C-141B Starlifter

C-141B Starlifter Art by Willie Jones. This image is copyrighted and is the property of Willie Jones Jr. and is available only to members of the Armed Forces and Military organizations. C-141B is a strategic airlifter (trooper/cargo transport). It is famous for bring home the Prisoners of War from Vietnam in 1973 and for dramatic paratroop drops over Panama in 1989.

C-130E Hercules "Going Home”

C-130E Hercules "Going Home” Art by Willie Jones. This image is copyrighted and is the property of Willie Jones Jr. and is available only to members of the Armed Forces and Military organizations. "Going Home" is a depiction of a C-130E Hercules military airlift cargo plane during a medical evacuation mission. Going Home shows an injured military member being aero medical evacuated out of the war zone.

P-47D Thunderbolt "Thunderbolt"

P-47D Thunderbolt "Thunderbolt" Art by Willie Jones. This image is copyrighted and is the property of Willie Jones Jr. and is available only to members of the Armed Forces and Military organizations. Col Gabreski was an outstanding leader and fighter ace. He destroyed 31 German aircraft (28 aerial and three ground victories) during World War II and shot down 6.5 MiG-15 kills during the Korean Conflict. He was one of a few American pilots to become an ace in two wars. Col Gabreski (then Lt Gabreski) was stationed at Wheeler Army Air Field, Hawaii during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Wheeler was hit preventing any aircraft from getting airborne. After the airfield was cleared, he took off in search of the enemy in an obsolete P-36. His search was fruitless. He found no enemy aircraft to pursue. Col Gabreski would get his chance to pursue a different enemy, the Germans. He was reassigned to polish unit flying spitfires where he flew 20 combat missions but scored no victories. After a few weeks in the Polish squadron, Gabreski was transferred to the Army Air Force 56TH Fighter Group. It is with this group that Col Gabreski became famous. He scored 31 victories during his European tour of duty with this group. After finishing his tour of duty, Col Gabreski was scheduled to transfer back to the US. He got wind of a mission for the next day and convinced his commander to let him fly one more mission. Col Gabreski took off with his squadron to attack a German airfield. After reaching the target area, he aligned himself with aircraft parked in the open. He dived to get low and fast to avoid the anti-aircraft fire. As he zoomed past the airfield, his propeller struck a rise in the ground at the end of the runway that forced him down. He bellied in unharmed. Col Gabreski evaded for several days but was eventually capture and sent to Stalag Luft 1 where he spent eight months until the war end. Col Gabreski became the eighth jet ace of the Korean Conflict while commanding 4TH and 51ST Fighter Interceptor Wings. He shot down 6.5 MiG-15s. Col Gabreski eventually accumulated over 5000 flying hours, with 4000 hours in jets. Col Francis S. Gabreski was the United States highest scoring living ace with 34.5 total air kills until his death 29 January 2002 at the age of 82.

F-117A Nighthawk "Bombs Over Baghdad"

F-117A Nighthawk "Bombs Over Baghdad" Art by Willie Jones. This image is copyrighted and is the property of Willie Jones Jr. and is available only to members of the Armed Forces and Military organizations. The F-117A Nighthawk was the world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable stealth technology. The unique design of the single-seat F-117A provided exceptional combat capabilities. About the size of an F-15 Eagle, the twin-engine aircraft is powered by two General Electric F404 turbofan engines and has quadruple redundant fly-by-wire flight controls. Air refuelable, it supported worldwide commitments and added to the deterrent strength of the U.S. military forces. The Air Force retired the F-117 on 22 April 2008, primarily due to the acquisition and eventual deployment of the more effective F-22.

C-21 Learjet

C-21 Learjet. Art by Willie Jones. This image is copyrighted and is the property of Willie Jones Jr. and is available only to members of the Armed Forces and Military organizations. The C-21 Learjet is a VIP transport jet.

B-17G Flying Fortress "2nd Patches"

B-17G Flying Fortress "2nd Patches" Art by Willie Jones. This image is copyrighted and is the property of Willie Jones Jr. and is available only to members of the Armed Forces and Military organizations. 2nd Patches was a 15th Air Force B-17 Flying Fortress assigned to 346th Bomb Squadron, 99th Bomb Group during World War II. On 31st March 1944 B-17F “Patches” of the 346th BS/99th BG effectively and B-17G 42-38201 of the 815th BS/483rd BG switched places. The B-17G became “2nd Patches”. 2nd Patches had been it’s share of rough times during it’s combat career as aircraft had replacement wing panels, fin and crew access door. It carried over 20 mission symbols and wore 99th BG late war markings with the addition of a shark-toothed chin turret. The black diamond Y represents the 99th Bomb Group and the ‘I’ the 346th Bomber Squadron. “2nd Patches” crashed on take off on the 24th August 1944 and was salvaged to keep other B-17s flying, whilst the original ‘Patches’ only survived until 31st March 1944. The B-17 had one of the heaviest bomb loads of the USAAF bombers of World War II. It could carry 6000 pounds of bombs over 2000 miles. B-17s dropped over 640,000 tons of bombs on Germany.