MEN OF THE FIGHTING RED TAILS

Surrounded by the ground crew who kept their P-51s flying, pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group – the famous ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ – return from another successful mission escorting the heavy bombers of the U.S. Twelfth Air Force to attack targets in southern Germany, late 1944.

A few hours earlier the B-17 crews had been thankful for the support offered by the P-51 pilots of the 332nd Fighter Group whose distinctive red-tailed Mustangs had saved them from a roving band of enemy fighters encountered on their return journey. Thankfully, no bomber losses had been seen or reported, and once again the illustrious ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ got their charges home safely.

Formed in the midst of deeply embedded racial prejudice, the all-black pilots of the 332nd FG soon proved themselves as one of the most capable fighter units in the entire USAAF; their courage under fire, skill and iron discipline earning life-long respect from the bomber crews they escorted from bases in Italy. Going into action for the first time in early 1944 their record was impressive: over 15,000 combat sorties flown, more than 250 Luftwaffe aircraft destroyed, and they even sunk a destroyer by machine gun fire alone. All this with the knowledge that they rarely lost one of their charges.

It therefore comes as no surprise that some of the men who flew with the unit have achieved legendary status within the history of the entire United States Air Force and it’s historically significant that original autographs of these fabled airmen are included in this special release. Names such as Charles McGee whose military aviation career spanned 30 years, over 400 combat missions in WW2, Korea and Vietnam and was an inductee in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Alongside is Benjamin O. Davis Jr who took command of the 332nd FG in 1943 in preparation for its deployment to Italy, before later becoming the first African-American Brigadier General in the USAF and was promoted to full General U.S. Air Force (retired) in 1988, with President Bill Clinton pinning on his four-star insignia.

Featured in Robert Taylor’s Air Combat Paintings Volume VI, published in 2009, the Limited Edition print of ‘Men of the Fighting Red Tails’ was printed that very same year. It was then signed over time by two of the last surviving Tuskegee pilots to fly in combat during the Second World War, including Charles McGee who is shown in the drawing alongside pilots and groundcrew of the 302nd Fighter Squadron.

The prints, however, remained un-signed by artist Robert Taylor at the time of his passing in 2024. Instead, the Military Gallery based in Great Britain, Robert’s exclusive worldwide publisher, has officially embossed every copy with the logo of the Robert Taylor Trust, a body established to preserve his legacy and safeguard the future copyright in years to come.

Every copy is issued mounted to full conservation standards to include museum-quality reproduction USAAF pilots wings, a commemorative cloth ‘Tuskegee Airmen’ patch and original autographs of men who flew with the famous Red Tails during the war.

But that’s not all – also including a unique Legacy Remarque!

Carrying on Robert’s legacy, his talented son Richard Taylor completes every piece with a unique original pencil remarque in the lower border of the print.

Full signature details as follows: