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Robert Taylor Prints  US Air Force  Hellcat |
[UP] - Mustang - Flying Fortress - Tomahawk - Lightning - Liberator - Superfortress - Corsair - Mitchell - Warhawk |
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| Text for the above items : |
Hellcat Fury by Robert Taylor. Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Pacific. But on 16-17 February 1944 a violent two-day aerial assault by carrierborne aircraft of Task Force 58 exploded the myth. In just two days the US Navy flyers sunk over 200,000 tons of Japanese naval shipping and destroyed an estimated 275 enemy aircraft, totally eliminating all effectiveness of the Japanese base. Light as the US Navy losses were only 25 aircraft failed to return the battle for Truk was ferocious. The ground installations, ships, and airfield batteries put up intense antiaircraft fire against the attacking American aircraft, while Zeros did their best to repel the onslaught. The air above the atoll became a maelstrom of flak, tracer, flying lead and shrapnel, while below huge explosions rocked the ground as ammo and fuel dumps were hit, fires raged, and the acrid smoke of battle pervaded the entire area. In this important new painting, his first featuring the F6F Hellcat, Robert Taylor brings to life the scenario that was crucial to Admiral Spruances forceful drive through the Central Pacific. The once feared Japanese base at Truk is being reduced to a statistic of war. Hellcats of VF6 hurtle across the lagoon at masthead height with guns blazing, creating havoc as they tear into the enemy positions below. Seen in the foreground is the F6F-3 of Lt. Alex Vracui, subsequently to become one of the Navys top guns. This exhilarating work dramatically conveys the awesome conditions endured day after day by the pilots of the US Navy and Marine Corps in the Pacific. |
| Top Aces for : Hellcat | ||
| 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 |
| David McCampbell | 34.00 | The signature of David McCampbell features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Alexander Vraciu | 19.00 | The signature of Alexander Vraciu features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Elbert S McCuskey | 14.00 | The signature of Elbert S McCuskey features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| John Roberts Strane | 13.00 | The signature of John Roberts Strane features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Hamilton McWhorter III | 12.00 | The signature of Hamilton McWhorter III features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Armistead B Smith Jr | 10.50 | The signature of Armistead B Smith Jr features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Richard L Cormier | 10.00 | The signature of Richard L Cormier features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Fred L Dungan | 7.00 | The signature of Fred L Dungan features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Robert Bruce Porter | 7.00 | The signature of Robert Bruce Porter features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Roy M Voris | 7.00 | The signature of Roy M Voris features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Willis E Hardy | 6.50 | The signature of Willis E Hardy features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| John T Crosby | 6.00 | The signature of John T Crosby features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Dean S Laird | 5.75 | The signature of Dean S Laird features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| James E Duffy | 5.00 | The signature of James E Duffy features on some of our artwork - click here to see what is available. |
| Hellcat Pilot and aircrew signature details |
Commander John Ted Crosby USN Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Commander John Ted Crosby USN Ted Crosby joined the Navy in 1942, and was commissioned in May 1943. Serving on board USS Bunker Hill with VF-18 flying F6F Hellcats, he shared in downing a Betty bomber. Transferring to VF-17 he served on USS Hornet from January 1945 where he scored a further five victories, including three in a day on 16th April, to become a Hellcat Ace. |
Lt Commander James E Duffy USN Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Lt Commander James E Duffy USN James Duffy joined the Navy in 1942. Designated a naval aviator he was commissioned in July 1943. Assigned to VF-15 flying the F6F Hellcat, he served aboard the USS Essex from May 1944, scoring his first victory in June. He achieved his fifth and final victory to become an Ace on 5th November 1944 against an Oscar over Luzon. |
Lt Commander Fred Buck Dungan USN Our estimated value of this signature : £25 | Lt Commander Fred Buck Dungan USN Commissioned in October 1942, Fred Dungan joined VF(N)-76 and served with them flying the F6F Hellcat from USS Yorktown until April 1944. He then transferred with the unit to USS Hornet until July 1944, when he was wounded and sent back to hospital. He was credited with 7 victories, all in the Hellcat, including four in one day. |
 Captain Donald Gordon USN Our estimated value of this signature : £25 Died : 2010 | Captain Donald Gordon USN Captain Donald 'Flash' Gordon, USN joined the Navy on July 7, 1941 and was commissioned an Ensign on March 12, 1942. He served with VF-10 'Grim Reapers' flying the F4F Wildcat on his first combat tour aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise and claimed two air victories. He participated in the Battle of Santa Cruz and also served briefly on Guadalcanal with the Marines. His second combat tour was also aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise with VF-10 now flying the F6F Hellcat. He would claim 4 air victories on this tour including a claim during the 'Marianas Turkey Shoot'. Capt. Gordon retired from the Navy in July 1967. Sadly Captain Donald Gordon passed away on Monday January 4th, 2010. |
 Commander Willis E Hardy USN Our estimated value of this signature : £30 | Commander Willis E Hardy USN Bill Hardy enlisted in the US Navy in 1939, and after working his way up through the ranks was commissioned in 1943, thereby enabling him to change from flying seaplanes to the latest fighters. Assigned to Fighting Seventeen, he flew the F6F Hellcat from the USS Hornet, and took part in the strikes against Tokyo, the landings on Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, where on 6th April 1945 he downed four Japanese planes in a day. That day also saw him make his first night-time deck landing after he remained in combat too long heading off a tenacious attack by Kaikazes against a US destroyer. Bill finished the war with 6.5 aerial victories, and retired from the service in 1959. |
  Commander Hamilton McWhorter USN Our estimated value of this signature : £50 Died : 2008 | Commander Hamilton McWhorter USN Hamilton Mac McWhorter first saw combat with VF-9 flying the F4F Wildcat from the USS Ranger in strikes against Casablanca. In March 1943 he transferred to the new F6F Hellcat aboard USS Essex in the Pacific, and participated in the strikes against Marcus, Wake, Marshall and Gilbert Islands, Rabaul, Truk - where he scored a notable triple victory in a few minutes, and Saipan. Joining VF-12 aboard USS Randolph, he took part in strikes against Tokyo in February 1945, and Iwo Jima and Okinawa. With 12 air victories in 89 combat missions Mac McWhorter was the first carrier-based pilot to become an F6F double Ace. He retired from the navy in 1969. Sadly, he passed away on 12th April 2008. |
  Colonel Bruce Porter USMC Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2009 | Colonel Bruce Porter USMC After a tour in the Pacific, Bruce joined VMF 121 in 1943 at Guadalcanal and soon downed 4 Zeros. He served tours with VMF (N) 511 (first all-Marine carrier squadron) and later VMF (N) 533. He helped lead that squadron on one of the longest over-water flights of WWII for a single engined aircraft - flying from the Marshall-Gilbert islands to Saipan-Iwo Jima. On June 15, 1945 he scored a double night victory at Okinawa, making him an Ace. He was probably the only Marine pilot to gain two or more kills in both the Corsair and Hellcat; and became only one of six Marines to score a double or triple kill in one mission. Sadly, Bruce Porter died 20th April 2009. |
Captain John R Strane USN Our estimated value of this signature : £35 Died : 2009 | Captain John R Strane USN One of VF-15s leading Aces with 13 victories, John Strane had joined the Navy in April 1941. Assigned to VF-15 in August 1943 flying the F6F Hellcat, he served on the USS Essex scoring his first victories - three in a day, on June 19th 1944. On 25th October he downed four Zekes in a day but was shot down into the sea and wounded, being picked up the next day by the destroyer USS Cotten. He scored his victory in November 1944. Sadly, John Roberts Strane passed away on 7th April 2009. |
  Commander Alex Vraciu USN Our estimated value of this signature : £45 Died : 2015 | Commander Alex Vraciu USN Alexander Vraciu was born in 1918, in East Chicago. Indiana to Romanian immigrant parents, . Alex grew up enthralled by the exploits of aviator Charles Lindbergh and World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Alexander Vraciu won a scholarship to DePauw University. Due to his passion for flying he obtained his private pilots license under the governments Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) program at Muncie, Indiana. Vraciu graduated in 1941, and entered the Navy as pilot candidate just before Pearl Harbor. On June 24th 1942 Alexander Vraciu recieved his Naval Aviators wings. He became carrier-qualified on Lake Michigan on USS WOLVERINE, a converted excursion ship, Vraciu qualified on eight straight passes in a F4F Wildcat, demonstrating an early affinity for carrier duty. He went onto fly the Grumman F6F Hellcat in the Pacific theatre. Alex Vraciu first saw combat flying the F6F Hellcat off carriers with VF-6. It was while flying as section leader in LCDR OHares division on October 5th, 1943, that Alex scored his first aerial victory over a Japanese zero at Wake Island. He notched three Zeroes and one Rufe in a wild dogfight at the first Truk raid on February 16, 1944 as part of a 72-Hellcat fighter sweep at the Japanese Naval fortress. During the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot he shot down six dive-bombers in eight minutes. The following day, escorting bombers in an attack on the Japanese Mobiel Fleet (Kido Butai), Vraciu downed his 19th victim, a Zero making him the foremost US Navy ace by a considerable margin, although he would hold that title for only four months. His luck ran out on December 14, 1944, while strafing over Luzon Island in the Philippines, his aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire and Alex Vraciu was forced to parachute safely from his damaged aircraft. Bailing out, he spent five weeks with Filipino guerrillas before meeting up with advancing Americans. He ended the war as the US Navys fourth highest Ace. In addition to his 19 aerial victories, he had destroyed 21 enemy aircraft on the ground. During the last few months of the war he served as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, evaluating tactical performances between japanese an US aircraft he retired from the service in 1963. He died on 29th January 2015. |
| Hellcat Squadron details |
VF-6 Country : US | VF-6 |
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Contact Details |
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