ROBERT TAYLOR Into the Teeth of Wind Doolittle Tokyo Raiders USS Hornet 12 Sigs

  

"INTO THE TEETH OF THE WIND". "INTO THE TEETH OF THE WIND" by the extraordinary aviation artist Robert Taylor is a magnificent new signed and numbered limited edition print from an edition limited to ONLY 300 prints! This is the 2 print COMMEMORATIVE PROOF EDITION with a total of TWELVE signatures PLUS we have added an EXCLUSIVE BONUS PRINT.

It was a simple plan with a single objective, yet impossibly difficult and fraught with danger at every step. Within four short months of the infamous attack on Pearl Harbor, the USS Hornet would sail to within range of the Japanese coast and launch sixteen heavily-laden B-25 bombers, never previously flown off the deck of a carrier, to make a daring strike against major Japanese cities.

With each aircraft weighed down by a ton of bombs and fuel to fly 2400 miles, take-off would be marginal; landing a twin engine bomber back on the short deck, impossible. The crews would have to fly on towards China and make the best they could of survival. In worsening weather and with mountainous waves sending spray over the bow, Hornet's deck was a hive of activity as the crews ran to their aircraft. By 0820, with engines warmed and magnetos checked, mission leader Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle gave the thumbs-up to the deck launching officer. The B-25 became airborne with feet to spare. Inspired by his many meetings with survivors of the raid, in his "INTO THE TEETH OF THE WIND" Robert Taylor has created a wonderfully faithful recreation of the scene as Jimmy Doolittle lifts his heavily laden B-25 off the deck. Fifteen gallant crews, with engines turning, are lined up and ready to follow. These gallant "Doolittle Tokyo Raiders" struck the first blow to the very heart of the Japanese Empire, putting fear into the minds of the nation's leaders, causing the Japanese to divert aircraft and equipment from offensive operations to the defense of their homeland. A tiny raid by the standards of what was to come, but massively important in the context of the war in the Pacific. In addition to the artist this print was individually signed in pencil by FIVE Doolittle Raider veterans who took part in the historic Tokyo Raid. This COMMEMORATIVE PROOF edition was also individually signed by TWO other Doolittle Raiders.

TUNG-SHENG LIU - a 24 year-old local Chinese citizen who helped one of the Doolittle crews evade capture by the Japanese. That's a TOTAL OF EIGHT amazing signatures. This mint condition print measures 30" x 23½" and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.

0700 Hrs aboard the USS Hornet 18 April 1942. Specially commissioned by the Military Gallery, this stunning and historically accurate pencil drawing by Robert Taylor, has been released as a signed companion print to the "INTO THE TEETH OF THE WIND" COMMEMORATIVE PROOF edition. "THE DAY NOW DAWNS" is signed by an additional FOUR veterans, bring the total up to TWELVE signatures for this remarkable COMMEMORATIVE PROOF edition.

In addition to the artist this COMPANION print was individually signed in pencil by. Though listed on the sales brochure, Captain CHARLES J. The Navigator on Plane #3 piloted by Robert Gray was unable to sign. This print is in mint condition, has never been framed, and, like all of our prints, has been stored flat. It measures 16½" wide x 14¾" high.

The USS Hornet was launched on December 14, 1940 and commissioned on October 20, 1941, less than two months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. In April 1942, as depicted in " INTO THE TEETH OF THE WIND, " the USS Hornet launched 16 United States Army Air Force B-25 Bombers to attack the Japanese home islands, including Tokyo.

In June 1942 the USS Hornet participated in the Battle of Midway, the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. This beautiful, incredibly detailed open edition print is in mint condition, measures 11" x 17", and has been signed and dated by the artist.

With arguably the largest secondary market inventory in the world, Classic Aviation & War Art might just have it! GOOD LUCK AND THANKS FOR LOOKING!