THE SUNDOWNERS - Framed Collectors Piece

F-4 Phantoms of VF-111, ‘The Sundowners’, launch from USS Coral Sea in the Gulf of Tonkin in a successful attempt to intercept North Vietnamese MiGs returning to Quang Lang airfield, 6 March 1972.

As America sought to extricate itself from the war in Vietnam, by the beginning of 1972 US troop levels in the country had fallen dramatically from their all-time high in 1968. The United States was now relying primarily on air power to help the South Vietnamese Army, including US Navy units based on carriers operating in the Gulf of Tonkin. One of these was VF-111 – The Sundowners, portrayed in Anthony’s brilliant painting.

Already internationally renowned for his stunning depictions of WWII scenes, Anthony has excelled all expectations with this piece, unbelievably his first-ever jet painting. The lead Phantom depicted is NL201, call sign ‘Old Nick Two Zero One’, flown on this mission by experienced pilot Lt Garry L. Weigand and his back-seater, Radar Intercept Officer Ltjg. William C. Freckleton. They were part of a two-ship team tasked to intercept MiGs that had just clashed with Phantoms of VF-51 on a strike force escorting a photo-reconnaissance RA-5C Vigilante over Quang Lang airfield. They found a MiG-17, and in a ‘nasty turning fight with the scrappy little plane’, Weigand manage to roll in on the MiG from the rear and in a dramatic victory, downed it with a Sidewinder.