| | AMAZING VALUE! - The value of the signatures on this item is in excess of the price of the print itself! | | Item Code : DHM6282P | Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P) - This Edition | |
| | TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | ORIGINAL
PAINTING | Original oil on canvas painting by Brian Bateman.
SOLD. | Size 30 inches x 20 inches (76cm x 51cm) |  Pisanos, Steve 
+ Artist : Brian Bateman
Signature(s) value alone : £45 | | SOLD
OUT | NOT
AVAILABLE |
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| Other editions of this item : | Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. | DHM6282 |
| | TYPE | EDITION DETAILS | SIZE | SIGNATURES | OFFERS | YOUR PRICE | PURCHASING | | PRINT | Signed limited edition of 50 prints. | Size 16 inches x 11 inches (41cm x 28cm) | Pisanos, Steve
+ Artist : Brian Bateman
Signature(s) value alone : £45 | £70 Off! | Now : £50.00
Better Than
Half Price! | VIEW EDITION... | PRINT
(BORDER
DAMAGE) | Signed limited edition of 50 prints. | Size 16 inches x 11 inches (41cm x 28cm) |  Pisanos, Steve 
+ Artist :
Signature(s) value alone : £45 | £70 Off! | Now : £60.00
Better Than
Half Price! | VIEW EDITION... |
| | General descriptions of types of editions : |
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| Extra Details : Devastating Thunder by Brian Bateman. (P) | | About all editions : | 
The rear of the original painting of Devastating Thunder, including the signature of Steve Pisanos.
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| 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. | | Name | Info | 
Colonel Steve Pisanos (deceased)
*Signature Value : £45
| Born Nov. 10, 1919, in the Athens suburb of Kolonos, Spiros Nicholas 'Steve' Pisanos, the son of a subway motorman, arrived in America in April 1938 as a crew member on a Greek merchant tramp steamer. Arriving in Baltimore speaking no English, he worked in a bakery and hotels to earn money for flying lessons at Floyd Bennett Field. In August 1940, he settled in Plainfield, New Jersey, and continued flying lessons at Westfield Airport. He earned a private pilot's license and, though still a Greek national, in October 1941 he joined the British Royal Air Force sponsored by the Clayton Knight Committee in New York City. Pisanos began his military flight training at Polaris Flight Academy in Glendale. Upon graduation, Pilot Officer Pisanos was transferred to England where he completed RAF Officers Training School at Cosford, England, and OTU (Operational Training Unit) at Old Sarum Aerodrome in Salisbury. Pisanos was posted to the 268 Fighter Squadron at Snailwell Aerodrome in Newmarket flying P-51A's. He later transferred to the 71 Eagle Squadron, one of three Eagle squadrons in the RAF, comprised of just 244 American volunteers flying Spitfires at Debden RAF Aerodrome. When the USAAF 4th Fighter Group absorbed the American members of the Eagle Squadrons in September and October 1942, Pisanos was commissioned a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. Flying his first mission in his P-47 'Miss Plainfield' out of Debden Aerodrome with the 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, Lt. Pisanos, 'The Flying Greek,' scored his first shootdown on May 21, 1943, when he targeted a German FW-190 over Ghent, Belgium. By Jan. 1, 1944, he had become an ace with five confirmed downings. On March 5, 1944, he obtained his 10th shootdown and while returning from that B-17 escort mission to Limoges and Bordeaux, France, Pisanos experienced engine failure in his P-51B and crash-landed south of Le Havre. For six months he evaded the Germans and fought with the French Resistance and the American OSS, sabotaging the German war machine in occupied France. Lt. Pisanos returned to England on Sept. 2, 1944, following the liberation of Paris. Because of his exposure and knowledge of the French Resistance operations, Pisanos was prohibited from flying additional combat missions because the Air Force could not risk him being captured. Upon returning to the United States, Capt. Pisanos was assigned to the Flight Test Division at Wright Field, Ohio. He attended the USAF Test Pilot School and served as a test pilot at Wright Field and Muroc Lake, California, testing the YP-80 jet aircraft, America's first operational jet. During his Air Force career, Pisanos graduated from the University of Maryland, attended the Air Command and Staff College and the Air War College. Pisanos also served tours of duty in Vietnam (1967-68) and with NORAD before retiring from the USAF with the rank of colonel in in December 1973. Colonel Steve Pisanos died on 6th June 2016. |
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