Hand signed and numbered by Robert Taylor
This rare and valuable print published in 1999 is sought after by collectors worldwide.
Pristine!!
Overall size: 33 3/8" x 24 1/4"
Image size: 29 1/2" x 20"
Includes matching numbered companion print!
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At 8.20am on April 18, 1942, just four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a small force of B-25 Mitchell bombers under the command of Col Jimmy Doolittle, undertook one of the most remarkable air raids of World War II. The Raiders’ orders were anything but simple: fly low level some 800 miles over water into Japanese territory without escort, attack targets in Tokyo and nearby, then, with insufficient fuel to return, fly towards China until they ran out of fuel, bail out and, finally, try to evade capture.
Every man knew the danger and Robert Taylor’s celebrated painting sets the scene as the Raiders leave the target area. The pilot drops lower to hug the landscape and opens the throttles as they head west. With luck the next stop is China!
Of the sixteen crews who took part in the Tokyo raid, eleven would bail out, three ditched off shore and two crash-landed. Most of the men would eventually return to freedom, but not all. Of the seven who never returned, three were killed in action, three were executed and one died in captivity having been taken Prisoners of War by the Japanese.
Signatures:Lieutenant Colonel RICHARD E. COLE
Staff Sergeant Rev. JACOB DeSCHAZER
Major THOMAS C GRIFFIN
Major NOLAN A. HERNDON
Brigadier General EVERETT W. HOLSTROM
Major General DAVID M. JONES
Lieutenant Colonel FRANK A. KAPPELAR
Lieutenant Colonel JAMES H. MACIA
Lieutenant Colonel HARRY C. McCOOL
Lieutenant Colonel CHASE J. NIELSON
Colonel HENRY A. POTTER
Major HOWARD A. SESSLER
Captain J. ROYDON STORK
Staff Sergeant DAVID J. THATCHER
