Giclee paper print
Edition: 199 Reproductions, 10 artist’s proofs
Overall print dimensions: 24’’ x 32’’
Print image size: 19.5’’ x 28’’
Limited Edition: $ 185.00 + S&H $14 U.S. / $45 International
Original Painting:
Height: 20"
Width: 28"
Framed/Unframed: unframed
Medium: oil
Support: stretched canvas
Copyright Date: 2002
Price: $8,125.00
|
RETURN TO MIDWAY
Certainly
the most challenging aspect of the airwar in the Pacific was
the extreme distances between airbase and target. The Japanese
recognized that they would be facing such a problem, and made
long-range a primary design feature for both land-based and
carrier-borne aircraft of their navy, and did likewise for
their army aircraft. This was a common-sense measure taken
by Japanese military planners who had anticipated that a full-scale
ocean-wide conflict likely would result from their conquest
and occupation of lands colonized by the British, French,
and Dutch in Southeast Asia, New Guinea, Borneo, Netherlands
East Indies, as well as the American territories of Guam,
Philippines, and perhaps, Hawaii.
In spite
of the fact that the strategic long-range bomber was a prominent
player in the planning of isolationist America’s Army
Air Corps decision-makers during this same period (1935-1940),
the same level of pragmatism the Japanese applied to aircraft
range requirements was not so evident in the U.S. On December
7, 1941 and for at least the next six months, the Japanese
were to enjoy a distinct advantage over Allied aircraft in
the Pacific theatres as a result of their being able to generally
reach further. However, by 1943, long-range raids by Allied
land-based aircraft against Japanese-held targets were becoming
more commonplace and presaged the extreme long-range B-24
and B-29 missions USAAF groups would be subjecting the Japanese
to in the home islands of the Japanese Empire.
The United
States Navy was quick to realize that a long reach by patrol
bombers (at the beginning of WW II, flying-boats were to fill
this role) was a necessity, and the Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina
and the Consolidated PB2Y Coronado (pictured above) were excellent
examples. In the painting “Return to Midway”,
we see elements of VP-102 and VP-13 returning to their seaplane
anchorage in the lagoon at Midway, the first week in February,
1944, after a 2100 mile (roundtrip) bombing mission to Japanese-held
Wake Island. 18 PB2Y-3s, 12 from VP-13 and 6 from VP-102 participated
in 4 night-bombing missions to Wake, 30 January and 4, 8,
and 9 February, 1944. These missions, which were flown in
support of the invasion of the Marshall Islands, were the
first time that USN heavy seaplanes were used in concentrated
bombing attacks against the enemy at extreme long-range. Sixty
tons of bombs were dumped on Wake in 50 sorties, incurring
no losses, whatsoever. Since the Coronado cruised at 110 kts./hour,
these missions amounted to at least 19 hours in the air! Capt.
Frank De Lorenzo, USN, Plane commander of one of the VP-102
Coronados was the generous contributor of the information
used in the execution of this painting.
|
