MARJORIE BONG SIGNED A PAIR OF ACES STAN STOKES PRINT RICHARD BONG

Description: About This Item:We are offering a hand signed unframed Stan Stokes 11 1/2 X 16 print by: Marjorie Bong Drucker (d) (wife of Richard Bong) and artist Stan Stokes. This item was hand signed in person. In addition this item comes with AI Verified hologram and AI Verified Certificate of Authenticity. Original SRP $209.95 and has been long sold out. About the Print:In 1936 the Lockheed Aircraft Company won a contract to produce a high altitude interceptor for the USAAC. This contract was won despite the fact that the company had been nearly bankrupt in 1932, and had never produced a fighter aircraft. Mr. Kelly Johnson, Lockheeds chief designer on the project, settled on a design incorporating a twin engine scheme utilizing twin booms to house the aircrafts supercharged engines, and a central nacelle which housed the pilot and all the armament. Despite an unfortunate crash of the prototype, the USAAC was impressed with the aircraft, and a production order was placed for the first P-38 Lightnings. The P-38 was to prove to be one of Americas top fighters of WW II. The Lightning was fast, very heavily armed, had excellent range, and a great rate of climb. The aircraft was capable of flying with only one engine, and this proved advantageous in improving long range reliability. The two most effective models were the J and the L, of which more than 6,000 were produced. One early technical problem with the aircraft was the loss of control during high speed dives when the aircraft obtained speeds approximating 500 MPH. This problem was ultimately solved by the addition of a dive flap beneath the spar to offset a nose down tendency during such dives. Nicknamed the twin tailed devil by the Germans, the P-38 saw a lot of action in the Pacific where its great range was a more important asset. Americas two top aces of the War were P-38 pilots serving with the Fifth Air Force in the Southwest Pacific. Major Richard Bong was a soft spoken Wisconsin native who achieved 40 confirmed victories, but was killed on August 6, 1945 while testing a P-80 jet over Southern California. On July 26, 1943 Bong achieved four victories on a single mission. Thomas McGuire was born in New Jersey, and enlisted in the Army as an aviation cadet in 1941. Between August 1943 and January 1945 McGuire was credited with 38 victories. McGuire and Bong flew together in combat on many occasions. On December 7, 1944 both Bong and McGuire chalked up two kills during a mission over Ormoc Bay. McGuire was ultimately killed in combat in early 1945 when he stalled his P-38 prior to an engagement with the enemy. Both of these gentlemen received the Congressional Medal of Honor, and both flew aircraft named after women who would become their wives. The print depicts both Bong and McGuire over the Southwest Pacific in 1944. Bongs Marge is in the foreground, with McGuires Pudgy off his wing. Item ConditionAll scans represent the actual item being sold. We do not use representative stock images (unless noted and/or determined by quantitiy available in the listing). Every single piece of our autographed stock is individually imaged. TermsPaymentShippingTerms and ConditionsWe will notify all buyers via e-mail within 24 hours at the close of each auction with payment details. Buyer is responsible to pay for sales tax charged for each purchase. No exceptions!If a buyer doesn't pay within 4 days, our eBay account is set up to automatically open an unpaid item case in the Resolution Center.If the buyer still doesn't pay or reach some other agreement with the seller, eBay may record the unpaid item on the buyer's account.All items will be shipped at the winning bidder's expense (unless stated otherwise). All orders will be shipped out via USPS Priority Mail (with Delivery Confirmation) or via Fed Ex Ground unless otherwise noted in the auction descriptionOrders will be processed within 24 hours after receipt of valid payment information.Feedback is left shortly after the address label and order have been processed.Sales Tax is the responsibility of the buyer.We will do our very best to provide as much accurate information as we can for each and every auction.All offers must be made on eBay. We will not accept emailed offers. No exceptions.We do not meet buyers in person. No exceptions. _gsrx_vers_1547 (GS 9.4.2 (1547))

Price: 54.95 USD

Location: Omaha, Nebraska

End Time: 2024-10-22T18:05:54.000Z

Shipping Cost: 10 USD