Big Tailed Beast - Stan Stokes Art Print

Stan Stokes. On July 24, 1945, the Hyuga — a Japanese battleship built during World War I — was spotted off a small island near Kure, Japan. Air Group 87, aboard the USS Ticonderoga, was to attack the vintage ship in their SB2C Helldivers. This exciting print shows Lt. Paul Brehm on that fateful day, dive-bombing the Hyuga without flaps, making himself a faster target for the ship's gunners. He dropped a 1,000-pound bomb and pulled up just in time to see its direct hit; he then had to ditch his Helldiver, low on fuel in bad weather, though him and gunner W. Tommy Thompson were rescued within minutes by the USS Chauncey. Signed by the artist! 16"x 11½".