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| CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST OF ALL PHILIP WEST PRINTS BY TITLE |
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| Signatures on this item | |
| *The value given for each signature has been calculated by us based on the historical significance and rarity of the signature. Values of many pilot signatures have risen in recent years and will likely continue to rise as they become more and more rare. | |
| Name | Info |
 Colonel Joe Matte (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | Col. Joseph 'Joe' Zannet Matte was born on the 23rd July 1920 in Port Arthur, Texas and graduated from North Texas State University. Joe Matte joined the Army Air Corps in 1942, and flew the P-40 and P-47 in training before arriving in England and being assigned to the 362nd Fighter Group - one of the four original Fighter Groups making up the 9th Air Force in England. After flying 75 high altitude bomber escort and ground support missions over the entire European battle front, on August 20th, 1944, he scored his first air victory. Leading a flight of 8 aircraft on a German convoy strike, they were attacked by 12 Me109s. In the ensuing battle Joe Matte downed no fewer than four of the enemy aircraft. On November 8th, Matte was credited with another 3 aircraft, Fw190s, when leading 16 P-47s on a low-level dive bombing mission in support of General Pattons 3rd Army. To add to his air victories he was also credited with numerous aircraft destroyed on the ground by gunfire and bombs. Matte became senior advisor to the Military Assistance and Advisory Group (MAAG) in Taipei, Taiwan. His final assignment was as Chief of Maintenance, Air Training Command, Randolph AFB, Texas where he retired after 31 years of distinguished service to his country. His numerous decorations, medals, and citations include the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross w/OLC, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal w/18OLC, Air Force Commendation Medal w/OLC, Presidential Unit citation w/OLC, European Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and a special award of Chinese Pilots Wings presented to him by the Taiwanese Government. Matte lived in San Antonio where where he had a successful career in oil and gas exploration and residential home construction. Joe Matte was an active member of the American Fighter Aces Association, the 362nd Fighter Group Association, the 9th Air Force Association, the Air Force Association, and the Order of the Daedalions. Sadly Colonel Joe Matte, at the age of 83, passed away on February 10th 2004 in Fredericksburg. |
  General James Hill (deceased) *Signature Value : £40 | James Hill joined the Army Air Corps in March 1942, completing pilot training in February 1943. Assigned to the 388th Fighter Group in Europe he began his 400 combat mission career flying P-47s. At the end of his European tour, which included taking part in the D-Day operations, he had flown 127 combat missions and was credited with two Me109s and three Fw190s shot down. He continued active flying in the Korean conflict with the 8th Fighter Bomber Wing, flying a further 128 combat missions as an F-80 pilot, when he added to his air victory score by downing a MiG-15. He later joined headquarters 5th Air Force at Osan Air Base in Korea as Chief of Fighter Operations Division and Directorate of Operations. Back in the US, he was appointed Commander NORAD at Colorado Springs. Hill died on May 20th, 1999 |
  General Paul Douglas (deceased) *Signature Value : £35 | After joining the military as a Private in 1940 Paul Douglas transferred to the USAAF for pilot training, arriving in Europe to join the 268th Fighter Group. Flying P-47 Thunderbolts, he was credited with 8 air victories and destroying 27 enemy aircraft on the ground. On two occasions he shot down three enemy aircraft on one mission. He commanded the 396th Fighter Squadron and became deputy commander of the 386th Fighter Group, flying a total of 136 combat missions in World War II. He later commanded the 36th Fighter Group in Belgium, France and Germany. Paul Douglas later flew 101 combat missions in the F-105 in Vietnam, and in all completed over 6000 flying hours as a command pilot, and is one of the most highly decorated Air Force pilots. Douglas died on December 26, 2002. He is buried in the Central Texas State Veteran's Cemetery in Killeen, Texas |
| The Aircraft : | |
| Name | Info |
| Thunderbolt | Alexander Kartveli was a engineer with Seversky Aircraft who designed the P-35, which first flew in 1937. With Republic Aviation Kartveli supervised the development of the P-43 Lancer. Neither of these aircraft were produced in large numbers, and neither was quite successful. However, the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, also nicknamed the Jug, was quite a different story. The Jug was the jewel in Kartvelis design crown, and went on to become one of the most produced fighter aircraft of all time with 15,683 being manufactured. The P-47 was the largest and heaviest single seat fighter of WW II. The P-47 immediately demonstrated its excellent combat qualities, including speed, rate of climb, maneuverability, heavy fire power, and the ability to take a lot of punishment. With a wingspan of more than 40 feet and a weight of 19,400 pounds, this large aircraft was designed around the powerful 2000 HP Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine. The first P-47 prototype flew in May of 1941, and the primary variant the P-47D went into service in 1943 with units of the U.S. Armys Eighth Air Force. The Jug had a maximum speed in excess of 400 MPH, a service ceiling in excess of 42,000 feet, and was heavily armed with either six or eight heavy caliber machine guns. With its ability to carry up to a 2,500 pound bomb load, the Jug saw lots of use in ground attack roles. Until the introduction of the N model, the P-47 lacked the long range required for fighter escort missions which were most often relegated to P-51 Mustangs or P-38 Lightnings. In his outstanding painting entitled Bridge Busting Jugs, noted aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts Eighth Air Force Jugs in a ground attack mission in the Alps in June of 1944. The top P-47 ace was Francis Gabreski who had flown with the 56th Fighter Group, the first unit to be equipped with the P-47. In August of 1943 Gabreski attained his first aerial combat victory (over an Fw-190) and by years end he had reached ace status with 8 confirmed victories. As Commander of the 61st Squadron, Gabreski continued to chalk up victory after victory, and on seven different occasions he achieved two victories during the same mission. However, in July of 1944 Gabreski damaged the prop on his Jug during a low level attack on an airfield near Coblenz. Forced to make a crash landing, he was captured and remained a prisoner of war until Wars end in 1945. Following the War Gabreski returned to military service with the Air Forces 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea. Flying the F-86 Sabre Jet, Gabreski attained 6.5 more aerial victories in 1951 and 1952 becoming an ace in two different wars |
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