Robert Taylor's B-26
Marauder aviation
prints. Grumman
Hellcat paintings by Robert Taylor. The Grumman Hellcat aviation
prints. Aviation art prints of the Grumman Hellcat
aircraft available from
Aviation Artist Robert Taylor. Published by the Military Gallery and
available form Cranston Fine Arts. Lookout for the special
promotion 2 print offers at great discounts
Grumman
designed the hellcat as a replacement for the Wildcat. which although was
a good fighter and could withstand alot of punishment. it was found after
pearl harbor that it was not a match for the Japanese Zero. The
hellcat proved to be a great replacement. Production started in 1942
and ended in November 1945, the total production figure being 12,275.
The Grumman Hellcat first saw action against the
Japanese on 1st September 1943,
when fighters off the USS Independence (CVL-22) shot down a
Japanese Seaplane. On the 23rd November Grumman Hellcats Over Tarawa
shot down approximately 30 Japanese Mitsubishi Zeros. but lost one
Hellcat. On the 11th November 1942 a full day Arial combat between
Hellcats and Zeros over Raboul resulted in over 100 Japanese aircraft
shoot down with the loss of only a couple of Hellcats. Grumman
hellcats were used extensively form then on in the Pacific Theatre. A total
of 66,530 sorties were flown with the majority of these form aircraft
carriers (62,386). They destroyed over 5,150 Japanese aircraft with
the loss of 270 aircraft. The Royal navies Fleet Air Arm received
1263 Hellcats which they renamed Gannets. They flew sorties
against German positions and shipping in Norway and the Mediterranean and
also in the far east. there was a total of 12 squadrons equipped
with hellcats. with this number being reduced to only two by the end
of the war.
Hellcat Fury by Robert Taylor.
Truk, the small atoll in the South Pacific, was the major anchorage for the Japanese Fleet. Comprising a magnificent harbor and four heavily defended airfields, it was thought impregnable by the US forces as they fought their way up through the Pacific. But on 16-17 February 1944 a violent two-day aerial assault by carrierborne aircraft of Task Force 58 exploded the myth. In just two days the US Navy flyers sunk over 200,000 tons of Japanese naval shipping and destroyed an estimated 275 enemy aircraft, totally eliminating all effectiveness of the Japanese base. Light as the US Navy losses were only 25 aircraft failed to return the battle for Truk was ferocious. The ground installations, ships, and airfield batteries put up intense antiaircraft fire against the attacking American aircraft, while Zeros did their best to repel the onslaught. The air above the atoll became a maelstrom of flak, tracer, flying lead and shrapnel, while below huge explosions rocked the ground as ammo and fuel.........
