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| THIS ITEM IS INCLUDED IN OUR BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE OFFER ! Choose any two prints in this special offer and the lower priced item is half price. (Any free bonus prints already supplied with an item are separate and will also be included !) Hundreds of items across our websites are included in this offer! |
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| Signatures on this item | |
| *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
| Name | Info |
 Theodore R Wiebe *Signature Value : £40 | Ted Wiebe joined the USN in 193 8, and was sent to San Diego for training. He served as a crewman on the USS Lexington, and in 1940 he applied for and was accepted for Bombsight and Stabilized Bombing Approach Equipment School. Following graduation he was assigned to Torpedo Squadron Two onboard the Lady Lex. The Lex, along with the Yorktown and Enterprise were based at Pearl Harbor. Fortunately the three American carriers were not in port on December 7 . Wiebe remembers the attack on the Shoho on May 7, 1942. They made their first run on the Shoho from the port side, but their torpedo wasn't released. They came around and made a run on the starboard side of the Japanese carrier. They were right down on the water and closing fast, as the Zeros in the area were preoccupied with S13Ds. They released their torpedo at about 250 yards and executed a climbing right turn over the bow of the Shoho. Later in the War Wiebe served onboard the USS Saratoga under command of the British Eastern Fleet. Wiebe retired from the Navy following the War, and worked for General Dynamics on the Atlas Missile project. He left General Dynamics in 1963 and joined Bank of America. Following a period of running his own business, Ted went to work in the restaurant and bar supply industry from which he retired in 1982. He has been married for 55 years, and currently does volunteer work with the Chula Vista, CA Police Dept. Nelson's awards include the DFC, the Air Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation. |
 Walter N Nelson (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Walter Nelson was born in Minnesota in 1920 and joined the Navy in 1939. Following three months of training at the Great Lakes boot camp he reported aboard the USS Lexington. He served as a radioman before being transferred to Torpedo Squadron Two. He was trained in aerial gunnery and joined the crew of a TBD Devastator with Ted Wiebe and Lt. Farrington, the pilot. Married just before the Pearl Harbor attack, Nelson missed the attack on December 7 th , as he was ferrying ground crew for a USMC Fighter squadron aboard his TBD to Johnson Island. Nelson remembers watching Butch O'Hare down five aircraft on an early mission. He flew a raid against Japanese forces in New Guinea which destroyed several ships including two heavy cruisers. On May 7, 1942 a large Japanese fleet was sighted in the Coral Sea. Nelson's TBD attacked the Shoho and they put their 'fish' into the Japanese carrier's bow. On May 8th Nelson was in action again, and his squadron was attacked by a large force of Japanese fighters on their return. They were shot at by their own fleet, but somehow managed to get their TBD down on the Lady Lex' deck. With no fuel available due to the fires on board, they would later abandon ship and board the Destroyer Phelps, which would later sink the Lex. Nelson returned to the States after his first combat tour and was later assigned to V17- 17 on the USS Hornet where he served until the end of the War. He rejoined the Navy during the Korean War serving with antisubmarine squadrons in several locations. He retired from the Navy\after 30 years of service. Nelson's awards include the D17C, the Air Medal, the Presidential Unit Citation, and the American befense Service Medal. Walter would sadly pass away on the 4th of October, 2014. |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Devastator | The Douglas TBD Devastator torpedo-bomber was the first low-wing, all metal monoplane to see service with the US Navy. The TBD Devastator was the first with a totally enclosed cockpit and the first with hydraulically folding wings. The Devastator also had a semi-retractable undercarriage was fitted, with the wheels designed to protrude 10 in (250 mm) below the wings to permit a wheels up landing with only minimal damage. A total of 129 of the type were purchased by the U.S. Navys Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer), equipping the carriers USS Saratoga, USS Lexington, USS Wasp, USS Enterprise, USS Hornet, USS Ranger and USS Yorktown. And delivered in 1937 about 100 TBDs were in service when the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into WW II. Powered by a 811-HP Pratt and Whitney radial engine, the TBD had a maximum speed of about 200 MPH and a range of about 700 miles. Unfortunately, given the design of the torpedoes used, attacks had to be made at a maximum speed of only about 110 MPH, and at an altitude of no more than 100 feet. This made the Devastator a sitting duck for both enemy fighters or anti-aircraft gunners |
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Buy 1 Get 1 Half Price!
Nelson, Walter N 
Nelson, Walter N 
