Welcome Back!--two WWII U.S. Air Force figures
$95.00
Future Release
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Item Number: AF050
"Welcome Back!"
On the left is Captain Clark Gable, who served in the Eight Air Force and actually flew a number of combat missions over enemy territory during the war. In this set, he's obviously on ground duties and meeting a B-17 Pilot who has just landed his bullet-riddled plane after a deadly daylight bombing mission somewhere over Germany in 1943 or '44.
“Coming In On A Wing And A Prayer”
Back in 2024, ‘Masters of the Air’, an American war / drama series was released on Apple TV. It followed the actions of the 100th Bomb Group, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber unit of the Eight Air Force based in the U.K. during WWII. Produced by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg who made ‘Band of Brothers’ and ‘The Pacific’, this aviation series was inspirational and I was truly inspired!
Among the figures we produced were the more recent USAF Ground Crew figures and now these two guys…
“COMIN’ IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER”
While the most obvious components of the U.S. Air Force in WWii were the pilots, navigators, bombardiers, engineers ,and other aircrew who flew the aircraft, there were also many hundreds of ground units and organizations to support and supply the men in the air.
These ground crews were responsible for keeping the aircraft in safe flying condition. Ground crew members made repairs to aircraft as well as handling routine maintenance such as checking landing gear, refilling fuel tanks, rearming all weaponry on board, examining the wings and fuselage of every aircraft, and making any repairs when necessary. Ground crews were highly trained in mathematics, mechanics and all kinds of machine shop skills. Their job was deceptively simple: “Keep ‘em flying!”
At the end of WWII, the U.S. Army Air Force possessed almost 64,000 aircraft of all types and sizes including 14,000 heavy bombers such as the B17 ‘Flying Fortress’, the B24 ‘Liberator’, and the mighty B29 ‘Super Fortress’. Other medium bombers included the B25 ‘Mitchell’, the B26 ‘Marauder’, and the A26 ‘Invader’. Add to that over 17,000 fighter aircraft of all descriptions operation out of 1,895 air bases spanning the world and you have a huge multi-faceted force of over 2,000,000 men and some women, the majority of whom never left the ground!
These latest figures are a welcome addition to our long-running series of U.S. Army Air Force pilots and aircraft and will look particularly at home on any collector’s airfield display or diorama… Check ‘em out!
*” Comin’ In On A Wing And A Prayer”
The expression became popular during WWII, when it was widely used to describe doing something under extremely difficult or dangerous circumstances and hoping that by sheer luck, determination, and maybe divine intervention it will be successful.
It was particularly associated with Allied airmen flying back to their bases in damaged aircraft hoping and praying that they are all going to make it in one piece!
The phrase also inspired a very popular WWII song of the same name written in 1943 by Harold Adamson and Jimmy McHugh.
One of the best versions was recorded by a black vocal group called The Four Vagabonds. My own personal favourite version is by Ry Cooder on his 1972 album ‘Boomer’s Story’.
Due to be released in OCTOBER 2025.
