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Robert Taylor Prints  US Air Force  Dakota |
[UP] - Mustang - Flying Fortress - Tomahawk - Lightning - Liberator - Superfortress - Corsair - Mitchell - Warhawk - Hellcat |
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Road to the Rhine by Robert Taylor. As the Allied armies dashed across France after victory in Normandy, they remained reliant on one thing - supplies. With Cherbourg the only port in use, everything depended on trucks to deliver enough fuel, food and ammunition to keep the momentum going. But there was a problem. Too few trucks, and too few drivers. The invasion was in danger of stalling, and if it did, the Germans might just regain the initiative. Action was needed, and quickly. Montgomery argued that all resources be channeled into a single, powerful thrust into Germany, but Eisenhower disagreed. the Allies would advance on a broad front. But he did give Montgomery the First Allied Airborne Army to try and capture the major bridges in Holland on the road to the Rhine, ahead of the Allies advance. For the men of the 101st Airborne, the Screaming Eagles, their task was to seize the bridges at Eindhoven. The 82nd would do the same at Nijmegan, and the British 1st Airborne would capture the farthest bridge, at Arnhem. On the ground the British 30th Corps would advance northwards and link up with them, and, if successful, turn the German flank on the Rhine. On 17th September 1944 the plan was put into action, the 101st quickly securing all of its objectives, and the 82nd capturing one bridge. The British 1st Airborne fought its way into Arnhem and seized the bridge over the Rhine. Now all they had to do was hold out until the 30th Corps arrived. But 30th Corps was making slow progress, and although the men of the 101st and the 82nd held out until relieved, in Arnhem it was too late to save the British 1st Airborne. Battle-weary, without ammunition or supplies, only a few survivors escaped back across the Rhine. Of the 10,000 men who had landed, just 2,000 made it out. If the operation had succeeded the war in Europe might have been over by Christmas 1944. Instead, hostilities would continue through the bitter winter. |
Day Drop - Stick 21 by Robert Taylor. At 23.45 on the night of 5 June 1944, the 101st Airborne's most legendary unit of combat paratroopers - the notorious 'Filthy Thirteen' - jumped into France near the village of Sainte Mere Eglise, in the final hours before the D-Day landings. They were the Screaming Eagles' most notorious unit, a small bunch of raw, tough, ruthless young men. Hard drinking and savage fighting - and that was only in training - with scant regard for authority. And if the reputation of this unique bunch of renegades within the ranks of the 101st was formidable, for the Germans it became one of sheer terror. Officially they were the First Demolition Squadron, HQ Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne. Unofficially they were the 'Filthy Thirteen'. Superbly crafted in his unique blend of pencil and paint on tinted paper, Robert Taylor's classic new Master Drawing captures the moment on the night of 5 June 1944 when the 101st Airborne's legendary squad of elite paratroopers jump into battle in the vital hours before the D-Day landings commence. The pilots of the 440th Troop Carrier Group struggle to keep their Dakotas level as deadly flak pummels the formation. |
D-Day The Airborne Assault by Robert Taylor. It began in pitch darkness. June 6, 1944 was only a few minutes old when the Airborne Pathfinders drifted silently down from the sky above the fields of Normandy. At first their seemed nothing untoward about the drone of aircraft in the night sky. The German garrisons in Northern France were used to the noise of aircraft overhead after dark, but this night seemed particularly busy. Looking skyward a German sentry caught sight of parachutes floating down, clearly visible as the moon fleetingly broke through the clouds. For an instant he thought it was the crew jumping from a damaged bomber, but when he saw the mass of canopies floating earthwards, he knew it was no ordinary event. Within moments of raising the alarm the crackle of automatic gunfire confirmed his worst fears: The Invasion of France had begun. The first assault upon Hitlers Fortress Europe came from the sky. Shortly after midnight waves of aircraft and gliders delivered three Divisions of elite airborne troops into Normandy, their crucial objectives to seize vital bridges, secure strategic positions and clear the way for the coming aerial armada. As the first streaks of dawn came over the horizon on that historic day, and with American and British paratroops already engaged in furious fire fights, the mighty amphibious armada began landing on the beaches of Normandy. Above them waves of troop-carrying aircraft towing gliders stretched from the coast of France all the way back to England. Closely escorted by fighters, they delivered over 20,000 highly trained men into the battlefield of Northern France. By nightfall the first phase of the greatest military invasion in history was complete. Five Divisions were were ashore and the Allies had established a toehold in occupied Europe. For the Third Reich it was the beginning of the end. Without the advanced airborne assault, and the air supremacy achieved by the escort fighters, the amphibious landings could have been a disaster. Seen crossing the Normandy beaches are C-47 Dakotas of the 438th Troop Carrier Group towing CG-4 Waco gliders, closely escorted by P-51Bs of the 354 Fighter Group. Below, landing craft swarm ashore putting men and equipment on the beaches, and everything about this spectacular painting brings alive the events of that historic day a half a century ago. |
Rare Pair of D-Day prints by Robert Taylor - Into Battle by Robert Taylor and Crash Landing by Robert Taylor. Into Battle - Piling out of their C47 Dakotas, US paratroopers decent into the Drop Zone inland from Utah Beach D-Day 1944. Crash Landing - A Glider Pilot brings his fully laden CG Glider into the Normandy battlefield - D-Day 1944. |
| Top Aces for : Dakota | ||
| A list of all Aces from our database who are known to have flown this aircraft. A profile page is available by clicking the pilots name. | ||
| Name | Victories | Info |
| James Douglas Lindsay | 7.00 | The signature of James Douglas Lindsay features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Dakota Pilot and aircrew signature details |
 Flight Lieutenant Bernard W Brown Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2017 | Flight Lieutenant Bernard W Brown Flight Lieutenant Bernard Walter Brown was accepted for a short service commission in 1938, and after being accepted arrived in England in September, training at 5 E&RFTS, Hanworth and in late January 1939 he was posted to 5FTS, Sealand. He then went to No 1 School of Army Co-Operation at Old Sarum for a course on Lysanders in August 1939, and soon after joined 613 Squadron. Bernard Walker Brown was flying one of six Hectors detailed to dive-bomb gun emplacements near Calais. On the way to the target, he test-fired his forward gun but a fault caused the muzzle attachment to fly off, penetrate the fuselage and hole the main fuel tank. He jettisoned his bombs and turned back and make a forced-landing. In August 1940 he volunteered for Fighter Command, converting to Spitfires. He joined 610 Squadron at Biggin Hill. In late September he went to 72 Squadron, but on the 23rd was shot down by a Bf 109. He bailed out of the aircraft, badly wounded. Returning to active duty in November 1940, he was posted to 8FTS, Montrose for an instructor's course, after which he went to Rhodesia, subsequently instructing at Cumalo. In 1943, he trained with Transport Command, becoming a ferry pilot. He flew between the United Kingdom and the Middle East. He transferred to the RNZAF in January 1944 and by the end of the year was flying Halifaxes. He was released in 1945 to fly Dakotas with BOAC and later joined BEA, flying with the airline until his retirement in 1972. He died on 23rd January 2017. |
Colonel Richard Dick Denison Our estimated value of this signature : £40 Died : 2018 | Colonel Richard Dick Denison Navigator Dick Denison's first combat missions were flown during the D-Day invasion, flying C47s towing gliders into the Normandy bridgehead, and making casualty evacuations. He transferred to the 552nd Squadron, 386th Bomb Group flying the Martin B26 Marauder, before converting over to the Douglas A26 Invader. Dick completed a total of 40 combat missions during his tour. He died on 1st February 2018. |
Colonel Sid Harwell Our estimated value of this signature : £40 | Colonel Sid Harwell Col Sid Harwell. C-47 pilot who had more combat experience than most C-47 pilots, and participated in the Airborne assault during D-day with the 87th Troop Carrier Sqn dropping 101st Airborne Paratroopers into Ste-Mere-Eglise. |
 Sergeant Leopold Heimes Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2009 | Sergeant Leopold Heimes Already in the Belgian Air Force, he moved to 235 Sqn Coastal Command as an Air Gunner on Blenheims during the Battle of Britain before becoming a pilot, flying Spitfires and Catalinas with 350 Sqn before converting to 76 Sqn on Dakotas in India. Heimes stayed in the RAF until September 1951 having been gazetted as a Master Pilot. Sadly, Leopold Heimes died in 2009. |
 Squadron Leader Michael Terry Wainwright Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2015 | Squadron Leader Michael Terry Wainwright Squadron Leader Michael Terry Wainwright joined 64 Squadron RAF flying Spitfires and in May 1940 during the Battle of Birtain destroyed an Me109. On the 25th of July his section destroyed a Messershmitt Bf109 fighter encountered off the south coast. He went on to become a flight instructor at the Central Flying School at RAF Upavon, Wiltshire, and later flew Douglas Dakotas. Sqd Ldr Michael Terry Wainwright retired form the Royal Air Force in March 1958, but continued his flying as an instructor and also as a Civil Airline Pilot in the UK as well as the Middle East. Michael still flew until August 1st 1990 and logged a total of 14,100 hours. He died on 23rd March 2015. |
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