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Phantom Fury by Robert Taylor.
The biggest, fastest, most powerful fighter of its day, the McDonnell Phantom
was an awesome war machine that came to dominate aerial combat for over two
decades. It may have been the size of many World War II bombers but it could
outperform anything that crossed its path; it was quicker, could turn faster,
was better equipped with electronics, carried more ordnance than anything
comparable, and it had an unbelievable rate of climb. The F-4 Phantom was the
benchmark against which every fighter in the world came to be judged; it was
simply the best. And when it saw combat for the first time, in Vietnam in 1961,
it was the lucky Navy and Marine Corps pilots who were the first to fly it.
Whether it was carrier-based attack with the Navy, land-based bombing missions
with the Marines, air combat sorties, or Forward Air Control missions, it was
unbeatable. So impressed were the Air Force that they bought it too, and three
years later, in 1964, the USAF received their Phantoms. The Air Force pilots
just could not wait to get their hands on it. And one of those just itching to
take it into combat was a young, then Captain, Steve Ritchie. Flying with the
555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the illustrious Triple Nickel, Ritchie would,
in the space of a few weeks during Operation Linebacker in the summer of 1972
become a legend - the only USAF fighter pilot Ace of the Vietnam War. The
painting shows Steve Ritchie, first into action, flying his lead F-4D Phantom
through a hail of deadly enemy flak as he exits the target area after a typical
FAST FAC mission on enemy installations in North Vietnam, 1972. Behind him a
vast trail of devastation mark the progress of the mission, as his fellow
Phantom crews continue to wreak havoc with their heavy ordnance, the target area
exploding in a series of mighty detonations. |
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Phantom Fury by Robert Taylor.
The biggest, fastest, most powerful fighter of its day, the McDonnell Phantom was an awesome war machine that came to dominate aerial combat for over two decades. It may have been the size of many World War II bombers but it could outperform anything that crossed its path; it was quicker, could turn faster, was better equipped with electronics, carried more ordnance than anything comparable, and it had an unbelievable rate of climb. The F-4 Phantom was the benchmark against which every fighter in the world came to be judged; it was simply the best. And when it saw combat for the first time, in Vietnam in 1961, it was the lucky Navy and Marine Corps pilots who were the first to fly it. Whether it was carrier-based attack with the Navy, land-based bombing missions with the Marines, air combat sorties, or Forward Air Control missions, it was unbeatable. So impressed were the Air Force that they bought it too, and three years later, in 1964, the USAF received their Phantoms. The Air Force pilots just could not wait to get their hands on it. And one of those just itching to take it into combat was a young, then Captain, Steve Ritchie. Flying with the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the illustrious Triple Nickel, Ritchie would, in the space of a few weeks during Operation Linebacker in the summer of 1972 become a legend - the only USAF fighter pilot Ace of the Vietnam War. The painting shows Steve Ritchie, first into action, flying his lead F-4D Phantom through a hail of deadly enemy flak as he exits the target area after a typical FAST FAC mission on enemy installations in North Vietnam, 1972. Behind him a vast trail of devastation mark the progress of the mission, as his fellow Phantom crews continue to wreak havoc with their heavy ordnance, the target area exploding in a series of mighty detonations.
Limited edition of 750 prints Image size 28 inches x 16 inches (72cm x 41cm) Paper size 34.5 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm). Price £200.00 Signed by :
Brigadier General Richard Steve Ritchie
and
Captain John Madden.
Limited edition of 50 artist proofs. Image size 28 inches x 16 inches (72cm x 41cm) Paper size 34.5 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm). Price £325.00 Signed by :
Brigadier General Richard Steve Ritchie
and
Captain John Madden.
Limited edition of 25 giclee canvas prints Image size 28 inches x 16 inches (72cm x 41cm) Paper size 34.5 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm). Price £695.00 Signed by :
Brigadier General Richard Steve Ritchie
and
Captain John Madden.
Limited edition of 10 remarques Image size 28 inches x 16 inches (72cm x 41cm) Paper size 34.5 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm). Price £ Signed by :
Brigadier General Richard Steve Ritchie
and
Captain John Madden.
ITEM CODE DHM1820
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Phantom Fury by Robert Taylor
- The Signatures
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 | Brigadier General Richard Steve Ritchie
Born in June 1942 during World War Two, Steve Ritchie graduated and was commissioned from the USAF Academy in June 1964. He flew his first combat tour in Vietnam in 1968 on Fast FAC operations, before transferring to the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing for his second tour. It was with the 555th TFS - the famed 'Triple Nickel' Squadron, that he achieved Ace status. His first kill came on 10th May 1972 when he downed a MiG-21 forty miles south west of Hanoi, with his second a few weeks later just thirty miles south of the Chinese border. At the beginning of July he downed two MiG-21s west of Hanoi. It must have been his lucky area for on 28th August he scored his fifth and final victory in the same spot, thus becoming the only pilot Ace of the Vietnam War in the USAF, and the last US pilot to achieve Ace status.
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Captain John Madden
Flying his first combat mission on 5th October 1965, leading fighter pilot John Madden flew three combat tours in Vietnam, notching up an impressive record of 3 kills and 1 damaged, flying F-4 Phantoms. On 28th August 1972 he was part of the same mission when Steve Ritchie made Ace status. That same year Madden led over 50 combat flights and he never lost a wingman. Flights under his leadership accounted for 5 enemy aircraft downed, and 1 damaged. He left Vietnam in 1975, and retired from the USAF in 1984.
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