China in WW2

Knights of the Air (II)

• By Peter Harmsen
• 23 October, 2014
• No Comments

In the previous post, we introduced aviation artist Jim Laurier. With his kind permission, we bring you some more examples of his work, from the China and Pacific theatres of World War II (for many more examples, click here). Above, ‘Pacific Airbase,’ depicting a typical Marine airbase in the Pacific Theater. Corsairs have just returned from a mission, and are being maintained by ground crew.

‘Easy Kill Over Luzon’ shows a famous episode from the reconquest of the Philippines. On November 6, 1944, Grumman F6F Hellcats of Navy Squadron VF-19 from the aircraft carrier USS Lexington chased a Japanese Kawanishi N1K1-J “George” fighter over sugar cane fields south of Clark Field. The Japanese pilot, wounded and possibly suicidal, bailed out too low and struck one of the only trees in the area.

‘Oscar Valley’, on the upper half of this cover from Osprey’s Duel series, depicts a celebrated episode in the history of US aviation in China during the war. In the morning of August 8, 1944, eight P-40s of the 75th Fighter Squadron encountered nine Ki-43s, and in a brief dog fight managed to down three of the Japanese planes. The Japanese claimed seven victories, but in fact not a single American aircraft was lost.