Long-range combat missions were typical of the assignments flown by the fighters of the 8th Air Force during that period of the air war. Not content with dog-fighting at altitude, when escort duty was complete, the Eighth's aggressive fighter pilots relished the opportunity to hurtle down to tree-top height and, ignoring the inevitable barrage of anti-aircraft fire, shoot up any target of opportunity upon which they could bring their guns to bear. Robert Taylor's spectacular limited edition print, the third in his acclaimed Collector Portfolio commemorating the great Air Commands of World War II, depicts the king of the Eighth's ground attack Aces, Colonel Elwyn Righetti. Flying his P-51D Mustang, the 55th's CO of 338 Squadron, already with 20 plus victories to his credit, leads his pilots through the Rhine Gorge, skimming the ancient Castle of Stableck standing above Bacharach, as they seek out enemy targets on their way back to base at Wormingford, England, in the spring of 1945. A classic Robert Taylor edition endorsed with the signatures of Aces who flew and fought the legendary P-51 Mustang in the greatest air war in history.
Every print in the'Aces Edition' is signed by THREE P-51 Aces who flew with the 55th Fighter Group in Europe during World War II, together with the artist Robert Taylor. Our prints are rolled using acid-free tissue paper and then carefully placed into a heavy duty tube please do not leave prints rolled in the tube for too long, as over time the print will forget it was ever flat!