A STUNNING TRIBUTE TO ONE OF THE MOST RESPECTED AMERICAN FIGHTER ACES IN HISTORY – ROBIN OLDS
TOWARDS THE HOME FIRES
by Robert Taylor
Flying low over the snow covered village of Maldon in Essex, Major Robin Olds, in his P-51K Scat VI, leads a flight of Mustangs of the 434th Fighter Squadron, 479th Fighter Group back to their base at Wattisham, on 14 February 1945. During their long range escort mission Olds had downed three German fighters in quick succession over Berlin, making him one of the foremost Aces in the Eighth Air Force.
As the New Year of 1945 dawned, the snow had already spread to blanket the southern half of England with a cloak of frosty whiteness. The festivities of Christmas had passed and the relentless pounding of German cities and industrial targets continued unabated. On every front Hitler’s once-fabled armies were in full retreat. The endgame was now in play.
But Germany was not yet defeated. On the ground and in the air its forces still fought with savage intensity as the Allies drew ever closer to the heartlands of the Reich. In his Berlin bunker, Hitler still believed that Germany's ‘miracle’ weapons could restore his fortunes but, in reality, as Allied bombers wreaked havoc and their fighter escorts dominated the skies against the mighty Luftwaffe, the Nazi regime was disintegrating.
Robert Taylor has painted one of the finest scenes of his illustrious career in a stunning tribute to Robin Olds, one of the legendary Aces who took part in the great aerial assault launched on Germany by the US Eighth Air Force.
THE MUSTANG PILOTS EDITION (with eight signatures)
Only 110 copies of this edition were ever issued and the prints are individually numbered and personally signed by the artist Robert Taylor. The print is also autographed by the legendary Ace Robin Olds along with three prominent fighter pilots who flew with him in the 479th Fighter Group, plus a further four famous P-51 Aces:
Lt Col WALTER M. DRAKE - 479th Fighter Group / 1 air & 3 ground victories
Brig Gen ROBIN OLDS - 479th Fighter Group / 17 air & 11 ground victories
1st Lt JAMES E. FROLKING - 479th Fighter Group
1st Lt DAVID BORN - 479th Fighter Group
Col CLARENCE ‘BUD’ ANDERSON - 357th Fighter Group / 16 ¼ air & 1 ground victories
Brig Gen FRANK GAILER - 357th Fighter Group / 5 ½ air & 1 ground victory
Col JOE PETERBURS - 20th Fighter Group / 2 victories (including Me262 Jet)
Col STEVE PISANOS - 4th Fighter Group / 10 victories
This now sold out edition has become one of Robert Taylor's classic pieces and it is of great historical significance that Robin Olds signed the prints along with pilots that flew alongside him on those arduous missions, giving even greater meaning to this release and creating a remarkable and valuable collector’s piece.
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Please note: The signatures on
our pieces are not reproductions; they are original autographs, hand-signed by
the veterans involved.