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| CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL NICOLAS TRUDGIAN PRINTS BY TITLE |
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100th Bomb Group
Country : US
| Nicolas Trudgian 100th Bomb Group Aviation Art Prints Aviation Art |
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| Text for the above items : |
First Strike on Berlin by Nicolas Trudgian. The first successful daylight raid on Berlin. Nicolas Trudgians painting relives the fearsome aerial combat on March 6, 1944, as B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 100th B.G. are attacked. Screaming in head-on, Fw190s of II./JG I charge into the bomber stream. With throttles wide open, 56th Fighter Group P-47 Thunderbolts come hurtling down to intercept. B-17 gunners are working overtime, the air is full of cordite, smoke, jagged pieces of flying metal and hot lead. We are in the midst of one of the fiercest aerial battles of the war. |
Heaven Can Wait by Nicolas Trudgian. B-17 Fortresses of the Bloody Hundredth- the Eighth Air Forces 100th Bomb Group - return to Thorpe Abbotts following a raid on enemy oil refineries, September 11, 1944. Nicolas Trudgians moving tribute to the Bloody Hundredth shows the imaginatively named B-17, Heaven Can Wait, on final approach to Thorpe Abbotts after the intense battle on September 11, 1944. Skilfully piloted by Harry Hempy, the seriously damaged B-17G has struggled 500 miles home on two engines to make it back to England. They lost their tail gunner that fateful day. Below the descending bomber stream, an agricultural traction engine peacefully ploughs the wheat stubble in preparation for next year's vital crop, the farm workers oblivious to the unimaginable traumas so recently experienced by the crews of the returning B-17 Fortresses. Signed by four pilots and crew who flew with the 100th Bomb Group in Europe during World War II. Published in 1999 - Issue price was £120. |
| 100th Bomb Group Aircraft details |
 Flying Fortress Built : 12677 | Flying Fortress In the mid-1930s engineers at Boeing suggested the possibility of designing a modern long-range monoplane bomber to the U.S. Army Air Corps. In 1934 the USAAC issued Circular 35-26 that outlined specifications for a new bomber that was to have a minimum payload of 2000 pounds, a cruising speed in excess of 200-MPH, and a range of at least 2000 miles. Boeing produced a prototype at its own expense, the model 299, which first flew in July of 1935. The 299 was a long-range bomber based largely on the Model 247 airliner. The Model 299 had several advanced features including an all-metal wing, an enclosed cockpit, retractable landing gear, a fully enclosed bomb bay with electrically operated doors, and cowled engines. With gun blisters glistening everywhere, a newsman covering the unveiling coined the term Flying Fortress to describe the new aircraft. After a few initial test flights the 299 flew off to Wright Field setting a speed record with an average speed of 232-mph. At Wright Field the 299 bettered its competition in almost all respects. However, an unfortunate crash of the prototype in October of 1935 resulted in the Army awarding its primary production contract to Douglas Aircraft for its DB-1 (B-18.) The Army did order 13 test models of the 299 in January 1936, and designated the new plane the Y1B-17. Early work on the B-17 was plagued by many difficulties, including the crash of the first Y1B-17 on its third flight, and nearly bankrupted the Company. Minor quantities of the B-17B, B-17C, and B-17D variants were built, and about 100 of these aircraft were in service at the time Pearl Harbor was attacked. In fact a number of unarmed B-17s flew into the War at the time of the Japanese attack. The German Blitzkrieg in Europe resulted in accelerated aircraft production in America. The B-17E was the first truly heavily armed variant and made its initial flight in September of 1941. B-17Es cost $298,000 each and more than 500 were delivered. The B-17F and B-17G were the truly mass-produced wartime versions of the Flying Fortress. More than 3,400 B-17Fs and more than 8,600 B-17Gs would be produced. The American daylight strategic bombing campaign against Germany was a major factor in the Allies winning the War in Europe. This campaign was largely flown by B-17 Flying Fortresses (12,677 built) and B-24 Liberators (18,188 built.) The B-17 bases were closer to London than those of the B-24, so B-17s received a disproportionate share of wartime publicity. The first mission in Europe with the B-17 was an Eighth Air Force flight of 12 B-17Es on August 12, 1942. Thousands more missions, with as many as 1000 aircraft on a single mission would follow over the next 2 ½ years, virtually decimating all German war making facilities and plants. The B-17 could take a lot of damage and keep on flying, and it was loved by the crews for bringing them home despite extensive battle damage. Following WW II, B-17s would see some action in Korea, and in the 1948 Israel War. There are only 14 flyable B-17s in operation today and a total of 43 complete airframes |
| 100th Bomb Group Pilot and aircrew signature details |
  First Lieutenant Ed McKay Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2009 | First Lieutenant Ed McKay Ed joined the US Marine Corps in 1937, but transferred to the Air Force in November 1941. Posted to the 350th Squadron of the 100th BG, Ed flew his first combat mission in January 1944 in the B-17, and on March 3 took part in the recalled raid to Berlin. Flymg his regular plane Alice from Dallas II, his gunners claimed three fighters en-route. On March 6, they again went to Berlin, this time successfully Ed served in both the European and Mediterranean theaters, and flew the B-29 at the end of the war. Ed McKay passed away on 17th July 2009. |
Captain Charles Wilson Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2013 | Captain Charles Wilson Charles Winters Wilson, affectionately known as Hong Kong, has Gone West on January 11, 2013. Born June 9th, 1921, in Dublin, Texas he spent his youth in Ft. Worth, Texas. At 19, Charlie was eager to become a pilot hitchhiking to Canada to join the Royal Canadian Air Force becoming a Sergeant Pilot. After the attack on Pearl Harbor and with the United States now engaged in World War Two, Sergeant Pilot Wilson transferred into the United States Army Air Corps. Soon he became a commissioned officer and command pilot of the B17 Flying Fortress going on to fly 28 missions with the famed 100th Bomb Group, 350th squadron, out of Thorpe Abbotts, England. After his combat missions, he participated in Operation Chowhound, the dropping of food supplies to the people of Holland and was most proud of flying French POWs out of Linz, Austria back to Paris, France, buzzing the Eiffel Tower upon returning the POWs. After military service, he spent the next ten years building and flying for Philippine Airlines. He is noted for flying the historic first DC6 revenue flight eastbound across the Pacific from the Philippine Islands to San Francisco, California. His next flying duty was a three year contract developing Ethiopia Airlines in east Africa. 21 additional years were spent flying for Transco Company in Houston, Texas. Captain Wilson accumulated over 23,000 flight hours throughout his lifetime in aviation. |
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