Art gallery [Large pictures warning!!]

[GT182]

Wow, to see them meet in the film so many years later was outstanding. I also read the book. Couldn't put it down. Then I read it the second time. Wow again.

[Eichhörnchen]

Begun getting into painting the aircraft now. The tracer fire is just a try-out... I may not use it.



(May 1st)

(May 8th... photo a little too dark though))

[Jimbuna]

Could well be my eyesight but the nose on that Vulcan (traces of #588) looks like it is bent ever so slightly downwards

[Eichhörnchen]

That bit needs more attention, but the chin turret on the Fortress 'G' does give it a droopy look at the front.

[Aktungbby]

I NOTED THE 'HUMPED' UPPER FUSILAGE SLOPEAGE MYSELF AND ASSUMED IT WAS MY EYESIGHT AS WELL; 'TILL I RE-EXAMINED THE MODEL PHOTO AND REALIZED; IT LOOKS THAT WAY FROM ABOVE. I STILL HAVE AN UNCLE-IN-LAW WHO MANNED THE UPPER TURRET OF ONE OF THESE BABIES. HE WAS A RAGING PTSS ALCOHOLIC FOR YEARS AND IS NOW , AT 95, THE ONLY SURVIVOR OF FIVE SIBLINGS! FOR YEARS I HAD BEEN TOLD HE WAS THE TAIL GUNNER UNTIL I CRAWED BACK ON A B-17 MYSELF AND COULD'NT POSSIBLY FIT: NEITHER COULD MY UNCLE; HE READILY CORRECTED THE FAMILY LORE AND SAID HE WAS THE TOP TURRET GUNNER-AN UNENVIABLE POSITION AS GERMAN FIGHTERS WOULD ATTACK INVERTED HEAD-ON AGAINST A BOMBER FORMATION-HENCE THE CHIN GUN , SPLIT-'S'ING OR PRE-INVERTED TO DIVE DOWN SWIFTLY FROM ANY FIGHTER COVER AFTER THE INITIAL ATTCK AND ALSO AVOID RETRIBUTION FROM THE BELLY AND WAIST GUNNERS.

While it may sound as if German fighter pilots had the advantage in their freedom to form up at a distance, then hit fast and hard from the most advantageous angle, leaving their opposition little time to react, in reality there was plenty of fear to go around-for the attackers, their intended victims, and the shepherding escort pilots. The combat box formation bristled with heavy machine guns, and in the course of the war gunners aboard the bombers shot down far more enemy fighters than their fighter escort did. As Luftwaffe pilot Hans Philipp noted, " ...curve in toward 40 Fortresses and all your past sins flash before your eyes."

The frontal attack promised the best chance of survival. The German fighters would fly alongside the bomber formation, out of range of the gunners tracking them. About three miles ahead of the formation they would turn 180 degrees and attack from out of the sun at 12 o'clock high, aiming for the big bombers' cockpits. Sometimes they flew so close to their target that they had to zoom at the last instant to avoid the towering tail of the B-17. A two-gun chin turret was added to the B-17G model specifically to counter this head-on attack.

When attacking bombers from behind, the idea was to concentrate the attack by hurling one four-plane Schwarm after another at the target aircraft, quickly firing and then flying over the formation. Whether attacking from in front or behind, the German fighters often finished their attack with a split-S, while taking fire from the bombers' dorsal, tail, and belly guns, to open up as much distance from those guns as quickly as possible.

Other Luftwaffe tricks made life difficult for the American escorts. For example, as Mike Spick notes in Luftwaffe Fighter Aces, " ...one flight of ...FW 190s was sent down through the formation as a decoy; the remainder stayed above to fall on the Americans when they dove after the sacrificial flight." In the sudden, violent and confusing world of aerial combat, it was hard to resist the urge to follow any fighter that flew through the formation.

The escape technique was utilized by the M262 jet pilots as well

The appearance of the Messerschmitt Me-262 jet fighter allowed circumvention of the defending escorts altogether. In a technique pioneered by Luftwaffe pilots of the Kommando Nowotny, a Me-262 would approach the rear of an American formation at top speed (nearly 600 mph), bypassing the fighter screen. The German jet would then dive to a position roughly a mile behind and a quarter mile below the bombers, pull up into a high-g climb to scrub off airspeed and level off when even with the enemy formation. Now inside the screen of escorts and with a relatively slow closing speed with the bombers, the interceptor pilot could select a target, trigger a short burst from his four 30 mm cannon, roll inverted and dive away.

[Eichhörnchen]

Two main aircraft well on way to completion now; I'll edit this into the previous one so that a comparison is easier.

[Eichhörnchen]

I saw a quite ordinary print in a fabulous rustic timber frame at a local gallery; they told me it was made by a local cabinet-maker. I really wanted to see what such a frame might do for some of my animal paintings (the hares, especially) and here they are at last. I'm really pleased with the result, so this clever guy will soon be getting some further orders...

[fumo30]

@Eich

Excellent!
Those are frame choices of very good taste, they fit perfectly to your masterpiece paintings.

Could watch them all day long.

[Commander Wallace]

The paintings are awesome and the frames just add to that. It gives the paintings a rustic feel.

[Jimbuna]

Very nice

[Eichhörnchen]

Thanks, guys. Here's a detail from the other job... the 109 and bombers seem about finished so should be done soon

[Von Due]

What's there to say.... fantastic artwork there.

NB and a bit OT: About the Brown/Stigler episode: Looks like there is a movie in developement.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3014928/

[Joefour]

Originally Posted by Eichhörnchen

Begun getting into painting the aircraft now. The tracer fire is just a try-out... I may not use it.



(May 1st)

Hey Squirrel, I've got an alternative title for your composition.

"Too Close For Comfort"

Sorry Mate, couldn't 'elp meself.

[Eichhörnchen]

I haven't given it a title yet, Joe, and that sounds good: I originally set it up to give an impression of the B-17 'ducking' out of the way, but since I was planning to include more bombers I reckoned it might look a bit odd with this one flying at a different angle... I was worried it might not be clear that he was taking evasive action (I deliberately got the fighters as close as possible).

I compromised in the end by giving the bombers a downward angle and the 109s a slight upward sweep, figuring this might still make it look like the B-17 was 'flinching'

[fumo30]

The tracers look just fine, how about some defensive fire too?