Twenty thousand feet below, the Japanese destroyer ARASHI is steaming at
speed towards Admiral Nagumo's carrier fleet just visible in the distance. Inadvertently,
she points the way to the searching pilots of the American Pacific fleet.
Robert Taylor chooses this precise moment to portray the S.P.D. Dauntless just before
these legendary aircraft made the attack which turned the tide of the war in the Pacific.
Within the next few minutes the crews of this valiant dive-bomber will deliver the single
most devastating and significant attack of World War II and win one of the truly decisive
battles in history.
The decks of the carriers AKAGI, KAGA, HIRYU, and SORYU, Japan's elite stiking force, are
packed with aircraft. Refueling, re-arming and final preparations for a second and
decisive attack on Midway are almost complete. The large carriers are turning into wind,
their decks ranged for take-off, and the noise is deafening. All eyes are on the flight
deck.
Suddenly, above the roar of the engines the high pitched scream of the dive-bombers is
heard. Plummeting down almost vertically, come the dive-bombers of the Pacific Fleet,
flown by the most battle-experienced pilots in the American Navy at the time. With the
complete element of surprise, in the next few searing minutes they will devastate Admiral
Nagumo's carriers, bringing about the beginning of the end for the ill-starred fortunes of
the Rising Sun.
In a stunning aviation panorama Robert Taylor brings to life the event that wrote the name
of the Dauntless aircraft forever in the history books. All the detail of this lovely
airplane looms large on the canvas. With the exquisitely painted clouds, their shadows
dancing across the sunlit Pacific far below, the painting exudes an air of peaceful
serenity: calm before the storm.
Paying tribute to the gallant Navy crews who flew and fought at Midway, this outstanding
and historical limited edition is authenticated with the individual personal signatures of
four outstanding Dauntless pilots who flew the historic Midway attack: Captain Edward L.
Anderson, Commander Richard Best, Commander Don L. Ely and Rear Admiral Wilbur E. Roberts.
With each print signed and numbered by the artist, MIDWAY - THE TURNING OF THE TIDE,
provides connoisseurs of aviation art with an opportunity to acquire a truly great
collectors' piece.