| Second World War aviation art prints of the Mustang aircraft. Our collection of prints and original paintings of the Mustang aircraft of World War Two. |
| The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace. |
 | Eagles Over the Rhine by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | Escort Service by Keith Woodcock. | £95.00 |  | Deadly Duo by Harley Copic. | £95.00 |  | Running the Gauntlet by Robert Taylor. (D) | 5 editions available from £ |  | Dove of Peace by David Pentland. (Y) | 5 editions available from £38.00 |  | King of the Strafers by Iain Wyllie. | £16.00 |  | Mustangs Over the Eagles Nest by Nicolas Trudgian. | 3 editions available from £185.00 |  | A Big Victory by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | P51D Mustangs, January 1945 by Barry Price. | 2 editions available from £13.00 |  | Wild Horses by Gerald Coulson. | £130.00 |  | Out of Fuel and Safely Home by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | Head for Home by Anthony Saunders. (B) | 5 editions available from £51.00 |  | Home at Dusk by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | Big Beautiful Doll by Stan Stokes. | 3 editions available from £75.00 |  | Home Run by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | The Safe Return by Robin Smith. | £95.00 |  | Fallen Comrades by Stan Stokes. | £94.00 |  | Urban 'Ben' Drew - Good Hunting by Brian Bateman. (P) | £320.00 |  | Take Him, Blue Two by Brian Bateman. (P) | £320.00 |  | Opening Sky by Robert Taylor. | 3 editions available from £125.00 |  | Mustangs and Liberators by Richard Ward | £8.40 |  | Urban 'Ben' Drew - Aerial Hat-Trick by Brian Bateman. (P) | £320.00 |  | Historic Victory by Brian Bateman. (P) | £320.00 |  | Mustang by Geoff Lea. | 2 editions available from £28.00 |  | A Perfect Record by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | Dual Victory by Richard Taylor. | 3 editions available from £95.00 |  | Debden Eagles by John D Shaw. | 2 editions available from £160.00 |  | Winter of 45 by Philip West. | 2 editions available from £135.00 |  | American Eagles by Robert Taylor. | 1 editions available from £200.00 |  | Final Victory by Simon Atack. | 2 editions available from £125.00 |  | Red Tails by Ivan Berryman. | 9 editions available from £140.00 |  | Bringing the Peacemaker Home by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | The First Mustang Ace by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | D-Day The Airborne Assault by Robert Taylor. | £495.00 |  | Duxford Eagles by Nicolas Trudgian. (AP) | 2 editions available from £280.00 |  | Mustang P51-D by Randall Wilson. (GL) | 2 editions available from £370.00 |  | Top Cover by Stan Stokes. | 2 editions available from £40.00 |  | Warm Winters Welcome by Nicolas Trudgian. | 2 editions available from £160.00 |  | Two for Drew by Brian Bateman. | £105.00 |  | Eagles of the Eighth by Nicolas Trudgian. | £58.00 |  | Triple Dates With Destiny by Stan Stokes. | £94.00 |  | XXZ5 Mustang Escort by Graeme Lothian. | £51.00 |  | Mustangs Over the Mediterranean by Nicolas Trudgian. | 4 editions available from £125.00 | | Mustang Escort by Graeme Lothian. (Y) | 6 editions available from £56.00 |  | American Patrol by Michael Turner. | £36.00 |  | A Pistol Whipping by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | Major Urban 'Ben' Drew - First Victory by Brian Bateman. (P) | £320.00 |  | Mustang Recce by Robert Taylor. | £80.00 |  | Daylight Raid 1945 by Richard Ward | £8.40 |  | Red Tail Escort by Richard Taylor. | 4 editions available from £95.00 |  | Air Superiority by Robert Taylor. | 3 editions available from £200.00 |  | Mustang Mk.III by Ivan Berryman. | 4 editions available from £75.00 |  | Guardian Angel by Anthony Saunders. | 6 editions available from £37.00 |  | Mustangs over the Reich by Stephen Brown. | 2 editions available from £80.00 |  | Return to Duxford by Robert Taylor | 1 editions available from £ |  | F-51 Mustang Units Over Korea by Warren Thompson. | £12.99 |  | Welcome Respite by Nicolas Trudgian. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | Dzubeks Deblinskis by Ronald Wong. | £95.00 |  | Shell House Raiders by Ivan Berryman. (B) | 7 editions available from £90.00 |  | Watching Station (Mustangs) by Ivan Berryman | £95.00 |  | Little Friends by Simon Smith. | 3 editions available from £95.00 |  | Fighting Red Tails by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | Dogfight over Asch, Belgium, 09.20 a.m., New Years Day, 1st January 1945 by David Pentland. | 7 editions available from £130.00 |  | D-Day Armada by Nicolas Trudgian. (FLY) | 4 editions available from £1.50 |  | Checkertail Clan by Nicolas Trudgian | 4 editions available from £155.00 |  | Valour in the Pacific by Robert Taylor. | 2 editions available from £200.00 |  | The Yoxford Boys by Gerald Coulson. | £38.00 |  | Last Man Home by Nicolas Trudgian. | 2 editions available from £145.00 |  | Dallas Doll by Philip West. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | Gathering Storm by Anthony Saunders (GL) | 3 editions available from £400.00 |  | Mustang Mayhem by Nicolas Trudgian. | 3 editions available from £160.00 |  | Last One Home by Ivan Berryman. | 8 editions available from £70.00 |  | Fourth Fighter Patrol by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | The Yoxford Boys by Simon Atack. | 2 editions available from £95.00 |  | Vintage Mustangs by Stan Stokes. | 4 editions available from £75.00 |  | Long Nose Trouble by Stan Stokes. | 6 editions available from £40.00 |  | Hot Pursuit by Nicolas Trudgian. (B) | £390.00 |  | P-51 Mustang by Nicolas Trudgian. | 16 editions available from £51.00 |  | Clash of Eagles by Anthony Saunders. | 3 editions available from £85.00 |  | Sitting Duck by David Pentland. (P) | £410.00 |  | Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian (Y) | 3 editions available from £110.00 |  | Top Cover by Gerald Coulson. | 5 editions available from £180.00 |  | Homeward Bound by Philip West. | £75.00 |  | Mustangs on the Prowl by Robert Taylor. | SOLD OUT / SOLD |  | Teamwork by Nicolas Trudgian. | 2 editions available from £100.00 |  | Detroit Miss by Brian Bateman. (P) | £320.00 | | Pilot signatures for this aircraft | | Name | Info | | Air Commodore C D Kit North Lewis DSO DFC (deceased) | After joining the Army in 1939, 'Kit' North Lewis transferred to the RAF in 1940. In Aug 1941, after pilot training, he was posted to 13 Squadron, flying Blenheims, where he took part in the first 1000 bomber raids. After a spell with 26 Squadron, flying P-51 Mustangs, in Feb 1944 he joined 182 Squadron on Typhoons, as a Flight Commander. A few months later he was posted to command 181 Squadron. He led this squadron into France where it became part of 124 Typhoon Wing. In Aug 1944 he was promoted Wing Leader 124 Wing, where he remained until the end of the war. He died on 25th March 2008.
Unfortunately my active participation in the Falaise operations was limited as I had a mild form of dysentery from 8th to 14th and I was sent home for a weeks recuperation from 16th to 24th August. However, I was very much involved on the 7th in the German attack at Mortain. I was leading 181 Squadron on an armed reconnaissance when Charles Green who was then the Wing Leader of 121 Wing reported large German tank concentrations at Mortain. Although this was inside the bomb line I accepted his verification and I immediately diverted to Mortain. There we found German tanks strung out along the road. We claimed 10 flamers. I followed this up with two more sorties in which we claimed another 7. There was very little flak, the main danger being the number of allied aircraft around the honey pot. During the period 6th to 21st August the Wing lost 9 pilots killed including Group Captain Charles Appleton and 4 taken POW. | | 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. | | Brigadier General Robin Olds (deceased) | After leaving West Point in June 1943, Robin Olds was posted to the 479th Fighter Group in England, joining 434 Squadron. Based at Wattisham in East Anglia, and flying P-38s, he was involved in heavy bomber escort duties and fighter sweeps until the Normandy invasion, soon after which his Squadron converted to P51 Mustangs. by early 1945 Robin Olds was in command of 434 Squadron taking part in the Battle of the Bulge, flying escort missions, and providing air support to the airborne attack across the Rhine. At the end of World War II Robin Olds had 24.5 victories, of which 13 were in the air. Later in Vietnam Robin Olds gained four more victories, flying F4 Phantoms and flew with the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. Sadly, Robin Olds passed away on 14th June 2007. | | Brigadier General Thomas L Hayes (deceased) | Thomas Hayes was born in Portland, Oregon. In his career he was credited with a total of 10.5 victories - 8 and a half of these were German and two Japanese. During 1942 he was based in the South Pacific, at Java. During this time he was shot down by a Japanese Zero fighter over the island of Bali. Later in the war he was sent to Britain as a Squadron Commander, flying P51 Mustangs with the 357th Fighter Group - the Yoxford Boys. On 6th March 1944 he led his squadron on one of the first successful daylight raids on Berlin, where twenty enemy aircraft were shot down by the squadron, with all aircraft of the 357th Fighter Group returning safely. In his career he was awarder the Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star and the Purple Heart. Sadly, Thomas Hayes passed away on 24th July 2008, aged 91. | | Capt John Lee | At the age of 18, John Lee joined the Army Air Corp and was assigned to the Gulf Coast Training Command in Texas receiving his Wings on March 15, 1944. Flying the P-51 Mustang he took part in 52 combat missions with the 79th Fighter Squadron, 20th Fighter Group based at Kings Cliffe conducting high altitude escort missions to B-17 and B-24 Bombers. He was later promoted to Flight Commander and escorted British Mosquitos on Photo Reconnaissance Missions over Czechoslovakia, as well as low level strafing missions over the Channel, the Normandy landings and during the Battle of the Bulge. | | 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. | | Captain Clinton DeWitt Burdick | Clinton Burdicks father, Lt Howard Burdick, had been an Ace with 8 victories during the First World War. So perhaps it was natural that Clinton signed up for the service on his 18th birthday in 1942. After pilot training he transferred to join the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group at Martlesham Heath in England, in October 1944. Flying his first combat mission in Noveber, his first victory came quickly on the 25th of that month, and like his father, he too was to become an Ace. Clinton flew 53 combat missions during his tour with the 356th, his last coming on 20th February 1945, and with 6 victories was one of only five aerial Aces in the 356th. | | Captain Jim Brooks | Jim Brooks joined the 31st Fighter Group in Italy in early 1944, flying the P51 against Me109s, Fw190s, and the Italian Macchi Mc202. He scored his first victory on a mission to Ploesti. Later, leading the 307th Fighter Squadron on a Russian shuttle mission, they engaged a large formation of Ju87 Stukas, shooting down 27 enemy aircraft, Jim Brooks accounting for three of them. He ended his tour with 280 combat hours, and 13 confirmed victories. | | Captain Murray Anderson DFC* | Commissioned in the Royal Tank Regiment from RMA Woolwich in 1939, Murray Anderson was seconded to the Royal Air Force in 1940. He flew Spitfires with No.1 Photo Reconnaissance Unit at RAF Benson until 1943. He then joined 161 (Special Duties) Squadron flying Lysanders, and was the most successful 'pick up' pilot for the whole of that year even though in May 1944 he was posted to 65 Squadron 2nd Tactical Air Force, flying Mustangs. After a rest period he was posted to 52 Sqn at Dum Dum in May 1945. | | Captain Robert P Winks (deceased) | Robert Winks joined the service in 1943, and after training was posted to England. Flying his first combat mission in July 1944, he served with the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group. His year long tour in Europe took in the heavy fighting over the Battle of the Bulge, the missions to support the Arnhem operations, and the Battle of Berlin, when the 357th destroyed 56 enemy aircraft. During this time he flew some 69 combat missions. His personal P-51D was 'Trusty Rusty'. His victories included an Me262 jet fighter claimed on 15th January 1945. Sadly, he died on 19th May 2008. |
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