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Cranston Fine Arts Aviation Art and Artists World War Two Veteran Signatures United States R Rector, Ed

Colonel Ed Rector

Born 28th September 1916, Ed Rector originally flew dive bombers off carriers before being recruited into the A.V.G. flying with the 2nd Squadron. Ed Rector was one of the five pilots who volunteered for continuous service in China after 4th July, 1942 and joined the 23rd Fighter Group. He returned to China later for a 2nd tour of duty. He had a total of 10.5 air victories. He died on 26th April 2001.

Colonel Ed Rector - Signed Aviation Art

Spoiling the Party by Stan Stokes. One edition. The edition features 6 additional signature(s). £260.00

Fighting Tigers by Robert Taylor. One edition. The edition features 6 additional signature(s). £240.00

Chennault's Flying Tigers by Robert Taylor. This single edition is sold out. The edition features 7 additional signatures.

Flying Tigers - The Stuff of Legend by Robert Taylor. 3 of 6 editions available. All 6 editions feature up to 13 additional signatures. £210.00 - £350.00

Text for the above items :

Spoiling the Party by Stan Stokes. Claire Chennaults American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) continues to capture the imagination and interest of aviation history buffs more than fifty years after they flew combat missions for the Chinese Air Force. Composed of about ninety pilots and another 200 ground support personnel, the Tigers arrived in China in mid-1941. Flying Curtiss P-40s that had been rerouted from Britain to China, the Tigers flew from December of 1941 until mid-1942. Engaging a numerically superior Japanese force over a very wide front, the AVG was officially credited with downing 299 Japanese aircraft in aerial combat, and an additional 240 aircraft destroyed during ground attack missions. The Flying Tigers slowed the Japanese conquest in China, and caused Japan to focus more resources on this theater of operations than they had planned. Stan Stokes painting depicts a three-plane raid of a Japanese airstrip near Tak, Thailand. Early in the morning of January 3, 1942, three 2 d Pursuit Squadron (Panda Bear) P-40s based at Mingaladon piloted by Tex Hill, Jim Howard, and Scarsdale Jack Newkirk attacked the airfield while the Japanese pilots appeared to celebrating the completion of their dawn attack at an RAF airfield at Moulmein. Circling around the field to get the sun at their backs the P-40s swooped low over the field at 250-MPH. A number of Japanese Army Air Force Nates were on the ground and were taken by surprise. Some ceremony was taking place and there were grandstands with spectators. The guests got quite an air show that morning! The Flying Tiger pilots were focused on the vulnerable targets on the ground, that they didn't initially realize that other Japanese aircraft were in the air, and had not yet landed. The late Jim Howard (who won the only Medal of Honor awarded to an Eighth Air Force fighter pilot later in the War) was focused on the vulnerable aircraft on the ground, and failed to notice a Nate on his tail. Tex Hill broke off a strafing attack to come to Howards aid, and downed the Japanese aircraft. Newark would also claim an aerial victory during the fracas. Near the end of the attack Jim Howards engine died, and he circled for a belly landing on the strip he had just mauled. Seconds before putting his Tomahawk on the ground, the Allison sputtered to life, and the pilot slipped away. When the three Panda Bear pilots returned to Minaladon, they celebrated their victory and relived their attack in words. Jim Howard was reluctant to admit that Tex Hill had shot a Japanese aircraft off of his tail. To solve the argument they went out to the flight line. There were eleven bullet holes in the tail end of Howards aircraft. An inspection also revealed no less than thirty-three bullet holes in the wings of Hills aircraft.

Fighting Tigers by Robert Taylor. On August 5, 1944, following a successful attack on Japanese forces just north of Changsha, P-40 Warhawks of the75th and 16th Fighter Squadrons, 23rd F.G., are attacked by enemy Nakajima fighters and a massive dog-fight has developed over the Hsiang Chiang river with aircraft wheeling and turning in all directions. The action is set against the distinctive, haunting landscape of Southern China, Roberts panoramic canvas capturing all the atmosphere of a crucial aerial campaign fought in the skies above a distant land so many years ago.

Chennault's Flying Tigers by Robert Taylor. P40 Tomahawks of the American Volunteer Group fought against the Japanese air force in the skies over Indo-China during World War 2 and became one of the most successful and famous fighter units of all time. Strangled by the Japanese blockade of its sea ports, and with supplies from Russia diverted to combat Hitler's invasion, China was left with one lifeline for vital supplies from the outside world: a treacherous unpaved track hacked through mountain terrain linking the port of Rangoon with the city of Kumming, in South West China - it was the infamous Burma Road. With the Impirial Japanese air force hell-bent on destroying Chinas last supply link, opposition had almost evaporated but for a tiny air force of American volunteers led by the indomitable figure of Claire Chennault. Formed in early 1941, months before Pearl Harbor, a rag-tag bunch of 100 recruited flyers supported by 200 ground personnel, known as the American Volunteer Group came together to stand alone against the might of Japanese air force in Indo-china. Blazing a trail in the skies over Burma and China they created a legend that will remain in the folklore of aviation history. They were Chennault's Flying Tigers. With little official support from home, the P-40 Tomahawk pilots of the A.V.G. became the scourge of the Japanese air force. In a six month period of combat, with no more than 50 or 60 serviceable aircraft, they destroyed some 300 Japanese aircraft, while probably destroying another 300. Their brief, glorious existance came to and end when on 4th July 1942 the A.V.G. was absorbed into the U.S Army Air Corps. Chennault's Flying Tigers passed into history. Moved by the legend of the Flying tigers, Robert Taylor has created a masterpiece. Capturing the spirit of the Flying Tigers he portrays a scene typical of the distant war fought by this tiny band of warriors. In the foreground of Robert's dramatic combat scene are two P-40s of the 2nd Pursuit Squadron, the Panda Bears, as they pull out of a driving attack just above the tree-tops of the Burmese jungle. One bomber hits the water, as two more P-40s bear down on another Nakajima bomber. In the distance the air is busy with low-level combat.

Flying Tigers - The Stuff of Legend by Robert Taylor. P-40s of the AVG Flying Tigers 3rd Pursuit Squadron - Hell's Angels - surprise the enemy with a deadly strafing attack on a Japanese forward air-base in China, summer 1942. With their Allison engines screaming at full throttle, AVG Aces Tommy Haywood and Robert Smith, lead the charge as the Hell's Angels leave a trail of havoc and destruction behind them. Robert Taylor has created a masterpiece to honor the Flying Tigers and the release is autographed by legendary Aces including four of the AVG's most respected pilots who, since signing, have sadly passed away, giving even greater meaning to this edition.

Warhawk Manufacturer : Curtiss Built : 13738

Warhawk P-40

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Colonel Ed Rector Squadron details

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