Winter Wings

Limited Edition of 50...$135.00
Overall print size: 17.5 x 15.75
Image size: 12 x 10
S/N by Artist and Three (3) additional sigs

• Brigadier General ROBIN OLDS - AFC, 2 DSMs, 4 Silver Stars, Legion of Merit, 6 DFCs, 40 Air Medals, DFC (RAF), Croix de Guerre (France) / 479th FG / 17 air & 11 ground victories
• Brigadier General FRANK L. GAILER - 2 Legion of Merits, DFC, Purple Heart, 21 Air Medals / 357th FG / 5 ½ air & 1 ground victories
• Lieutenant Colonel CLYDE B. EAST - Silver Star, 4 DFCs, 42 Air Medals /10th PRG / 14 ½ victories

Plane Type: P-51 Mustang

The winter of 1944-45 was cold, bitterly cold. Plunging temperatures brought ice, freezing fog and heavy falls of snow. All across East Anglia runways stood bleak and frost-bound. The Eighth Air Force was often grounded, their bombers under wraps, engines oiled, warmed and ready for any break in the banks of murky freezing fog that would allow them to fly. When those breaks in the weather came, the Eighth Air Force was back into action.

Richard’s beautiful cameo painting depicts the magical scene as clearing skies reveal a morning landscape bathed in white. A fresh fall of snow overnight has brought an unusual stillness to the English countryside, broken only by the roar of Merlin engines as Robin Olds and pilots from the 434th Fighter Squadron, 479th Fighter Group manage to get airborne from a hastily cleared runway to check out their Mustangs. Their presence is a reminder that despite the weather the bitter struggle continues in war-torn mainland Europe and should a mission soon be possible, they’ll be ready.