Black Sheep Scramble by Richard Taylor

Under the guidance of their mercurial leader Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington USMC, the F4U pilots of VMF-221 'The Black Sheep' scramble from their base in the Solomon Islands to intercept an incoming Japanese raid, late 1943.

September 1943, and the tide of war in the Pacific had turned against the Japanese. Halted and repulsed at Midway and Guadalcanal, their lines of supply had become thinly stretched as the overwhelming might of the American war machine began to tell. But the fighting was far from over as the Japanese fought bitterly for every yard conceded; savage encounters that continued for two more years.

Onto this stage stepped the unconventional figure of U.S. Marine Major Gregory 'Pappy' Boyington, a former 'Flying Tiger' pilot with several victories to his credit. His task: to re-form VMF-214. Allocated an equally unconventional rag-tag bunch of pilots, some battle-hardened, disbanded veterans heading for the pilot pool, others merely fresh-faced, untested rookies. Boyington was given less than four weeks to get his unit into shape and combat ready.

Not only did he succeed but in the space of less than three months he and his F4U Corsair pilots would acquire legendary status - they called themselves the 'Black Sheep'. Usually outnumbered, always aggressive and never timid, the 'Black Sheep' quickly notched up nearly one hundred air victories along with numerous aircraft damaged in the air or on the ground, several warships, countless vehicles, buildings, and a myriad of other military targets.

On 3 January 1944, however, whilst leading an early morning sweep over Rabaul, Boyington's luck ran out. Heavily outnumbered by enemy fighters, in the ensuing melée he was shot down only to be picked up by a Japanese submarine and taken prisoner for the rest of the war. With claims of twenty-eight air victories, he was already, and would remain, the highest-scoring Marine pilot of the war. For this, and his period commanding the 'Black Sheep', he was granted America's highest award - the Congressional Medal of Honor - his citation commending how he 'struck at the enemy with daring and courageous persistence' which resulted in 'inflicting crippling damage on the enemy'. 'Pappy' also received the Navy Cross, the United States Naval Service's second-highest military decoration after the MOH, and is considered one of the Marine Corps' greatest ever pilots.

In an exquisite tribute to one of America's legendary wartime Aces, Richard Taylor has used his highly-prized creative skill in yet another inspirational drawing to add to his growing list of masterworks. There is no doubt that this collectible and extremely limited edition will be popular with collectors interested in the War in the Pacific, especially given the inclusion of such rare and sought after original signatures. These consist of the famous Ace depicted, 'Pappy' Boyington, and four F4U pilots of VMF-221, all of whom scored confirmed combat victories.

Matted Signatures:

Colonel GREGORY ‘PAPPY’ BOYINGTON, MOH

Brigadier General BRUCE J. MATHESON

Colonel EDWIN A. HARPER

Lieutenant Colonel W. THOMAS EMRICH

Captain FRED S. LOSCH