Robert Taylor Art Doolittle's D-Day Sold Out L/E

  

By military standards, it is hard to imagine the Supreme Commander of the largest air force of the day piloting himself over the battlefield during the early phase of one of the greatest military operations in history, D-Day June 6, 1944. General Jimmy Doolittle was no ordinary commander and it was not his style to sit around waiting for intelligence reports on the invasion. So Jimmy Doolittle with his wingman for the sortie, Pat Partridge, would see for himself. The pair took off from their base on the morning of June 6th flying P-38 Lightnings. The P-38 was chosen as their mounts for their distinctive profile which they hoped wound deter friendly fire when patrolling the Normandy coastline.

They initially encountered heavy clouds over the Normandy invasion sites and were going to head back to base after having observed the 8th Air Force's operations first hand but Doolittle spotted a hole in the clouds and rolled into the hole to observe the landing sites on the Normandy coastline. His wingman Partridge had lost Doolittle in the clouds and circled the area for a while unable to locate his commander and then headed back to base. Doolittle had come out under the clouds and witnessed the invasion operations underway first-hand. Doolittle flew up and down the battlefront assessing how the invasion was progressing.

After a two and a half sortie, Doolittle headed back to base. After landing, Doolittle headed over to General Eisenhower's headquarters to provide him with the first report Eisenhower received, beating his own intelligence information by several hours.

Each "Doolittle's D-Day" print is individually signed by the artist and 5 USAAF pilots that flew the P-38 in the European campaign. Childress, Colonel Richard Willsie, Lt. Hurlbut First Lieutenant Richard Ostronik, and First Lieutenant Mel Roalsvig. The lithograph is accompanied by the Certificate of Authenticity and brochure.

The lithograph has been stored flat in archival materials and not exposed to light. The lithograph is undamaged and in excellent condition.