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Hauptmann Karl-Fritz Schlossstein Signed Naval Art
 | Ace with 8.00 Victories |
| Hauptmann Karl-Fritz Schlossstein - Signed Naval Art Naval Crew Signatures |
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The Blond Knight by Robert Taylor. It is a record likely to stand for all time, Erich Hartmann's tally of 352 victories is more than any other pilot in history. Posted to JG52 over Russia in August 1942 his new Kommodore, Dieter Hrabak, placed the novice pilot under the guidance of Paule Rossman, one of the unit's most experienced and respected Aces. However, during his very first combat Hartmann became so disorientated that he got lost in cloud and ran out of fuel. His undoubted skill as a pilot enabled him to survive the inevitable crash-landing, but a few days later and just minutes after scoring his first ever victory, he was shot down - again crash-landing. This time he only just escaped from his burning aircraft before it exploded. Any other new pilot might have succumbed but Hartmann was made of sterner stuff and , with Rossman's help and guidance, it was not long before everyone in JG52 realised that he possessed exceptional skill. By the summer of 1943 the Blond Knight and his colleagues were flying up to six missions a day and having now perfected his technique, it was unusual for him to finish a day without a victory. Never claiming to be an expert marksman, his approach, which took nerves of steel and great flying skills, was to get as close to his enemy as possible before opening fire at the last minute. Often flying head on, the risks of collision and damage were great - of the sixteen times Hartmann was brought down, eight were as a result of flying into the debris of his victim! Hartmann's 352 victories were achieved with JG52 - all except one. It happened during a brief two week spell at the beginning of February 1945 when the top Ace was placed in temporary command of I./JG53. His new unit were based in Hungary where German Army Group South was in bitter retreat and the fighting was as tough and relentless as ever. The Blond Knightportrays Erich Hartmann climbing out of his Bf109 G-6 at Weszperem's snow-covered airfield after returning from another arduous mission leading Stab I./JG53 with whom, on 4th February he downed a Yak-9. It was his 337th victory. |
Knight of the Reich by Robert Taylor. On the morning of 15th October 1943, as Bf109G's from III./JG52 dive into attack a group of Russian fighters high over Zaporozhye in south-east Ukraine, their Kommandeur Hauptmann Gunther Rall pounces on a Soviet La-5 to claim his 222nd victory. During this astonishing one month period Rall shot down 40 aircraft and at the end of November 1943 achieved 250 victories - at the time only the second Ace to do so after Walter Nowotny. By the time he was posted back to the West, he was well on the way to his final score of 275 victories, making him the third highest-scoring Ace in history. Had he not been wounded in action numerous times and forced to spend months in hospital, he might well have been the highest-scoring Ace of them all. |
Arctic Hurricanes by Richard Taylor. From a remote and windswept airfield 15 miles north-west of Murmansk in the freezing Arctic wastelands, a small group of RAF Hurricane pilots held the Luftwaffe at bay. Following his failure to invade Britain, Hitler soon turned his predatory gaze to the east and his long-held desire to invade Russia. Ripping up his non-aggression pact with Stalin, German forces crossed Russian soil on the 22 June 1941- Operation Barbarossa had begun. As the Red Army reeled before the onslaught, Stalin turned to Britain for help and urged Churchill to send him Spitfires. Churchill refused but sent two RAF Hurricane Squadrons instead. It was, however, to be a completely secret operation codenamed Force Benedict; Stalin refused to publicly admit his need for outside help. By early September 1941 No.151 Wing, consisting of 81 and 134 Squadrons, arrived at the remote airfield at Vaenga in the freezing north of Russia. From there they defended against Luftwaffe intruders, flew escort to the Soviet bombers and, importantly, trained the Russians how to fly the Hurricane before handing them over - the first of nearly 3,000 Hurricanes supplied to the Soviets during World War II. In their short, three month spell at Vaenga, the pilots of 151 Wing carried out 365 sorties and scored 14 victories. Richard Taylor's evocative scene remembers the forgotten heroes of Force Benedict. It depicts Hurricane IIbs from 81 Squadron tangling with Luftwaffe Bf109s over snow-clad forests as they escort Russian bombers in October 1941. Signed by the last surviving members of Force Benedict, along with a Luftwaffe Ace that actually duelled them during the operation, this outstanding edition provides a unique slice of aviation history and an undeniably collectible piece. |
Break Out by Anthony Saunders. As Me109s from 3./JG77 and Me110s from ZG76 provide aerial cover, the pride of the Kriegsmarine - the battleships Bismarck - together with the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, destroyers Z10 Hans Lody and Z16 Friedrich Eckholdt, and a support escort fleet break out from Norwegian waters into the open sea on the evening of 21st May 1941. Heading for the rich pickings of the North Atlantic convoy routes, her ill-fated voyage would last only a few days. After a shattering victory over HMS Hood, Bismarck was caught and sunk by the Royal Navy Home Fleet a few days later on 27th May 1941. There were just 115 survivors from her complement of over 2000 men. |
Flt Lt Walter Lawson by Ivan Berryman. Depicting the No.19 Sqn Spitfire Mk.IIA of Flt Lt Walter Lawson attacking a Bf.109 E-4 of JG.3 in the Summer of 1940. The final tally of Lawson before he was listed as missing in August 1941 was 6 confirmed, 1 shared, 3 probables and 1 damaged. The Bf.109 shown here was flown by Oberleutnant Franz von Werra. He survived this encounter, but was shot down over Kent in September 1940. |
Arctic Hunters by Richard Taylor. Occupied by the Germans, by 1942 Norway had become vital to Hitlers war in the East. With the Russians threatening to over-run Finland and attack Norway, the pilots of JG5 were tasked to support German ground forces, and to escort the incessant Luftwaffe attacks on Arctic Convoys from Britain to the vital Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel. With such unpredictably harsh weather it was a life or death battle fought under extreme conditions. For the pilots of JG5 - Eismeer, the Polar Sea Group, the sun never set during the long summer months, and due to constant fog and storms it was often impossible for pilots to return to base, often diverting to other airstrips. But their darkest moment came in December 1944 when their Kommodore, Heinrich Ehrler, one of the Luftwaffes most brilliant fighter leaders, was made a scapegoat following the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord. Despite holding the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and nominated for the Swords, he was convicted. High in the Arctic Circle a bitter war of attrition was fought in freezing, unforgiving conditions, the desperate conflict played out against a majestic, awe-inspiring backdrop of beautiful ice-clad mountains. Richard Taylors spectacular painting portrays the Me109s of 6./JG5 led by Oberleutnant Heinrich Ehrler, while based at Petsamo in Finland, as they soar high above the towering peaks of ice capped mountains glistening in the cold polar air, March 1943. Their dawn patrol keeps constant vigil along the glacial fjords of the Norways far-northern coastline, as the majestic vista gives the battle-hardened Me109 pilots a brief moment of tranquility far removed from the grim and bitter battles being fought below. |
Dawn Eagles Rising by Robert Taylor. September 1940: The Battle of Britain reaches a crescendo as Me109s of the 1./JG52, their bright yellow noses glinting in the sun, gather speed and altitude as they form up after take-off from their base at Coquelles, near Calais. Led by Hauptmann Wolfgang Ewald, the Scharwm settle into their loose, finger-four formation, the pilots alert for danger and ready for yet another raid on England, just a few miles across the Channel. |
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