIS ITEM IS INCLUDED IN OUR BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE OFFER ! Choose any two prints in this special offer and the lower priced item is half price. (Any free bonus prints already supplied with an item are separate and will also be included !) Hundreds of items across our websites are included in this offer! |
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Extra Details : Red Tail Patrol by Richard Taylor. | ||
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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 |
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Jefferson *Signature Value : £30 | Alexander joined the Red Tails 332nd Fighter Group at Ramitelli, Italy, flying long range escort missions for B17 and B24 bombers. On August 12th 1944, three days prior to the invasion of Southern France. he was shot down by ground fire while strafing coastal radar installations, spending the rest of the war as a PoW, and was liberated by General Pattons 3rd Army. On his return to the USA he became an instructor at Tuskegee Field. |
Lieutenant Colonel George E Hardy *Signature Value : £25 | After graduating from Tuskegee Army Air Field, George joined the 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group at Ramitelli, Italy in 1945, and flew 21 combat missions in the P51 Mustang on bomber escort missions in B29s, and during the Vietnam War flew 70 combat missions in AC-119K gunships. |
Lieutenant Colonel Leo R Gray *Signature Value : £25 | Leo Gray graduated as a pilot in one of the final classes from Tuskegee and was immediately posted to fly in combat with the Red Tails in the 100th Fighter Squadron. Arriving in Ramitelli, Italy, on March 14th 1945 he very quickly has a close encounter with two Me262s while escorting home a damaged P38. Flying on long range escort missions in the P51, he also flew P40s and P47s in combat. Gray flew 15 combat missions in P-51s for a total of 750 hours flying time. He left active duty in 1946, but remained in the USAF Reserves until 1984. During his 41 years of military service, Lieutenant Colonel Gray earned a Coveted Air Medal with one Oak Leaf cluster and a Presidential Unit Citation. |
Lieutenant Colonel William H Holloman III *Signature Value : £35 | Flew P51s with 99th Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group during World War II, and after the war he flew P-47 Thunderbolts with the 301st Fighter Squadron. During the Korean War he was a Military Air Transport pilot picking up wounded soldiers for return to the US, and became the first black helicopter pilot in the US Air Force. After leaving the Air Force he became an airline pilot but was recalled to active duty in 1966, serving in Vietnam, Europe, and later returned to the Western Pacific. |
The Aircraft : | |
Name | Info |
Mustang | The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace. |
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