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Naval
art prints of USS Constellation. Great value naval aircraft carrier art
prints part of the stokes Collection are available direct form Cranston
Fine Arts at these great prices.
The
McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was designed by Ed Heinemann as a
successor to the Skyraider attack bomber. The prototype aircraft first
flew in 1954. The diminutive Skyhawk was only 42 feet in length, with a
carrier friendly wingspan of 27 feet. The Skyhawk was capable of speeds
close to 700 MPH, and was produced in several variants through 1979. The
Skyhawk was utilized extensively in Vietnam for ground attack and
support. As depicted in Stan Stokes painting entitled Fallen
Eagle, the A-4 of a young Navy aviator, Everett Alvarez, has just
taken off from the USS
Constellation at 2:30 PM on August 5, 1964. Alvarez, a native of
Salinas California, had attended the University of Santa Clara before
joining the Navy. It was a day that Alvarez would not soon forget. About
midnight that day the destroyers USS
Maddox and USS Turner Joy
were under attack from North Vietnamese patrol boats in international
waters sixty miles off the coast of North Vietnam. Alvarez unit, the
VA-144 Roadrunners, had been scrambled to assist the destroyers, but
terrible weather conditions prevented any action. Washington decided to
retaliate against these attacks by authorizing the first bombardment of
North Vietnam on August 5, 1964. On that day twenty-two aircraft from
the USS Ticonderoga attacked
North Vietnam military targets at 1:15 PM. Only one aircraft was damaged
during this first wave, and its pilot successfully made it back to an
airfield in South Vietnam. The USS
Constellation would provide a second wave involving 10 Skyhawks, 4
Skyraiders, and a single F-4 to provide fighter cover. Alvarez target
was the harbor at Hon Gai, where his mission was to destroy any military
patrol boats in the harbor. The lumbering Skyraiders were launched
early, and Alvarez was the first of the ten Skyhawks off the Constellation.
The Skyhawks rendezvoused at 20,000 feet before climbing to 30,000 feet
for the seventy-five minute flight to the target area. Alvarez A-4 was
equipped with a belly pod of 19 rockets. The Skyhawks streaked in over
the harbor at 500 MPH in a shallow dive. Four torpedo boats and
a larger coastal patrol ship were in the harbor. Alvarez made two
passes over the harbor, and as he was passing over the southern edge of
the town he saw a yellow flash to the port side of his windscreen
accompanied by a popping sound. Seconds later the A-4 shook violently,
and all the warning lights came on. The cockpit began to fill with smoke
and the stick froze. With a final radio transmission, Im getting out!
Ill see you guys later!, Alvarez pulled his ejection ring. Within
seconds he was in the water. Picked-up minutes later by some very
nervous fisherman, Everett Alvarez would become the first pilot shot
down and captured over North Vietnam.
It would be eight-and-one-half years later that Alvarez would be
released, having endured hardships which would have broken anyone of
less than the highest faith and courage. Everett Alvarez retired from
the Navy in 1980, and was later a Deputy Director of the Peace Corps,
and Deputy Director of the Veterans Administration. |
| Fallen Eagle by Stan Stokes. The McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk was designed by Ed Heinemann as a successor to the Skyraider attack bomber. The prototype aircraft first flew in 1954. The diminutive Skyhawk was only 42 feet in length, with a carrier friendly wingspan of 27 feet. The Skyhawk was capable of speeds close to 700 MPH, and was produced in several variants through 1979. The Skyhawk was utilized extensively in Vietnam for ground attack and support. As depicted in Stan Stokes painting entitled Fallen Eagle, the A-4 of a young Navy aviator, Everett Alvarez, has just taken off from the USS Constellation at 2:30 PM on August 5, 1964. Alvarez, a native of Salinas California, had attended the University of Santa Clara before joining the Navy. It was a day that Alvarez would not soon forget. About midnight that day the destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy were under attack from North Vietnamese patrol boats in international waters sixty miles off the coast of North Vietnam. Alvarez unit, the VA-144 Roadrunners, had been scrambled to assist the destroyers, but terrible weather conditions prevented any action. Washington decided to retaliate against these attacks by authorizing the first bombardment of North Vietnam on August 5, 1964. On that day twenty-two aircraft from the USS Ticonderoga attacked North Vietnam military targets at 1:15 PM. Only one aircraft was damaged during this first wave, and its pilot successfully made it back to an airfield in South Vietnam. The USS Constellation would provide a second wave involving 10 Skyhawks, 4 Skyraiders, and a single F-4 to provide fighter cover. Alvarez target was the harbor at Hon Gai, where his mission was to destroy any military patrol boats in the harbor. The lumbering Skyraiders were launched early, and Alvarez was the first of the ten Skyhawks off the Constellation. The Skyhawks rendezvoused at 20,000 feet before climbing to 30,000 feet for the seventy-five minute flight to the target area. Alvarez A-4 was equipped with a belly pod of 19 rockets. The Skyhawks streaked in over the harbor at 500 MPH in a shallow dive. Four torpedo boats and a larger coastal patrol ship were in the harbor. Alvarez made two passes over the harbor, and as he was passing over the southern edge of the town he saw a yellow flash to the port side of his windscreen accompanied by a popping sound. Seconds later the A-4 shook violently, and all the warning lights came on. The cockpit began to fill with smoke and the stick froze. With a final radio transmission, Im getting out! Ill see you guys later!, Alvarez pulled his ejection ring. Within seconds he was in the water. Picked-up minutes later by some very nervous fisherman, Everett Alvarez would become the first pilot shot down and captured over North Vietnam. It would be eight-and-one-half years later that Alvarez would be released, having endured hardships which would have broken anyone of less than the highest faith and courage. Everett Alvarez retired from the Navy in 1980, and was later a Deputy Director of the Peace Corps, and Deputy Director of the Veterans Administration. Signed limited edition of 4750 prints. Print size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm) Supplied with signed and numbered certificate of authenticity.. Price £40.00  Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
Signed limited edition of 225 prints. Size 16 inches x 11.5 inches (41cm x 30cm). Price £94.00 Signed by USN Lt Everrett Alvarez. Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
Limited edition of 25 giclee paper prints. Size 21 inches x 14 inches (53cm x 36cm). Price £109.00 Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints. Size 45 inches x 30 inches (114cm x 76cm). Price £624.00 Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints. Size 36 inches x 24 inches (91cm x 61cm). Price £484.00 Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
Limited edition of 100 giclee canvas prints. Size 27 inches x 18 inches (69cm x 46cm). Price £294.00 Part of our Buy One, Get One Half Price Offer
ITEM CODE STK0055 |
| Return of the Bounty Hunter by Philip West. A pair of F-14 Tomcats of VF-2 Bounty Hunters return to the USS Constellation from a CAP mission in the Indian Ocean, 1997. Two F-14D Tomcats, with tail hooks lowered, prepare to recover aboard the USS Constellation at the end of a mission during a deployment that took the carrier to the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in 1997. Generally accepted as the worlds finest long range interceptor, the Tomcat has celebrated 25 years of F-14 front-line service. Signed limited edition of 500 prints. Paper size 23 inches x 15 inches (58cm x 38cm). Price £
ITEM CODE DHM2044 |
| Silver Kite 211 by Philip West. 10th May 1972. Lt. Curt Dose together with his RIO, LCDR Jim McDevitt line up their F-4J Phantom prior to landing on the USS Constellation following their first successful target CAP of the day. During this mission they claimed a MiG-21F after a ultra-low level supersonic flight over the North Vietnamese airfield of Kep, northeast of Hanoi. Signed limited edition of 750 prints. Paper size 25 inches x 20 inches (64cm x 51cm). Price £105.00
ITEM CODE DHM2714 |
| Phantom Showtime by Robert Taylor Irish and I came into the break smoking at 500 knots, below the level of the flight deck. I could see thousands of men watching from the catwalks. I made a six-G break turn with 90 degree angle of bank. We landed after one of my best passes of the cruise. - Commander Randy Duke Cunningham. Back on deck, first to shake the hands of Lt.Randy Cunningham and his Radar Intercept Officer, Lt (jg) Willie Irish Driscoll, was ordnancement Willie White: Mr. Cunningham, we got our MiG today, didnt we! It was January 19, 1972 aboard the USS Constellation in the Gulf of Tonkin. As Cunningham shut down the engines of his Fighting Falcons F-4J Phantom, Task Force 77 Commander Admiral Cooper congratulated Cunningham and Driscoll on achieving their first of five air victories They went on to become the US Navys only Aces of the Vietnam war. Signed limited edition of 800 prints. Image size 27 inches x 16 inches (69cm x 41cm). Price £200.00 Signed by Commander Randall H Cunningham USN and Commander Willie Driscoll USN.
Limited edition of 25 artist proofs. Image size 27 inches x 16 inches (69cm x 41cm). Price £325.00 Signed by Commander Randall H Cunningham USN and Commander Willie Driscoll USN.
ITEM CODE DHM2469 |
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