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Hello and welcome to Vector Fine Art Prints. Here you will find a wide selection of Aviation Art prints by renowned artist's such as Frank Wootton, Robert Taylor, Nicolas Trudgian, Gil Cohen, John Shaw, Michael Turner, Richard Taylor and Ron Stark.

The choice of signed books is second to none and is so extensive that nowhere else can match it online. We specialize in limited edition bookplates and take part in several book launches throughout the year. For our forthcoming calendar visit the special events page.

To keep up to date with all the new releases and additions to our signed book collection and any special events, we suggest you signup to our email newsletter. Just follow the link to the left or on our newsletter page. Also add this page to your favourites so as your only one click away.

Colin and Rose

A stunning NEW print to be released at the
Flying Legends Airshow on the
11th & 12th July 2009.

THE BIGGIN HILL WING
By
Nicolas Trudgian

With the Battle of Britain won and the threat of Nazi invasion halted, by early 1941 the Royal Air Force High Command issued orders to take the fight back across the Channel against Adolf Hitler’s occupying forces in Northern Europe. By March, Air Chief Marshal William Sholto-Douglas had replaced Sir Hugh Dowding as Air Officer Commander of Fighter Command and had appointed Wing Leaders at each fighter station in No. 11 Group to lead offensive operations over France.

Among those chosen to lead the offensive operations were some of the top outstanding RAF squadron commanders, Wing Commander Harry Broadhurst DFC, AFC (Hornchurch), Squadron Leader Douglas Bader DSO, DFC (Tangmere), Squadron Leader John Peel DFC (Kenley) Wing Commander Victor Beamish DSO, DFC, AFC (North Weald) and Squadron Leader ‘Sailor’ Malan DSO, DFC who had been appointed to Biggin Hill. It was Malan above any other who re-wrote the rules of air combat tactics during this period; his ‘Ten Rules of Air Fighting’ became avid reading in every crew-room in Fighter Command.

The wings normally consisted of three squadrons of Spitfire, Hurricane or mixed formations. The new fighter sweeps it was hoped would entice the German Air Force up to fight, which in many cases it did. Another role for which the wings were used was to provide escort cover for light-bomber incursions to attack German installations and airfields. By late May and early June, the number of fighter sweeps had increased as the fine spring weather improved and daily combat with the Luftwaffe raged in the skies along the Channel Front.

Nicolas Trudgian has excelled himself once again as his latest painting depicts the legendary South African fighter pilot Adolph Gysbert ‘Sailor’ Malan, leading the Biggin Hill Wing Spitfire V’s of 74, 92 and 609 Squadrons out over the Kent countryside, on a early misty morning on another sweep across the English Channel into occupied Northern France. This new amazing atmospheric image portrayed by one of the worlds leading aviation artists is destined to become a collector’s item in years to come.

MAIN EDITION
LIMITED TO ONLY 225 copies worldwide, is signed by:
Wing Commander John Freeborn DFC* 74 Squadron
Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC 92 Squadron
Flight Lieutenant Sir Joe Atkinson KCB CB DFC 609 Squadron

£115 + Postage and Packing

ARTIST PROOFS
LIMITED TO ONLY 100 copies worldwide and comes with TWO companion prints

Signed by:
Wing Commander John Freeborn DFC* 74 Squadron
Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC 92 Squadron
Flight Lieutenant Sir Joe Atkinson KCB CB DFC 609 Squadron
Squadron Leader Walter Johnston 92 Squadron
Squadron Leader Neville Duke DSO OBE DFC** AFC 92 Squadron (Companion print)
Group Captain Allan Wright DFC* 92 Squadron (Companion print)

£170 + Postage and Packing

REMARQUE EDITION
LIMITED TO ONLY 30 Copies worldwide and comes with TWO companion prints

Signed by:
Wing Commander John Freeborn DFC* 74 Squadron
Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC 92 Squadron
Flight Lieutenant Sir Joe Atkinson KCB CB DFC 609 Squadron
Squadron Leader Walter Johnston 92 Squadron
Squadron Leader Neville Duke DSO OBE DFC** AFC 92 Squadron (Companion print)
Group Captain Allan Wright DFC* 92 Squadron (Companion print)
Squadron Leader Percy Beake DFC 92 Squadron

£285 + Postage and Packing

REMARQUE AND ORIGINAL DRAWING EDITION
LIMITED TO ONLY 10 copies worldwide and comes with TWO companion prints
With this edition Nick will add to the main print one of his superb Remarques and this edition is then accompanied with an A4 original drawing.

Signed by:
Wing Commander John Freeborn DFC* 74 Squadron
Squadron Leader Geoffrey Wellum DFC 92 Squadron
Flight Lieutenant Sir Joe Atkinson KCB CB DFC 609 Squadron
Squadron Leader Walter Johnston 92 Squadron
Squadron Leader Neville Duke DSO OBE DFC** AFC 92 Squadron (Companion print)
Group Captain Allan Wright DFC* 92 Squadron (Companion print)
Squadron Leader Percy Beake DFC 92 Squadron

NIGHT DEFENDERS OF THE BUMP

Bolton pull Defiants of number 264 Squadron where based at Biggin Hill at the early part of 1941 as night cover for the Bump and the capital of London, this drawing is signed by

Wing Commander Eric Barwell DFC* pilot with 264 Squadron
Flight Sergeant Fred Barker DFM* Air Gunner with 264 Squadron

£550 + Postage and Packing

Also joining us are:

Squadron Leader B G Stapleton DFC
Pilot with 603 Squadron Battle of Britain

Air Commodore John Ellecombe CB DFC*
Pilot with 151 Squadron Battle of Britain

The signing fee will be £3 per signature paid directly to each veteran - cash only

A stunning New print release to be launched at the Flying Legends Airshow
Print Size: 32" x 22.5"
(same size as Eagle's Nest)

Brothers in Arms
- The Longest Night -
a fine art print by Matt Hall

The second release in our NEW 65th Anniversary series!

June 6, 1944, 2:10 am . . . From the darkened heavens, C-47s of 9th Troop Carrier Command deliver the paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions into the hellfire of Normandy’s drop zones. The Screaming Eagles, already on the ground for an hour, link up with the All American troopers near French towns like St. Mere Eglise. Together, they will fight in small, ad-hoc bands, sowing chaos behind the German lines. To survive the longest night of D-Day, they would become: Brothers in Arms.

ARTIST PROOFS
150 prints, signed and numbered by artist Matt Hall & at least
11 D-Day veterans that include:
9 Band of Brothers Easy Company paratroopers!
2 highly decorated 82nd veterans who fought at Ste. Mere Eglise!
New signer Band of Brothers Medic Ed Pepping!
Band of Brothers veteran Earl McClung (shown in forefront of painting)!

£235.00 + Postage and packing

ALSO INCLUDES:
- A metal piece of an 81st Squadron C-47 that flew on D-Day, perfect to frame with your print!
- 82nd Airborne & 101st Airborne pins to frame with your print!
- COA with "History Behind the Art" stories/trivia facts

VICTORY EDITION
500 prints, individually numbered and signed by artist Matt Hall & at least 2 D-Day veterans that include:
1 highly decorated 82nd veteran
1 highly decorated 101st "Band of Brothers" veteran

£99.00 + Postage and Packing

Also includes a COA with "History Behind the Art" stories/trivia facts

Vector Fine Art have joined forces with Valor Studios
for the Flying Legends airshow, Duxford on the
11th and 12th of July 2009
for this outstanding event we will be joined by four legendary
Band of Brothers who dropped into France on the 6th June 1944

Buck Compton was born in Los Angeles in 1921. While studying at UCLA from 1939 to 1943, he lettered on the football and baseball teams. Compton was on the UCLA team that played in the 1943 Rose Bowl. He participated in ROTC for four years then left his studies to attend Officers Candidate School at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in May 1943. 

Compton joined Company E, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in England in December 1943. He participated in all of 101st Airborne Division's major campaigns in the European Theatre of Operations. He received the Silver Star and Bronze Star awards for valor and the Purple Heart for being wounded in the line of duty. 

Compton remained in the active reserves from 1946 to 1966 and retired as a Lt. Colonel. He completed a degree in law, and subsequently served as an LAPD detective, as a Deputy DA, and as Chief Deputy DA for LA County. In 1968, Compton handled the prosecution of Sirhan Sirhan for the assassination of Robert Kennedy. Governor Ronald Reagan appointed Compton as an Associate Justice of the California Court of Appeal, a post from which he retired in 1990.

Donald Malarkey was born in Astoria, Oregon in 1921. He was in his first semester at the University of Oregon in the fall of 1941 when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After the attack, Malarkey tried enlisting in the Marines, but he was turned down because of dental problems. In July 1942, he volunteered for the paratroops of the United States Army, becoming a member of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne. He received the Bronze Star Medal for his involvement in the Brécourt Manor assault on D-Day in Normandy. During his time with Easy Company he was promoted to the rank of Tech Sergeant. Malarkey was involved in combat in Normandy, Operation Market Garden in Holland, Bastogne, and Germany.

In the 2001 miniseries, "Band of Brothers," Malarkey was portrayed by actor Scott Grimes, now a star of the TV show E.R. Don Malarkey, along with his longtime friend Buck Compton, are today recognized as two of the most memorable characters of the Band of Brothers mini-series.

Ed Tipper was born August 3, l921, in Detroit.  When Pearl Harbor was bombed and war declared, Ed tried to enlist in the Marines, but was rejected because his teeth did not bite together perfectly. Instead, Ed enlisted in the Army Paratroops and in August l942 became a founding member of Easy Company as it was formed in Toccoa, Georgia. Ed jumped with Easy Company into Normandy on D-Day.

Ed fought a short, but intensive war before he was badly wounded by mortar fire in the battle for Carentan, France. Ed spent a year in Army hospitals and recovered almost completely except for his destroyed right eye.

After the war, Ed graduated from University of Michigan in l949 then spent more than 30 years teaching high school in Iowa and Colorado. In his spare time, Ed bought, renovated, and operated apartment buildings, before retiring in l979. He married his wife, Rosalina, in 1983 and had a daughter, Kerry, that same year. Ed and Rosalina are celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary this year. At age 87, Ed has a few aches and pains, but is happy and in generally good health.

Bradford  Freeman was born and raised in the lush Mississippi farmlands of Lowndes County, near Columbus.  He was one of 8 children, 3 of whom fought in the war. After high school graduation he enrolled in Mississippi State University, which he attended for one semester before enlisting in the US Army on December 12, 1942.

He joined the paratroopers, following in the footsteps of his older brother, who became an officer in the 11th Airborne.  Freeman was assigned to the 506th PIR., 101st Airborne at Alderbourne, England in February 1944.  There, he trained under the watchful eye of mortar squad leader Don Malarkey and platoon leader Bill Guarnere, both of whom he describes as great fighting men.

On D-Day Freeman parachuted into Normandy in Malarkey’s stick, forming up and fighting with Sgt. Chuck Grant until they joined the company near Brecourt Manor. Freeman vividly remembers the fierce fighting at Carentan, where he feels E-Company came together as a combat unit.

Freeman participated in the invasion of Holland, and recalls endless patrols and “scary” night outpost duty on the banks of the Rhine.  Following Market Garden Freeman survived the brutal weather and constant shelling in the Bois Jacques woods at Bastogne only to be wounded by a “screaming mimi” (Nebelwerfer rocket)  in Easy Company’s attack on Foy.  Following release from a hospital in England, Freeman joined up with HQ Staff in Berchtesgaden in April 1945, and later with his E-Company comrades in Kaprun, Austria.

After the war Brad Freeman went back to Mississippi State University for a semester, and then returned to help run a 197 acre family farm in Lowndes County.  He later worked with the US Postal Service, retiring after 32 years of service.

In the famous Easy Company group photo he is on the right of the company guidon holding the top right corner.

Further details will follow about the superb range of prints, books and photographs that will be available for purchase over the weekend.
If you are bringing personal items the charge will be £20 per item - Cash Only - or if you are unable to attend but would like to purchase an item please call for more details of how to order.

The signing times for Saturday are from 10 am to 1 pm and 2.30 pm to 4 pm.
Sunday will be 10 am to 1 pm and possibly a short signing in the afternoon.

As a polite notice: Please do not approach the veterans for signatures when they are not at the table signing as they will need a well earned break.

This promises to be a huge event so your patience will be much appreciated.

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We will have a large selection of Fine Art Prints and Books available to be purchased on the day, which our honoured guests will be very happy to sign for you.

The Eagle's Nest by John Shaw

May 7, 1945 . . . With Göring’s champagne and Bavarian beer, the veterans of Easy Company celebrate the end of World War II in Europe. Fate could write no better ending for the paratroopers who jumped into the darkness of Normandy, slugged through the mud of Holland, and froze in the woods of Bastogne. Now, in Berchtesgaden’s storybook Alps, P-51s of the “Checkertail Clan” cap the party as the Band of Brothers enjoy the spoils of war, the beauty of peace, and a toast to the heroes who fell along the way.

Angels From Above by Matt Hall

September 17, 1944 . . . In sun-swept skies, the C-47s of 9th Troop Carrier Command deliver their fighting cargo, the paratroopers of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions above Holland’s soft drop zones. Deemed “Operation Market Garden,” the finest American, British, and Polish Airborne forces led the charge to enter Germany through Holland and to liberate the Dutch people after four years of Nazi occupation. However, fierce enemy resistance and blunders by high command would see the brave Airborne troops stopped short of the Rhine but, not before they liberated part of Holland and earned the name: “The Angels from Above.”

NIGHT OF NIGHTS BY GIL COHEN

June 6, 1944, above occupied France . . . With steely eyes, the Band of Brothers paratroopers of the 101st Airborne lunge toward their rendezvous with destiny. Many carry a letter from Gen. Eisenhower that they keep tucked under helmets, in jump boots, and in bulging jacket pockets, close to heart. It read: “Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you.” At the door of each C-47, with chaos a step away, the troopers knew: “Tonight is the Night of Nights.”

Hang Tough, Bastogne, 1944 by John Shaw

December 24, 1944, north of Bastogne, Belgium…
Within the Bois Jacques forest, paratroopers of Easy Company, 506th P.I.R., 101st Airborne, filter back to their foxholes having repelled an attack earlier in the day. On this frigid Christmas Eve, Captain Dick Winters supports his men with his words: “Hang Tough.” Despite being surrounded and ill-equipped, the Band of Brothers would hold the line. Ultimately, the 101st Airborne would help turn the tide in the Battle of the Bulge.

We Were a band of Brothers by John Shaw

June 5th 1944, Upotter Airfield, England….As evening sets in, Lt. Richard Winters confers with his 'Band of Brothers', the paratroopers of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne. On this eve of D-Day, Winters holds a letter from Col. Robert Sink, Easy's regimental commander, which announces "Tonight is the Night of Nights." Soon, in darkness, the 439th Troop Carrier Group will transport these young men into occupied France, to spearhead Europe's emancipation.