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Commander Alex Vraciu USN (deceased) - Art prints and originals signed by Commander Alex Vraciu USN (deceased)

Alex Vraciu

Alex Vraciu
The signature of Commander Alex Vraciu USN (deceased)

29 / 1 / 2015Died : 29 / 1 / 2015

Commander Alex Vraciu USN (deceased)

Alexander Vraciu was born in 1918, in East Chicago. Indiana to Romanian immigrant parents, . Alex grew up enthralled by the exploits of aviator Charles Lindbergh and World War I flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. Alexander Vraciu won a scholarship to DePauw University. Due to his passion for flying he obtained his private pilots license under the governments Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) program at Muncie, Indiana. Vraciu graduated in 1941, and entered the Navy as pilot candidate just before Pearl Harbor. On June 24th 1942 Alexander Vraciu recieved his Naval Aviators wings. He became carrier-qualified on Lake Michigan on USS WOLVERINE, a converted excursion ship, Vraciu qualified on eight straight passes in a F4F Wildcat, demonstrating an early affinity for carrier duty. He went onto fly the Grumman F6F Hellcat in the Pacific theatre. Alex Vraciu first saw combat flying the F6F Hellcat off carriers with VF-6. It was while flying as section leader in LCDR OHares division on October 5th, 1943, that Alex scored his first aerial victory over a Japanese zero at Wake Island. He notched three Zeroes and one Rufe in a wild dogfight at the first Truk raid on February 16, 1944 as part of a 72-Hellcat fighter sweep at the Japanese Naval fortress. During the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot he shot down six dive-bombers in eight minutes. The following day, escorting bombers in an attack on the Japanese Mobiel Fleet (Kido Butai), Vraciu downed his 19th victim, a Zero making him the foremost US Navy ace by a considerable margin, although he would hold that title for only four months. His luck ran out on December 14, 1944, while strafing over Luzon Island in the Philippines, his aircraft was struck by anti-aircraft fire and Alex Vraciu was forced to parachute safely from his damaged aircraft. Bailing out, he spent five weeks with Filipino guerrillas before meeting up with advancing Americans. He ended the war as the US Navys fourth highest Ace. In addition to his 19 aerial victories, he had destroyed 21 enemy aircraft on the ground. During the last few months of the war he served as a test pilot at the Naval Air Test Center, Patuxent River, Maryland, evaluating tactical performances between japanese an US aircraft he retired from the service in 1963. He died on 29th January 2015.

Items Signed by Commander Alex Vraciu USN (deceased)

 Following the attack against Admiral Ozawas Japanese carrier fleet on June 20, 1944, Admiral Mitscher defies all rules of naval engagement: In total darkness, with the ever-present danger of enemy submarines, he orders every ship in his Task Force 5......
Mission Beyond Darkness by Robert Taylor
Price : £210.00
Following the attack against Admiral Ozawas Japanese carrier fleet on June 20, 1944, Admiral Mitscher defies all rules of naval engagement: In total darkness, with the ever-present danger of enemy submarines, he orders every ship in his Task Force 5......

Quantity:
 Following the attack against Admiral Ozawas Japanese carrier fleet on June 20, 1944, Admiral Mitscher defies all rules of naval engagement: In total darkness, with the ever-present danger of enemy submarines, he orders every ship in his Task Force 5......
Mission Beyond Darkness by Robert Taylor (AP)
Price : £325.00
Following the attack against Admiral Ozawas Japanese carrier fleet on June 20, 1944, Admiral Mitscher defies all rules of naval engagement: In total darkness, with the ever-present danger of enemy submarines, he orders every ship in his Task Force 5......

Quantity:
 On June 19, 1944 American Navy pilots ripped into wave after wave of enemy aircraft. As each new onslaught arrived there were more fighters there to meet them. Other squadrons joined in the melee and the radio circuits crackled with shouts and cries......
Scramble for the Marianas by Nicolas Trudgian.
SOLD OUT
On June 19, 1944 American Navy pilots ripped into wave after wave of enemy aircraft. As each new onslaught arrived there were more fighters there to meet them. Other squadrons joined in the melee and the radio circuits crackled with shouts and cries......NOT
AVAILABLE
 On June 19, 1944 American Navy pilots ripped into wave after wave of enemy aircraft. As each new onslaught arrived there were more fighters there to meet them. Other squadrons joined in the melee and the radio circuits crackled with shouts and cries......
Scramble for the Marianas by Nicolas Trudgian. (AP)
Price : £350.00
On June 19, 1944 American Navy pilots ripped into wave after wave of enemy aircraft. As each new onslaught arrived there were more fighters there to meet them. Other squadrons joined in the melee and the radio circuits crackled with shouts and cries......

Quantity:
 On June 19, 1944 American Navy pilots ripped into wave after wave of enemy aircraft. As each new onslaught arrived there were more fighters there to meet them. Other squadrons joined in the melee and the radio circuits crackled with shouts and cries......
Scramble for the Marianas by Nicolas Trudgian. (B)
Price : £400.00
On June 19, 1944 American Navy pilots ripped into wave after wave of enemy aircraft. As each new onslaught arrived there were more fighters there to meet them. Other squadrons joined in the melee and the radio circuits crackled with shouts and cries......

Quantity:
 Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......
Hellcat Fury by Robert Taylor.
Price : £210.00
Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......

Quantity:
 Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......
Hellcat Fury by Robert Taylor (AP)
Price : £395.00
Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......

Quantity:
 Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......
Hellcat Fury by Robert Taylor (B)
Price : £275.00
Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......

Quantity:
 Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......
Hellcat Fury by Robert Taylor (C)
SOLD OUT
Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Paci......NOT
AVAILABLE

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Commander Alex Vraciu USN (deceased)

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