Struggle for Supremacy

Struggle for Supremacy
by
Robert Taylor At the beginning of 1945 it was plain that Germany would lose the war. The incessant air raids were inexorably destroying the Nazi war machine reducing supplies to the front lines to a crawl. Yet Germany fought doggedly on. Its fighter pilots had known nothing different since 1939 - many of those still surviving had flown five years of combat virtually without a break.
If the Allies were controlling the skies nobody had told the seasoned Luftwaffe pilots who continued to intercept the massed daylight raids with great determination. The long range capabilities of the 8th Air Forces may have allowed fighter escort all the way to the target and back, but the heavy bombers were still being knocked down in numbers, and the American fighter pilots had their work cut out every time the German fighters appeared.
The print dramatically reconstructs a typical aerial contest on a day in January 1945. P-51 Mustangs of the 357th Fighter Group, escorting a heavy bomber raid deep into enemy territory, have engaged a strong force of Luftwaffe Me109s. A massive dog fight has developed high over the Rhine, drawing the interceptors away from the bomber force - a partial victory in itself. But the battle is by no means over.
As Captain Robert Foy of the 363rd Squadron engages one of the Me109s in a daring head-on pass, P-47 Thunderbolts of the 56th Fighter Group climb to give support. Ominously, more Luftwaffe fighters are joining the fray from the right. The action is painted in a peerless cloudscape, giving huge distance and depth to what is a classic World War II air combat picture.

Print Size: 32 1/4" x 24" Image size: 25 1/4" x 16 1/8" Edition: 600 S/N prints, 25 Artists Proofs

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Signatures
Joining artist Robert Taylor in signing each print are four distinguished US 8th Air Force fighter Aces and three high scoring Luftwaffe Aces who flew and fought in the skies over Germany during World War II.

Colonel C. E. 'Bud' Anderson
'Bud' Anderson went to England with the 357th Fighter Group in 1943, the first 8th Air Force group to be equipped with Mustangs. He soon got himself on the score sheet whilst dog-fighting a bunch of Me109s. On the 29th June, 1944, leading his squadron on a mission to Leipzig, they ran into a formation of Fw190s. In the ensuing battle Anderson shot down the leader, and two others. After a short rest in the US he returned for a second tour, arriving back just in time for the 357th's big day on 28th November. With the 353rd they took on a huge formation of some 200 enemy fighters, Anderson adding three more to his score. His final victory came in another fierce contest west of Berlin, and he finished the war with 16 air victories.

Lt. Colonel Ernest E. Bankey
After training in the US, Ernest Bankey arrived in England for his first combat tour with the 364th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force in February 1944. On 27th December during the Battle of the Bulge, his group ran into a large mass of Luftwaffe fighters whilst flying over the Bonn area of Germany. In the melee of dog-fighting that followed, Ernest Bankey shot down 5 enemy aircraft and shared another. During his two tours in England, he flew over 110 combat mission and was credited with 11 1/2 aerial victories and another 5 on the ground.

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Colonel Donald Cummings
Joining the USAAF in 1941, Don Cummings saw action in England, Africa and Italy, taking part in the Battle of Anzio. Flying first with the 12th Air Force and then posted to the 8th Air Force in England, flying with the 39th Fighter Squadron, 55th Fighter Group out of Wormingford. Don Cummings flew a total of 150 combat missions and on the 25th February, 1945, became one of only two fighter Aces to shoot down two Me262 jet fighters on a single mission. He then served in occupied Germany after the war ended.

Colonel Walker 'Bud' Mahurin
'Bud' Mahurin gained a reputation as one of the USAAF's most colourful fighter Aces. Arriving in the European Theater, flying with the 56th Fighter Group, he indulged in seventeen months of heavy aerial combat, during which he suffered one crash and was forced to bail out three times, finally landing behind enemy lines. Undaunted he made contact with the French Resistance, and found his way back to England. He had by this time shot down 21 German aircraft. He then transferred to the South West Pacific where he added a Japanese aircraft to his score. 'Bud' Mahurin commanded the 4th Fighter Interceptor Group in Korea where he added 3 1/2 MiG-15s to his tally before being shot down, for the last time, to spend a grueling sixteen months as a POW.

Generalleutant Gunther Rall
One of the greatest Aces of all time, Gunther Rall scored his first air victory early in the Battle of Britain, and by July 1940 was leading 8./JG-52. After transfer to the Eastern Front his air victories mounted but a crash hospitalized him. Within nine months he was back as Kommandeur of III./JG-52 gaining the Wing's 500th victory. Later Kommandeur of II./JG-11 on the Western Front in the home defense, and in March 1945, Kommandeur of JG-300. Gunther Rall became the 3rd highest scoring Ace in history with 275 victories. He was awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords.

Oberfeldwebel Helmut Ruffler
Helmut Ruffler joined 9./JG3 in February 1941 and was soon to prove himself a masterful fighter pilot. His scores began to mount quickly and by the end of 1942 his tally had risen to 50 victories. Surviving being shot down in June 1943, he was posted as a much-needed fighter instructor but was soon back in the fray - joining 4./JG3 in the home defense of the Reich. In March 1945 he was promoted Staffelfuhrer of 9./JG51.

Shot down 5 times during the war, Helmut Ruffler flew over 690 missions and scored 98 victories. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in December 1942.

Hauptmann Hans Weik
Born in 1922, Hans Weik was one of the younger Luftwaffe Aces who, after commissioning, was posted to Russia in spring of 1943 as a young leutnant flying with the Geschwaderstab JG3. In the spring of 1944 he was promoted Staffelfuhrer 10./JG3 and as such was to become one of the most respected Staffel commanders in the home defense of Germany. In the final weeks of the war he transferred to Lechfeld for training on the Me262. Hans Weik flew over 100 combat missions and achieved a total of 36 victories, 24 of them in the west. He was awarded the Knight's Cross in July 1944.