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American Eagles by Robert Taylor.
The 357th Fighter Group was thrown into action soon after arriving in England in
February 1944. Being the first fighter group equipped with P-51 Mustangs, great
things were expected of them, and they did not disappoint; in the final year of
the war they achieved a faster rate of victories than any other group in the 8th
Air Force, and the record for the highest number of enemy aircraft shot down in
a single mission - in excess of 50 - during a great air battle on 14th January
1945. |
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American Eagles by Robert Taylor.
The 357th Fighter Group was thrown into action soon after arriving in England in February 1944. Being the first fighter group equipped with P-51 Mustangs, great things were expected of them, and they did not disappoint; in the final year of the war they achieved a faster rate of victories than any other group in the 8th Air Force, and the record for the highest number of enemy aircraft shot down in a single mission - in excess of 50 - during a great air battle on 14th January 1945.
Eagles Edition: Signed Limited Edition of 450 prints. Image size 24 inches x 16.5 inches (61cm x 42cm). Price £200.00 Signed by Major James McLane, Captain Harvey Mace and Captain Charles E Weaver (deceased).
Victory in Europe Artist Proof Edition. Edition of 25, with 5 signatures. Image size 24 inches x 16.5 inches (61cm x 42cm). Price £ Signed by Major James McLane, Captain Harvey Mace, Captain Charles E Weaver (deceased), Captain William Bee OBrien and Brigadier General Charles E Yeager.
ITEM CODE DHM2580
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American Eagles by Robert Taylor
- The Signatures
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 | Major James McLane
Flew P-51 Mustangs with the 357th Fighter Group. James C. McLane Jr. left Clemson College in 1943 to join the Army Air Corp. He graduated in Class 44B at Marianna, Florida, being commissioned a 2nd Lt. Rated Pilot. He instructed Advanced Single Engine student pilots for two classes, and then at Punta Gorda in the Fighter Pilot Replacement Unit he received 6 months training in P-40 aircraft. Early in 1945 McLane was assigned to fly P-51s with the famed 357th fighter group, the “Yoxford Boys” stationed in Leiston England. He was placed in the 362nd fighter squadron led by 3 times ace Leonard K. “Kit” Carson. Initially he flew borrowed aircraft, but then was assigned G4-V, tail number 414798. This plane had seen lots of action, first as Master Mike and later as Butch Baby, the mount of Col. Joseph Broadhead and Lt. Julian H. Bertram respectively. The P-51 was stripped of paint and re-identified on the nose as Dainty Dotty in honor of his wife Dorothy. McLane flew bomber escort and experienced a memorable mission as Carson’s wingman hunting for ME-262’s. After the war, he flew C-123 and C-130 aircraft in the Air Force Reserves, retiring as a Major.
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Captain Harvey Mace
Harvey Mace arrived in England at the end of 1943 to join the 357th Fighter Group who were then stationed at Raydon.He flew all his 59 combat missions in P51 Mustangs with the 362nd Fighter Squadron, notching up three victories over Me109s along the way.Flying primarily on B17 bomber escort missions, Harvey went to nearly all the major strategic bombing targets in Europe, including the Shuttle missions from England to Russia, Italy and back again.Towards the end of his tour he was appointed Squadron Operations Officer, and then assigned as Fighter Controller of the 3rd Bomb Group.
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Captain Charles E Weaver (deceased)
American WW2 pilot with eight victories, including : 19th Sep 1944, an Me109; 17th Nov 1944, 2 Fw190s; 23rd Dec 1944, an Me109; 14th January 1945, an Me109 and an Fw190; 24th Mar 1945, an Me109; 18th Apr 1945, an Me262. He died 19th November 2008.
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Captain William Bee OBrien
Joining the service in 1942, OBee Obrien flew P-51 Mustangs with the 357th Fighter Group. He flew 77 combat missions, most with the 363rd Fighter Squadron, and became an Ace, with 5 victories.
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 | Brigadier General Charles E Yeager
Charles Yeager. Born February 13th 1923. He enlisted as a private in the United States Army. Chalres Yaeger became a aircraft mechanic at George Air Force Base in California. Yaeger showed a talent as a pilot and became a Flight Officer on March 10th 1943 and joined the 357th Fighter Group. He trained on the P-39 Airocobras and in November 1943 went to Britain with his Squadron. He was stationed at RAF Leiston and flew P 51 Mustangs, his aircraft being Glamoras Glen. His first air victory was on March 5th 1944 but he was shot down over France. With the help of the French Resistance he escaped through Spain and back to the UK. Chalres Yaeger was the first pilot in his group to become an ace in a day, by shooting down a total of 5 enemy aircraft in a single mission. In his total of 11.5 victories was one of the first Me262 jet fighter kills, claimed on 6th November 1944. After the war In 1947 at the age of only 24 Charles Yaeger became the first Pilot to travel faster than sound in level flight in the experimental Bell X-1 at 45,000 feet. In his career Yaeger commanded fighter squadrons in Germany and during the Vietnam war, being promoted to the rank of Bragadier General in 1969.
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