MIDWAY STRIKE AGAINST THE AKAGI

We think this is one of the finest action portrayals of an SBD Dauntless dive-bomber ever published; with perforated dive flaps fully extended, you can almost feel the redoubtable Dauntless shuddering as it hurtles down almost vertically upon the already burning flight deck of the Japanese carrier Akagi to deliver the coup-de-grace during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. As the ever watchful rear gunner scans the sky behind for enemy fighters, the artist treats us to a fantastic pilot’s-eye view that few of us will ever experience!

Some of the most famous pilots of them all flew at the Battle of Midway, and this superb piece was signed by no less than six such men. Legendary SBD pilots Dick Best and Bob Elder were two; there was also Bill Esders who flew TBD-1 torpedo bombers at Midway; Marion Carl, the celebrated first US Marine Corps Ace of World War II who ended his combat career with 18½ air victories, and Scott McClusky with 14 air victories; and finally the exceedingly rare signature of Captain Jack Reid, pilot of the PBY-5 Catalina who first sighted the Japanese fleet and signalled the start of the Battle of Midway.