|
TOP ACE
by Robert Taylor
|
|
A highly-restricted edition - only TWENTY SIX available worldwide
‘Wait till you get ‘em in your sights’ he
said, ‘then short bursts. There’s no use
melting your guns!’ It was a simple tactic
and with 28 air victories to his credit
during World War II, one that made ‘Gabby’
Gabreski the top-scoring American Ace in
Europe. As if that wasn’t enough, Gabreski
would later down 6.5 MiG-15s flying the F-86
in Korea, one of only seven American fighter
pilots to achieve Ace status in both wars.
The son of Polish immigrants, Francis S.
‘Gabby’ Gabreski had been one of the few
American fighter pilots to get airborne
during the infamous Japanese raid on Pearl
Harbor on 7 December 1941. Then, although
assigned to the 56th Fighter Group in
England, his Polish background found him
detached for a period to serve with 315
(Polish) Squadron RAF flying Spitfire Mk.IXs
before re-joining ‘Hub’ Zemke and the 56th FG
in February 1943. He would now go on to notch
up an unbeatable tally of 28 air victories,
plus another three destroyed on the ground.
Robert Taylor, still the world’s most
collected and respected aviation artist, has
chosen Gabreski as the centrepiece for his
latest master drawing Top Ace. Bringing
America’s top-scoring fighter pilot in Europe
to life, you can feel the raw power of
Gabreski’s rugged P-47 Thunderbolt as he and
his wingman thunder away from Boxted shortly
after D-Day. But by 20 July 1944 he’d
completed 300 combat hours and was scheduled
for a rest. Gabreski had other ideas and
decided on one final mission. It turned out
to be his last. On the way home from
escorting bombers he spotted a Heinkel He-111
stationary at a Luftwaffe airfield and
decided to strafe it. But he got too low; the
propeller of his P-47 struck the ground.
Forced to crash-land he evaded capture for
five days but was eventually captured and
taken prisoner of war.
Approx matted size: 23 ¾” wide x 21 ¾” high Image size: 17 ¾” wide x 11 ¼” high
In tribute to the legendary Ace depicted and the courageous pilots who flew with him in the ‘Wolfpack’ 56th Fighter Group, Robert’s stunning drawing has been faithfully reproduced as a high quality giclée fine art print on textured velvet paper. Only 26 copies of this are available worldwide through the Military Gallery, Robert’s exclusive publisher with every print signed, numbered and hand-titled by Robert himself.
The Veteran’s Edition
With ELEVEN signatures!
The historical importance of this extremely limited edition is highlighted by the addition of rare ORIGINAL autographs within the conservation matting, including Gabby Gabreski and a further ten highly-regarded pilots who flew with the 56th FG. Between them they achieved over 100 victories to help make the 56th the USAAF’s top-scoring fighter group of the war:
Colonel FRANCIS ‘GABBY’ GABRESKI
61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 34 ½ victories
Colonel WALKER ‘BUD’ MAHURIN
61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 24 ½ victories
Brigadier General LESLIE SMITH
61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 7 victories
Brigadier General LYLE ADRIANSE
63rd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group
Captain WALTER GROCE
63rd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 3 ½ victories
Lieutenant Colonel EDGAR WHITLEY
63rd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 2 victories
Major MICHAEL GLADYCH
61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 18 victories
Lieutenant JOHN BRADSHAW
63rd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 1 ½ victories
Colonel BILLY EDENS
62nd Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 7 victories
Chief Warrant Officer RUSSELL KYLER
61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group
Colonel ROBERT ‘SHORTY’ RANKIN
61st Fighter Squadron, 56th Fighter Group / 10 victories
|
THE VETERANS EDITION
US $795.00 UK £625.00
Edition Size - 26
|
Sold Out |
|