Details
HUNTERS IN THE DESERT ? ARTIST PROOF
by Robert Taylor
Overall Print Size: 34 1/2" x 25"
Edition Size: 125 AP
Secondary Market
The statistics demonstrate that the great fighter battles fought over the Western Desert of North Africa were amongst the most intensely contested of World War II. From the Spring of 1941, up until their retreat from El Alamein at the end of 1942, the Me109 equipped Luftwaffe units claimed over 1400 fighters shot down. In return their opposing RAF pilots claimed over 1200 air victories, in addition to the numerous aircraft they destroyed on the ground. Fought above the wastelands of the desert, witnessed only by those who took part, it was a private war offering little chance of survival for a pilot forced down amongst the undulating sand, rock, and scrub, the intensity of the air combat, added to these hostile conditions, brought about a special camaraderie amongst the pilots of both sides which lasts to this day. The first Luftwaffe unit to arrive in North Africa in April 1941 was to become one of its most famous. Activated during the first weeks of the war, JG-27 had already fought in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain, and its arrival in the Western Desert presented fierce opposition to the RAF fighter pilots. It's Me109Es were superior to all other fighters in the Desert at that time, and in the hands of seasoned combat pilots, they were a mighty force to be reckoned with. Led by the brilliant Eduard Neumann, the JG-27 pilots were given a freedom in the air not experienced on the Channel Front. Flying in free-ranging pairs and fours they roamed the North African skies, pouncing from above upon enemy formations. The tactics suited the talents of the more aggressive pilots, and stars quickly emerged, none more prominently than Hans-Joachim Marseille. During a short but mercurial career in the Desert, Marseille claimed over 150 victories, more than any other Luftwaffe Ace against the RAF pilots during World War II.
"HUNTERS IN THE DESERT" records Marseille's jubilant low pass as he returns to his Desert airstrip having just achieved his 100th victory. In the foreground his fellow pilots are seen clambering out of their Me109s having just completed another successful mission. Robert's masterful painting brings to life the heat and dust of the Western Desert, the acrid aroma of hot engines, and the exhilaration of victory as another combat mission ends. Comes with a descriptive Certificate of Authenticity.
In addition to the artist it is signed by four Luftwaffe fighter pilots who flew and fought with JG-27 in the Western Desert:
Colonel Eduard Neuman
Ambassador Franz Elles
Brigadier General Friedrich Körner
Captain Fritz Keller
