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Open Assault by Robert Taylor.
The Junkers Ju87 Sturzkampfbomber, known to the British simply as the Stuka, had
already acquired a deadly reputation across Europe, its siren screaming as the
ungainly dive-bomber struck terror into the hearts of those below. In 1940 its
pilots crossed the Channel with their grim-looking aircraft to terrorise the
southern towns and ports of England. Robert Taylors painting Open Assault,
depicts Hurricanes of 501 Squadron attacking a force of Ju87 Stukas as they
dive-bomb naval vessels and installations in the port of Dover on 29 July 1940.
High explosive bombs detonate within the sheltered anchorage as escorting Bf109s
from JG51 race in to protect their lumbering charges. Four Stukas and two Me109s
are despatched, for the loss of just one RAF aircraft. |
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Open Assault by Robert Taylor.
The Junkers Ju87 Sturzkampfbomber, known to the British simply as the Stuka, had already acquired a deadly reputation across Europe, its siren screaming as the ungainly dive-bomber struck terror into the hearts of those below. In 1940 its pilots crossed the Channel with their grim-looking aircraft to terrorise the southern towns and ports of England. Robert Taylors painting Open Assault, depicts Hurricanes of 501 Squadron attacking a force of Ju87 Stukas as they dive-bomb naval vessels and installations in the port of Dover on 29 July 1940. High explosive bombs detonate within the sheltered anchorage as escorting Bf109s from JG51 race in to protect their lumbering charges. Four Stukas and two Me109s are despatched, for the loss of just one RAF aircraft.
Signed limited edition of 400 prints. Paper size 33 inches x 25 inches (83cm x 64cm). Price £200.00 Signed by
Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC,
Leutnant Wilhelm Noller
and
Tony Pickering AFC.
Collectors Edition : signed limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Paper size 33 inches x 25 inches (83cm x 64cm). Price £375.00 Signed by Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC,
Leutnant Wilhelm Noller,
Tony Pickering AFC,
Squadron Leader Doug Nicholls DFC,
Major Erich Rudorffer
and
Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger.
Collectors Edition : signed limited edition of 250 prints. Paper size 33 inches x 25 inches (83cm x 64cm). Price £250.00 Signed by
Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC,
Leutnant Wilhelm Noller,
Tony Pickering AFC,
Squadron Leader Doug Nicholls DFC,
Major Erich Rudorffer
and
Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger.
Generals Edition : signed limited edition of 150 prints. Paper size 33 inches x 25 inches (83cm x 64cm). Price £325.00 Signed by
Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC,
Leutnant Wilhelm Noller,
Tony Pickering AFC,
Squadron Leader Doug Nicholls DFC,
Major Erich Rudorffer,
Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger,
General Johannes Steinhoff (deceased)
and
General Gunther Rall.
Rudel Tribute Proof : signed limited edition of 10 prints. Paper size 33 inches x 25 inches (83cm x 64cm). Price £2100.00 Signed by
Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC,
Leutnant Wilhelm Noller,
Tony Pickering AFC,
Squadron Leader Doug Nicholls DFC,
Major Erich Rudorffer,
Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger,
General Johannes Steinhoff (deceased),
General Gunther Rall,
Hans Rudel (deceased) - companion print,
Oberleutnant Helmut Fickel - matted, companion print,
Major Franz Kieslich - matted, companion print,
Oberst Kurt Kuhlmey (deceased) - matted, companion print,
Oberstleutnant Hans-Karl Stepp (deceased)
and
Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob.
ITEM CODE DHM1753
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Open Assault by Robert Taylor
- The Signatures
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 | Group Captain Byron Duckenfield AFC
Byron Duckenfield joined 74 Squadron at Hornchurch in April 1940, flying Spitfires, and on 22nd July was posted to 501 Squadron flying Hurricanes first at Middle Wallop, then to Gravesend, scoring his first victory, a Ju87, on the 29th. During August and September he scored three more victories. After a spel instructing he was posted to command 66 Squadron, and in February 1942 to command 615 Squadron, which he took to the Far East. In late December 1942 he was shot down in Burma and captured by the Japanese. He remained a POW until release in May 1945.
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 | Leutnant Wilhelm Noller
Wilhelm Noller joined the Luftwaffe in 1939 and trained as a bomber pilot. In May 1942 he was posted to join 2./StG 2 fighting on the Eastern Front. He took part in the battles of Kursk and Stalingrad, and became one of the most successful pilots of StG 2. By early 1943 his combat mission total passed the 500 mark, rising to over 800 by the end of the year. He was awarded the Knights Cross in April 1944, a few weeks after passing the 1000 mission mark. After a period instructing, he returned to combat in February 1945, flying the Fw190 with 7./SG 10 in Czechoslovakia. Wounded in April 1945, and hospitalised in Prague, he was taken prisoner by the Soviets when they took over the city in May. Transported east by rail towards Russia, he jumped from the moving train and escaped back to Germany. During the war he had flown 1058 missions, destroyed 86 tanks, 2 armoured trains, plus many vehicles, boats and bridges. He also gained 2 victories in aerial combat.
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 | Tony Pickering AFC
With the RAFVR just before the war commenced, Tony Pickering joined 32 Squadron at Biggin Hill in July 1940, flying Hurricanes, and in August 1940 to 501 Squadron at Gravesend. In September he was shot down but unhurt in a duel with an Me109, destroying another 109 a few weeks later. In December he joined 601 Squadron at Northolt. After a spell instructing, he joined 131 as a Flight Commander in February 1943, and later served as a Squadron Commander in the Middle East.
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 | Squadron Leader Doug Nicholls DFC
A pre-war RAFVR pilot, Nicholls flew during the Battle of Britain with 85,242 and 151 Squadrons. On September 30, 1940, he shared in the destruction of a Ju 88 and returned to Digby with his Hurricane severely damaged by return fire. Nicholls spent only a brief time with 242 but Bader made a considerable impression. After a hard day Nicholls remembers Bader taking off his legs and dressing the stumps with lotion and talcum powder. Few people realise, Nicholls feels, just how much strain combat flying with artificial legs must have been. Later in the war Nicholls flew Hurricanes with 258 Squadron in the Far East.
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 | Major Erich Rudorffer
Erich Rudorffer joined I./JG2 'Richthofen' in November 1939, and was soon flying combat patrols. He took part in the Battle of France, and the Battle of Britain, becoming Adjutant of II./JG2 in June 1941. In December 1942 he was transferred to North Africa. In July 1943 he was posted to command II./JG54 in Russia. In February 1945 he took command of I./JG7 flying the Me262. Erich Rudorffer was the master of multiple scoring - achieving more multiple victories than any other pilot. This included 8 RAF aircraft in 32 minutes in December 1943, 7 in 20 minutes a few days later. In Russia he shot down 5 aircraft in only 4 minutes. He ended the war with 222 victories from over 1000 missions. He was awarded the Knight's Cross, with Oak Leaves and Swords.
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Erich Rudorffer signing the print - Fighter General - by Graeme Lothian |
Erich Rudorffer with artist Graeme Lothian and the original painting of Fighter General. |
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 | Oberleutnant Gunther Seeger
In February 1940, Gunther Seeger was an Unteroffizier with 3./JG2, scoring his first victory in the early days of the Battle of Britain. he served on the Channel Front until December 1942, including several months with the Geschwaderstabsschwarm. He transferred to the Mediterranean theatre with II./JG2 before joining 6./JG53. In February 1943 he joined 7./JG53 becoming Staffelkapitan in September 1944. Awarded the Knight's Cross, Gunther Seeger scored 56 victories.
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 | General Johannes Steinhoff (deceased)
By early 1940 Macky Steinhoff was leading 4 / JG-52 during the Battle of Britain. He was then transferred to the eastern front where his success continued. In the final stages of the defence of the Reich he joined JV-44 flying the ME 262 in which he scored 6 victories before being seriously burned in a crash. He flew 939 missions scored 178 victories and was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak leaves and swords.
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 | General Gunther Rall
A young pilot with III/JG52 at the outbreak of war. He quickly demonstrated his natural ability and leadership qualities, scoring his first air victory early in the Battle of Britain, and by July 1940 was leading 8/JG52. After transfer to the Eastern Front his air victories mounted at an astonishing rate. A crash hospitalised him but within nine months he was back in the cockpit, and, when commanding III/JG52, gained the Wings 500th victory. Gunther fought throughout the war to become the 3rd highest Ace in history with 275 victories. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.
Gunther Rall was born on March 10, 1918 in the small Bavarian town of Gaggenau, Baden. Immersing himself in Boy Scout activities during the difficult economic times in Germany following WW 1, Rall finished school in 1936 and joined the German Army. Influenced by a friend, who was a young officer in the Luftwaffe, Rall entered pilot's school in 1938. His initial posting was with JG52. He attained his first aerial victory during the Battle of France in May of 1940. During the Battle of Britain JG52 absorbed many casualties, and Rall was promoted to Squadron Commander at the young age of 22. With his fair-hair and smooth complexion the young officer looked even younger than his years. But behind this pleasant exterior was a fierce competitor with the heart of a tiger. Later, Rall's squadron would support the attack on Crete, followed by deployment to the Southern Sector on the Eastern Front. Rall's victory totals began to mount. Following his 37 th victory, GiInther was himself shot down. He was lucky to survive the crash, but with a badly broken back he would spend most of the next year in various hospitals. In Vienna at the University Hospital he would meet his future wife, Hertha. Miraculously, Rall recovered and returned to the Luftwaffe in August of 1942. By November his score exceeded 100 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves to accompany the Knight's Cross he was awarded only weeks earlier. As the War progressed against Russia, Rall began to encounter ever more experienced Soviet pilots flying better performing aircraft. Despite this fact, and being shot down several more times himself, Rall's victory tally kept rising. By March of 1944 the ace had attained 273 aerial victories. With the War now going badly for Germany, Rall was transferred to the Western Front. He was able to attain only two more victories against the swarms of Allied bombers and fighter escorts which now pounded Germany every day and night. In May of 1944 Rall was shot down by a P-47. Losing his thumb in the battle he remained out of combat until later in 1944. Rall's final assignments included flying 190Ds as Kornmodore of JG300, and flying the Me-262 jet. Rall's 275 aerial victories (attained on less than 700 combat sorties) make him the third highest scoring ace of all time. If not for the down time suffered as a result of his broken back, Rall might have actually equaled or exceeded Erich Hartmann's alltime record of 352 aerial victories. Rall was not much for socializing during the War. He was a fierce competitor with a businessman's attitude about flying. He was an excellent marksman, and possibly the best deflection shot expert of the War. He continued to fly with the Bundeslufwaffe following the War, serving as its Commander-In Chief in 1970-74.
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Gunther Rall signing the print - Eagles Over the Steppes - by Graeme Lothian. |
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 | Hans Rudel (deceased)
Hans Rudel, born in July 1916, was the most decorated Nazi pilot. In 2,530 combat missions flying dive-bombers, mainly on the Russian front, Rudel was credited with destroying 519 tanks, 150 gun emplacements and 800 combat vehicles of various types. According to Luftwaffe records, he also sunk a Russian battleship, a cruiser, a destroyer, 70 smaller craft and numerous trains. For this he was awarded the Golden Oakleaves with Sword and Diamonds to the Knights Cross. He was the only recipient of this award. He was also the first German pilot to reach 1,000 sorties. Of his over 2530 sorties, some 400 were in the Focke-Wulf 190 fighter, in which he was credited with 11 air victories. He was so effective that Joseph Stalin himself put a price of 100,00 rubles on his head. He flew more than 600,000 km; fired over 1,000,000 machine gun rounds; dropped over 1,000,000kg of bombs; fired over 150,000 rounds of 20mm ammunition and over 5,000 rounds of 37mm ammunition. He hated to take home leave or sick leave and even after he had his leg amputated, he was back in the air within weeks. He did not limit his attacks to Russian tanks, trains, ships or aircraft. On more than one occasion when food was in short supply, he would bomb rivers and both the German airmen and Russian civilians would feast on the stunned fish that floated to the surface. Rudel was shot down several times, but escaped serious injury until April 1945, when he lost a leg in combat. Rudel flew the Ju87 B-2 Stuka dive bomber and, in all of its ugliness, the bomber was made famous by him. His accomplishments with an aircraft that was outdated and vulnerable were incredible. He was captured by Allied forces at the end of the war, and released from a POW camp in April 1946. He died 18th December 1982.
The signatures : Hans Rudel had arranged to be interviewed by a professor of military history, who was also an author, in 1982. Many similar interviews had been conducted with other military heroes, during which the interviewee had signed various photographs, blank sheets and bookplates for use in the author's publications, although many were never published as intended. Rudel was also due to sign such items. However, the interview had been arranged to be conducted at a Luftwaffe reunion, which Rudel could not attend due to ill health. However, a friend of Rudel's, a RCAF mechanic, took the items to him to be signed, which they duly were, although Rudel died before any interview could take place. Cranston Fine Arts purchased the signatures from the original collection. All signatures on prints are therefore 'mounted' signatures, placed in a mount with the print, rather than the print itself being signed.
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 | Oberleutnant Helmut Fickel
One of the outstanding Stuka pilots of III./SG 2 “Immelmann”, Helmut fickle joined 8./St.G. 2 on the Eastern Front in February 1943. In October he became Adjutant of III./SG 2. and flew as wingman to the great Hans-Ulrich Rudel, perhaps the most successful pilot of World War II. In November 1944 Helmut was promoted Staffelkapitian of 9./SG 2, on one occasion he and his radio operator being rescued by Rudel after crash landing behind enemy lines. He led 9./SG 2 until the end of the war, completing a total of over 800 missions. He was the Knight’s Crossin June 1944.
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 | Major Franz Kieslich
Franz Kieslich served with 7./St.G. 77 in France in 1940, and later serving in Yugoslavia. Transferring to the Russian Front he was promoted Gruppenadjutant III./St.G. 77. And in October 1942 became Staffelkapitan 7./St.G. 77. In February 1944 he was promoted Kommandeur III./SG 77. He fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, Kiev and most of the other major engagements on the Eastern Front. In February1945 he became Kommodore erganzungs-SG148. Awarded the Knight’s Cross with Oak Leaves, he flew over 1000 combat missions, and had been shot down twenty times.
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 | Oberst Kurt Kuhlmey (deceased)
One of the most outstanding Stuka leaders of World War II, Kurt Kuhlmey was Staffelkapitan of 1./St.G.1 at the outbreak of war, serving in the Polish, Norwegian and French campaigns, before being transferred to the attack on Malta. He took part in successful strikes against HMS Illustrious, and the Malta convoys of 1941. He fought in North Africa, becoming Kommandeur of II./St.G.3 in April 1942. A year later he was promoted Kommodore of SG3. In March 1945 he was Kommodore of SG2 “Immelmann”, and in the last weeks of the war was with the staff of the General der Schalchtflieger. He flew over 500 combat missions, and was awarded the Knight’s Cross. Died 30th April 1993.
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Matrose II Josef Statz
Josef Statz was a dockyard shipbuilder before joining the Kriegsmarine in October 1940. Posted to the Bismarck in April 1941, he was a member of the central damage control team. Stationed just forward of Bismarcks main bridge Josef took part in the desperate efforts to save the Bismarck from the deep.
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 | Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob
After success in the Battle of Britain, Hans-Ekkehard Bob took over leadership of 9./JG54 in 1940. The following year he was awarded the Knight's Cross. Transferring to the Eastern Front his victories rose steadily to 50 by September 1942. His Group later transferred back to the West for a short period, where in April 1943, he rammed a B-17 Fortress. Returning to the Eastern Front as Kommander of IV./JG3, he ended the war as Adjutant of Galland's JV44 in the West. In his 700 missions he scored 60 victories.
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Hans-Ekkehard Bob signing the print - JV44 Kette of Swallows - by Graeme Lothian. |
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