Limited Edition of 500 prints. Each print is personally signed by eight
A-20 pilots and aircrew

Air Art Northwest

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It is January, 1945 and it is cold. The German armored advance in the Ardennes is nearly over, but the Panzer army is desperately throwing more troops into the breach, trying to keep the momentum going in the Battle of the Bulge. Assigned to prevent German reinforcements from reaching the front, the U.S. 9th Air Force launches a series of low level attacks on enemy ground forces as they wind their way through the Ardennes. Flying conditions are lousy, the ceiling is low and snow is in the air.

Nicolas Trudgian's new print recreates an attack on January 23, 1945, by Douglas A-20 Havocs of the 410th Bomb Group. Locating an enemy convoy near the German town of Blankenheim, the Havoc pilots make a fast attack, diving from 8,000 feet, catching the German forces by surprise. Hurtling down the line of vehicles at 320 MPH, they release their parafrag bombs from 300 feet. Then, dropping just above the roofs of the trucks, roar down the column, blasting everything in sight with their forward-firing .50 machine guns. In a few minutes, the attack is completed and the convoy decimated.

With ammunition expended and fuel running low, the A-20s climb out of the zone and head for their French base. A 20mm shell has hit the lead aircraft, wounding Bombardier/Navigator Gordon Jones; it will seriously hamper their return through a blizzard. All aircraft make it home; over 100 holes of various sizes are counted in the lead aircraft.

Nic's rendering of this mission pays tribute to the 9th Air Force pilots and crews who flew the tough missions during the Battle of the Bulge. With each print signed by so many A-20 crews, this unique limited edition provides collectors with a valuable addition to their portfolios.

- THE SIGNATURES -

Captain Jerome M. Coe
Lead pilot with the 647th Squadron. Flew the first of his 61 combat
missions in the A-20 on August 15, 1944.

Captain Narval F. Davis
Pilot with the 647th Squadron. Flew 72 combat mission in both the A-20 and the A-26, the first on D-Day - June 6, 1944.

Staff Sergeant Donald Bjornson
Aerial gunner with the 645th Squadron. Flew 65 combat missions in the A-20 Havoc, including the Blankenheim strike.

Major Howard R. Aines
Lead Bombardier/Navigator with the 644th Squadron. Flew the first of his many combat missions in the A-20 on May 4, 1944.

Captain John L. Minech
Pilot with the 647th Squadron. Flew the first of his many combat
missions in May, 1944; these included two on D-Day.

Staff Sergeant Karl Haeuser
Turret gunner with the 644th Squadron. Flew his first combat mission in July, 1944. He was shot down and became a prisoner of war in August, 1944.

Lt. Colonel J. Duane Weithe
Pilot with the 646th Squadron. Flew 65 missions over occupied Europe. He was awarded the Silver Star for heroism in action.

Major James R. Nicols
Bombardier/Navigator with the 644th Squadron. Flew his first mission on August 15, 1944, against Chantilly fuel dump in occupied France.