Details
TWILIGHT CONQUEST
by Nicolas Trudgian
Overall Print Size: 33¼" x 23½"
Edition Size: 600
Secondary Market
It lurks in the dark, carefully chooses its moment of attack, and strikes unseen, cutting down its prey with deadly certainty. Northrop could not have chosen a more apt name with which to christen its new night fighter when the P-61 Black Widow entered service in the spring of 1944. The first aircraft designed from the start as a night fighter, the P-61 had the distinction of pioneering airborne radar interception during World War II, and this remarkable twin-engined fighter saw service in the ETO, in China, the Marianas, and the South West Pacific. Under the command of Lt. Colonel O. B. Johnson, one of the P-61's greatest exponents, the 422nd Night Fighter Squadron was the leading P-61 outfit in the ETO, destroying 43 enemy aircraft in the air, 5 buzz bombs, and hundreds of ground based vehicles, becoming the most successful night fighter Squadron of World War II.
"TWILIGHT CONQUEST" is a dramatic study of the predatory Black Widow recreating one of the 422nd's typical air victories: Flying a twilight mission on Oct 24, 1944, Colonel Johnson and his radar operator have picked up a formation of three Fw190s; stealthily closing on their quarry in the gathering dusk, "O. B." makes one quick and decisive strike, bringing down the enemy leader with two short bursts of fire. Banking hard, as the Fw190 pilot prepares to bale out, he brings his blazing guns to bear on a second Fw190, the tracer lighting up the fuselage of his P-61.
In addition to the artist this action-packed print was personally signed by the 422nd's famous commanding officer:
and by THREE other P-61 night fighter pilots who flew the Black Widow in combat in the European Theater:
- Lt. Colonel HERMANN ERNST
- Major ROBERT GRAHAM
- First Lieutenant BOB TIERNEY
Comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.
