Order Enquiries (UK) : 01436 820269

You currently have no items in your basket


Buy with confidence and security!
Publishing historical art since 1985

Don't Miss Any Special Deals - Sign Up To Our Newsletter!
Postcards
Product Search         
ALWAYS GREAT OFFERS :
20% FURTHER PRICE REDUCTIONS ON HUNDREDS OF LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS
BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE ON THOUSANDS OF PAINTINGS AND PRINTS
FOR MORE OFFERS SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

Savage Skies by Robert Taylor. (AP) - Chris Collingwood

Savage Skies by Robert Taylor. (AP)


Please note that our logo is used on our website images only and does not appear on our products.



Savage Skies by Robert Taylor. (AP)

The weather on the morning of 31 December, 1944 was already unpleasant. In the Ardennes, hard-pressed German troops were battling Allied ground forces advancing through several inches of snow. Above, darkening skies heralded the arrival of more snow. At 10.45am, in deteriorating weather, a battle formation of 30 Fw190D fighters climbed out of Varrelbusch and headed south over the snowcovered landscape. Under the command of 12./JG54 Staffelkapitan, Oblt. Hans Dortenmann, and initially tasked to provide air cover to their beleaguered comrades below, the group was re-assigned to intercept enemy aircraft in the region of Limburg almost immediately the pilots were airborne. Flying south they ran directly into the oncoming weather, and with visibility dangerously reduced, Dortenmann elected to climb through the solid cloud into clear air. As the Fw190s broke cloud above the area of Koblenz they sighted a formation of nine 2nd Air Division B-24 Liberators and formed up for an attack. Some 6000 feet above, top-cover P-51 Mustangs had watched the Fw190s climbing through the banks of clouds, and turned 180 degrees to position behind the Luftwaffe fighters. Diving in from their height advantage, the Mustang pilots entered the fray and within seconds the sky was filled with swirling dogfights.
AMAZING VALUE! - The value of the signatures on this item is in excess of the price of the print itself!
Item Code : DHM2590APSavage Skies by Robert Taylor. (AP) - This Edition
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
ARTIST
PROOF
Signed limited edition of 25 artist proofs.


Great value : Value of signatures exceeds price of item!
Print paper size 35 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm) Broch, Hugo
Koller, Herbert
Drees, Gustav
Schleinhage, Hermann
Biel, Albert Bert
Ford, G W
Rudorffer, Erich
Bob, Hans-Ekkehard
Hannig, Norbert
Clingan, Wilbur
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £440
£60 Off!Now : £395.00

Quantity:
All prices on our website are displayed in British Pounds Sterling



Other editions of this item : Savage Skies by Robert Taylor.DHM2590
TYPEEDITION DETAILSSIZESIGNATURESOFFERSYOUR PRICEPURCHASING
PRINT Fighter Pilots Edition : Signed limited edition of 400 prints. Print paper size 35 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm) Rudorffer, Erich
Bob, Hans-Ekkehard
Hannig, Norbert
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £145
£60 Off!Now : £215.00VIEW EDITION...
PRINT Green Hearts Proof Edition : Signed limited edition of 350 prints.
Great value : Value of signatures exceeds price of item!
Print paper size 35 inches x 23.5 inches (89cm x 60cm) Broch, Hugo
Koller, Herbert
Drees, Gustav
Schleinhage, Hermann
Biel, Albert Bert
Ford, G W
Rudorffer, Erich
Bob, Hans-Ekkehard
Hannig, Norbert
Clingan, Wilbur
+ Artist : Robert Taylor


Signature(s) value alone : £440
£60 Off!Now : £275.00VIEW EDITION...
General descriptions of types of editions :


Extra Details : Savage Skies by Robert Taylor. (AP)
About all editions :



A photograph of this print ( including signatures of Greenhearts edition)

Signatures on this item
*The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare.
NameInfo
Col Wilbur Lee Wib Clingan
*Signature Value : £40

Feldwebel Herbert Koller
*Signature Value : £40

Posted to II./JG54 on the Eastern Front, Herbert Koller flew Fw190s with 5./JG54, scoring his first victory on 19th February 1943, over an Il-2. By the end of the year his victory claims had risen to 12, including 8 Il-2 Shturmoviks, and a Boston bomber. The year 1944 saw intense combat 5./JG54 on an almost daily basis, and month by month Herbert Kollers victories continued to mount, by the end of 1944 his tally had risen to 48. His final, and 49th victory came on 9th April 1945 when he downed a Yak 3.
First Lieutenant Albert Bert Biel
*Signature Value : £30



Leutnant Hermann Schleinhage (deceased)
*Signature Value : £45

Born in 1916 Hermann Schleinhage joined I./JG3 as an Unteroffizier in 1941 before being posted to join II./JG54 Green Hearts in May 1942. He then flew continuously with JG54 through to the end of the war, by which time he was Staffelkapitan of 8./JG54. Flying a total of 484 combat missions, by the end of the war Hermann Schleinhage had reached a total of 98 victories, including 38 Soviet Il-2 Shturmoviks. In February 1945 he was awarded the Knights Cross.


The signature of Leutnant Hugo Broch

Leutnant Hugo Broch
*Signature Value : £60

Vital to all fighter units are the pilots who make such superb wingmen that their leaders are loath to part with them. Hugo Broch was one such wingman. Having joined VI./JG54 in January he flew first with Horst Adameit (166 victories), and later with Bazi Sterr (130 victories), but soon demonstrated his own skill in combat. By the end of 1944 he had lifted his personal score to 71 victories. One of JG54s great Fw190 Aces, Hugo Broch saw combat on the Eastern and Baltic Fronts, and completed the war having flown 324 combat missions, and claiming 81 victories. He was awarded the Knights Cross.


Leutnant Norbert Hannig (deceased)
*Signature Value : £25

Norbert Hannig began operations with JG54 on the Eastern Front near Leningrad in early 1943, flying first the Messerschmitt Bf109G, later converting to the Fw190. He became a Staffelkapitan with JG54, notching up an impressive 42 victories. Towards the end of the war, in early 1945, he converted to fly the new jet fighter, the Me262, and flew it in combat with III./JG7 from their airfield base at Brandenberg-Briest. Norbert Hannig died on 21st February 2014.
Lieutenant Colonel G W Ford
*Signature Value : £25



The signature of Major Erich Rudorffer (deceased)

Major Erich Rudorffer (deceased)
*Signature Value : £70

Erich Rudorffer was born on November 1st 1917 in the town of Zwickau in Saxony. Erich Rudorffer joined the Luftwaffes I./JG2 Richthofen in November 1939, and was soon flying combat patrols in January 1940 and was assigned to I/JG 2 Richthofen with the rank of Oberfeldwebel. He took part in the Battle of France, scoring the first of his many victories over a French Hawk 75 on May 14th, 1940. He went on to score eight additional victories during the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. Rudorffer recalled an incident in August 1940 when he escorted a badly damaged Hurricane across the Channel - ditching in the English Channel was greatly feared by pilots on both sides. As fate often does, Rudorffer found the roles reversed two weeks later, when he was escorted by an RAF fighter after receiving battle damage. By May 1st 1941 Rudorffer had achieved 19 victories, which led to the award of the Knights Cross. In June 1941 Rodorffer became an Adjutant of II./JG2. In 1942 Rudorffer participated in Operation Cerberus (known as the Channel Dash) and flew over the Allied landings at Dieppe. Erich Rudorffer along with JG2 was transferred to North Africa in December 1942. It was in North Africa that Rudorffer showed his propensity for multiple-victory sorties. He shot down eight British aircraft in 32 minutes on February 9th 1943 and seven more in 20 minutes six days later. After scoring a total of 26 victories in Tunisia, Rudorffer returned to France in April 1943 and was posted to command II./JG54 in Russia, after Hauptmann Heinrich Jung, its Kommodore, failed to return from a mission on July 30th 1943. On August 24th 1943 he shot down 5 Russian aircraft on the first mission of the day and followed that up with three more victories on the second mission. He scored seven victories in seven minutes on October 11th but his finest achievement occurred on November 6th when in the course of 17 minutes, he shot down thirteen Russian aircraft. Rudorffer became known to Russian pilots as the fighter of Libau. On October 28th 1944 while about to land, Rudorffer spotted a large formation of Il-2 Sturmoviks. He quickly aborted the landing and moved to engage the Russian aircraft. In under ten minutes, nine of the of the II-2 Sturmoviks were shot down causing the rest to disperse. Rudorffer would later that day go on and shoot down a further two Russian aircraft. These victories took his total to 113 and he was awarded the Oak Leaves on April 11th 1944. Rudorffer would on the 26th January 1945 on his 210th victory receive the addition of the Swords. In February 1945 Rudorffer took command of I./JG7 flying the Me262. He was one of the first jet fighter aces of the war, scoring 12 victories in the Me262. He shot down ten 4-engine bombers during the 'Defense of the Reich missions'. He was the master of multiple scoring - achieving more multiple victories than any other pilot. Erich Rudorffer never took leave, was shot down 16 times having to bail out 9 times, and ended the war with 222 victories from over 1000 missions. He was awarded the Knights Cross, with Oak Leaves and Swords. Erich Rudorffer died on 8th April 2016.


The signature of Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob (deceased)

Major Hans-Ekkehard Bob (deceased)
*Signature Value : £50

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 Knights 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 Gallands JV44 in the West. In his 700 missions he scored 60 victories.


The signature of Unteroffizier Gustav Drees

Unteroffizier Gustav Drees
*Signature Value : £55

Born in 1923, Gustav Drees was called up for military service in 1942, and with a passion for flying joined the Luftwaffe. After training as a fighter pilot he was immediately posted to the Eastern Front with his first front-line unit - JG54 Green Hearts, where he flew the Me 109. In very early 1943 he became one of the first of the JG54 pilots to fly the Fw190A in combat. With four air victories to his credit with JG54 in Russia, towards the end of the war he was posted to join JG 108 in Austria, where he stayed until the end.

Contact Details
Shipping Info
Terms and Conditions
Cookie Policy
Privacy Policy

Join us on Facebook!

Sign Up To Our Newsletter!

Stay up to date with all our latest offers, deals and events as well as new releases and exclusive subscriber content!

This website is owned by Cranston Fine Arts.  Torwood House, Torwoodhill Road, Rhu, Helensburgh, Scotland, G848LE

Contact: Tel: (+44) (0) 1436 820269.  Email: cranstonorders -at- outlook.com

Follow us on Twitter!

Return to Home Page