Naval History by Country : ROYAL NAVY US NAVY GERMAN NAVY FRENCH NAVY MORE PAGES

ALWAYS GREAT OFFERS : 20% FURTHER PRICE REDUCTIONS ON HUNDREDS OF LIMITED EDITION ART PRINTS BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE ON THOUSANDS OF PAINTINGS AND PRINTS FOR MORE OFFERS SIGN UP TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER

Charles E Beck Died : 25 / 3 / 2009

Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased) Charles Beck joined the service in November 1942, and after gaining his pilots wings, was posted to the 361st Fighter Squadron, 356th Fighter Group at Martlesham Heath in July 1944. He flew his first combat mission with the, in a P47, on 29th August 1944. He then flew Mustangs as the group converted over to P51s from the P47. He took part in the Groups big mission to Misbourg, Germany, on 26th November, when the Group scored 110 victories against a big Luftwaffe attack on the bomber stream. Charles finished his combat tour on 7th May 1945, the last day of the war. He returned home and continued his service, flying with the Van Nuys Air National Guard, flying P-51, F-86 Sabre and F-102 Delta Dagger aircraft. He was one of the first people to break the sound barrier, using an F-86 Sabre. He later served on active duty in the Korean War, and during the Vietnam conflict. He served for three years with the US Navy as a liaison officer on the F4U Corsair. Sadly, Charles Beck died on 25th March 2009.

Items Signed by Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased)

	Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. Price : £160.00	From the day they began their aerial campaign against Nazi Germany to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the USAAF bomber crews plied their hazardous trade in broad daylight. This tactic may have enabled better sighting of targets, and possibly l......
	Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian (AP) Price : £200.00	From the day they began their aerial campaign against Nazi Germany to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the USAAF bomber crews plied their hazardous trade in broad daylight. This tactic may have enabled better sighting of targets, and possibly l......
	Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. (RM) SOLD OUT	From the day they began their aerial campaign against Nazi Germany to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the USAAF bomber crews plied their hazardous trade in broad daylight. This tactic may have enabled better sighting of targets, and possibly l......	NOT AVAILABLE
	Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. (XX) SOLD OUT	From the day they began their aerial campaign against Nazi Germany to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the USAAF bomber crews plied their hazardous trade in broad daylight. This tactic may have enabled better sighting of targets, and possibly ......	NOT AVAILABLE
	Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian (Y) Price : £145.00	From the day they began their aerial campaign against Nazi Germany to the cessation of hostilities in 1945, the USAAF bomber crews plied their hazardous trade in broad daylight. This tactic may have enabled better sighting of targets, and possibly l......

Packs with at least one item featuring the signature of Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased)

	Mustang Aviation Art Print Pack. Pack Price : £300.00 Saving : £170	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. Eagles on the Rampage by Robert Taylor. Guardian Angel by Anthony Saunders.
	Nicolas Trudgian P-51 Mustang Aircraft Print Pack. Pack Price : £260.00 Saving : £200	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. Mustangs Over the Mediterranean by Nicolas Trudgian. Guardian Angel by Anthony Saunders.
	P-51 Mustang Aviation Art Prints. Pack Price : £260.00 Saving : £145	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. Dual Victory by Richard Taylor. Guardian Angel by Anthony Saunders.
	Special Sale Pack of 5 Prints - 4 FREE! Pack Price : £180.00 Saving : £210	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. The Struggle for Malta by Ivan Berryman. (F) LCT 312 by Ivan Berryman. (D) Typhoons Over Normandy by Ivan Berryman. (D) Dinah Might by Ivan Berryman.
	Pack 254. Pack of two WW2 USAAF Mustang art prints by Simon Atack and Nicolas Trudgian. Pack Price : £240.00 Saving : £170	Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Final Victory by Simon Atack. Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian.

US Mustang Fighter Aviation Prints. Pack Price : £230.00 Saving : £80

Aviation Print Pack. ...... Titles in this pack : Ace of Diamonds by Nicolas Trudgian. Mustang Escort by Graeme Lothian.

Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased)

Squadrons for : Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased)
A list of all squadrons known to have been served with by Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased). A profile page is available by clicking the squadron name.
Squadron	Info
356th Fighter Group Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 356th Fighter Group	356th Fighter Group Full profile not yet available.
361st Fighter Squadron Country : US Click the name above to see prints featuring aircraft of 361st Fighter Squadron	361st Fighter Squadron Full profile not yet available.

Aircraft for : Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased)
A list of all aircraft associated with Lieutenant Colonel Charles E Beck (deceased). A profile page including a list of all art prints for the aircraft is available by clicking the aircraft name.
Squadron	Info
Corsair Click the name above to see prints featuring Corsair aircraft. Manufacturer : Chance-Vought Production Began : 1940 Number Built : 12000	Corsair The Chance-Vought F4U Corsair was arguably the finest naval aviation fighter of its era. Work on this design dates to 1938 and was headed-up by Voughts Chief Engineer, Rex Biesel. The initial prototype was powered by an 1800-HP Pratt & Whitney double Wasp radial engine. This was the third Vought aircraft to carry the Corsair name. The graceful and highly recognizable gull-wing design of the F4U permitted the aircraft to utilize a 13-foot, three-blade, Hamilton Standard propeller, while not having to lengthen the landing gear. Because of the rigors of carrier landings, this was a very important design consideration. Folding wings were also required for carrier operations. The F4U was thirty feet long, had a wingspan of 41 feet and an empty weight of approximately 7,500 pounds. Another interesting feature was the way the F4Us gear rotated 90 degrees, so it would lay flush within the wing when in the up position. In 1939 the Navy approved the design, and production commenced. The Corsair utilized a new spot welding process on its all aluminum fuselage, giving the aircraft very low drag. To reduce weight, fabric-covered outer wing sections and control surfaces were fitted. In May of 1940 the F4U made its maiden flight. Although a number of small bugs were discovered during early flight tests, the Corsair had exceptional performance characteristics. In October of 1940 the prototype F4U was clocked at 405-MPH in a speed test. The initial production Corsairs received an upgraded 2,000-HP radial giving the bird a top speed of about 425-MPH. The production models also differed from the prototype in having six, wing-mounted, 0.5 caliber machine guns. Another change was a shift of the cockpit about three feet further back in the fuselage. This latter change unfortunately made naval aviators wary of carrier landings with the F4U, due to its limited forward visibility during landings. Other concerns were expressed regarding a severe port wing drop at landing speeds and a tendency of the aircraft to bounce off a carrier deck. As a result, the F4U was initially limited to land-based USMC squadrons. Vought addressed several of these problems, and the Royal Navy deserves credit for perfecting an appropriate landing strategy for the F4U. They found that if the carrier pilot landed the F4U while making a sweeping left turn with the port wing down, that sufficient visibility was available to make a safe landing. With a kill ratio of 11 -to- 1 in WW 11 combat, the F4U proved superior in the air to almost every opposing aircraft it encountered. More than 12,000 F4Us were built and fortunately a few dozen remain in flyable condition to this date.
Mustang Click the name above to see prints featuring Mustang aircraft. Manufacturer : North American	Mustang The ubiquitous North American P-51 Mustang, which many consider to be the best all-around fighter of WW II, owes its origins to the British Air Ministry. Following Britains entry into WW II in 1939, the RAF was interested in purchasing additional fighter aircraft from American sources, particularly the Curtiss P-40. Curtiss, which was busy, was unable to guarantee timely delivery so the British approached North American Aviation as a possible second source for the P-40. North American chose to propose its own fighter design which would use the same Allison engine as the P-40. Utilizing new laminar flow wings, the North American fighter was expected to have performance better than the P-40. Developed in record time the new aircraft was designated as a Mustang I by the Brits, whereas the USAAF ordered two for evaluation which were designated XP-51 Apaches. Intrigued with the possibility of using this aircraft also as a dive bomber, North American proposed this to the USAAF which decided to order 500 of the P-51 aircraft to be modified for dive bombing use. Designated as the A-36 Invader, this version of the Mustang utilized dive flaps, and bomb racks under each wing. Some reinforcing of the structural members was also required because of the G-forces to be encountered in dive bombing. A-36s entered combat service with the USAAF prior to any P-51s. In early 1943 the 86th and 27th Fighter Bomber Groups of the 12th Air Force began flying A-36s out of Northern Africa. Despite some early problems with instability caused by the dive flaps, the A-36 was effective in light bombing and strafing roles. It was not, however, capable of dog fighting with German fighters, especially at higher altitudes. Despite these drawbacks one USAAF pilot, Captain Michael T. Russo, who served with the 16th Bomb Squadron of the 27th Fighter Bomber Group, was credited with five confirmed aerial victories in the A-36, thereby becoming the first mustang ace.
Sabre Click the name above to see prints featuring Sabre aircraft. Manufacturer : North American Number Built : 11787	Sabre The North American Aviation F-86 Sabre was a transonic jet Fighter. The F-86 Sabre is best known for its role during the Korean War role where it was pitted against the Soviet MIG 15. With speeds often nudging the sound barrier, and performing combat manoeuvres at 600 m.p.h. imposing crushing G-forces, the F-86 pilots ran up a spectacular kill ratio of 8:1 against the MiGs. Although developed in the late 1940s and outdated by the end of the 1950s, the Sabre proved adaptable and continued as a front line fighter in air forces until the last active front line examples were retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994. More than 7,800 Sabres aircraft were built between 1949 and 1956, in the United States, Japan and Italy. It was by far the most-produced Western jet fighter, with total production of all variants at 9,860 units.
Thunderbolt Click the name above to see prints featuring Thunderbolt aircraft. Production Began : 1943 Number Built : 15683	Thunderbolt Alexander Kartveli was a engineer with Seversky Aircraft who designed the P-35, which first flew in 1937. With Republic Aviation Kartveli supervised the development of the P-43 Lancer. Neither of these aircraft were produced in large numbers, and neither was quite successful. However, the Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt, also nicknamed the Jug, was quite a different story. The Jug was the jewel in Kartvelis design crown, and went on to become one of the most produced fighter aircraft of all time with 15,683 being manufactured. The P-47 was the largest and heaviest single seat fighter of WW II. The P-47 immediately demonstrated its excellent combat qualities, including speed, rate of climb, maneuverability, heavy fire power, and the ability to take a lot of punishment. With a wingspan of more than 40 feet and a weight of 19,400 pounds, this large aircraft was designed around the powerful 2000 HP Pratt and Whitney R-2800 Double Wasp radial engine. The first P-47 prototype flew in May of 1941, and the primary variant the P-47D went into service in 1943 with units of the U.S. Armys Eighth Air Force. The Jug had a maximum speed in excess of 400 MPH, a service ceiling in excess of 42,000 feet, and was heavily armed with either six or eight heavy caliber machine guns. With its ability to carry up to a 2,500 pound bomb load, the Jug saw lots of use in ground attack roles. Until the introduction of the N model, the P-47 lacked the long range required for fighter escort missions which were most often relegated to P-51 Mustangs or P-38 Lightnings. In his outstanding painting entitled Bridge Busting Jugs, noted aviation artist Stan Stokes depicts Eighth Air Force Jugs in a ground attack mission in the Alps in June of 1944. The top P-47 ace was Francis Gabreski who had flown with the 56th Fighter Group, the first unit to be equipped with the P-47. In August of 1943 Gabreski attained his first aerial combat victory (over an Fw-190) and by years end he had reached ace status with 8 confirmed victories. As Commander of the 61st Squadron, Gabreski continued to chalk up victory after victory, and on seven different occasions he achieved two victories during the same mission. However, in July of 1944 Gabreski damaged the prop on his Jug during a low level attack on an airfield near Coblenz. Forced to make a crash landing, he was captured and remained a prisoner of war until Wars end in 1945. Following the War Gabreski returned to military service with the Air Forces 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing in Korea. Flying the F-86 Sabre Jet, Gabreski attained 6.5 more aerial victories in 1951 and 1952 becoming an ace in two different wars

Everything we obtain for this site is shown on the site, we do not have any more photos, crew lists or further information on any of the ships. COPYRIGHT NOTICE. ALL IMAGES DISPLAYED ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROTECTED BY  COPYRIGHT  LAW, AND ARE OWNED BY CRANSTON FINE ARTS OR THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS.  NO REPRODUCTION OR COPYING ALLOWED ON OTHER WEBSITES, BOOKS OR ARTICLES WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT.