Although the BT-13 Valiant was one of the most important basic training aircraft used by the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War, it is a relatively unknown design – particularly when compared with other trainers such as the T-6 Texan or de Havilland Tiger Moth. Designed by Vultee, it bridged the gap between primary trainers and advanced fighters, introducing thousands of cadets to more demanding handling characteristics, higher speeds, and retractable-style systems in a fixed-gear airframe. Nicknamed the “Vibrator” for its pronounced airframe shudder in certain flight regimes, the BT-13 was nonetheless rugged, forgiving, and perfectly suited to preparing future combat pilots, many of whom would go on to fly frontline aircraft in every theater of the war.

Creating this template required more time than I expected, but I wanted to take whatever time was needed to represent the “Vibrator” as faithfully as possible. This first profile is of N59961 as it appeared in 2017, which is fairly close to the configuration of wartime BT-13s.

I have created a script that allows you to identify the exact model of an American aircraft based on its USAAF serial number. I created this as a personal project, but realized it might be useful to other people so I’m making it available. The script can identify aircraft models by their serial numbers, and is valid for aircraft serials ranging from 1938 to 1945.

The book explores the stories of the men who flew the iconic North American Mustang Mk III and Mk IV in RAF and Commonwealth service over Italy and the Balkans. Illustrated with numerous period photographs and 24 high-quality colour profiles, it offers both visual inspiration and solid historical insight into the Mustang’s Mediterranean operations.

Aces & Leaders – The North American Mustang over Italy & the Balkans is available exclusively through Phil Listemann’s website, both in PDF and paperback version.

To order the book, please visit : https://www.raf-in-combat.com/downloads/aces-leaders-the-north-american-mustang-over-italy-and-the-balkans/

One of the greatest rewards of my work is having the chance to collaborate with families who wish to honor their ancestors. Even though my role is minor, I’m honored and humbled everytime I get an opportunity to create an illustration for such projects. Most of these projects are done privately, but in some cases the result is made public. Sharing such stories publicly not only keeps their memory alive but also connects their legacy to a wider audience, ensuring that their courage and sacrifice are never lost to history.

My collaboration with my friend Dimitris Vassilopoulos, whose remarkable work brings to light the stories of Greek pilots and aircrew who served in foreign air forces, especially during the Second World War, has brought many such opportunities. His remarkable research allows us to better understand and honor these men who otherwise might be forgotten. I strongly invite you to visit his website Greeks in Foreign Cockpits to discover the impressive breadth of his work. If you are interested in this topic, Dimitris has also written several books on the topic, with more in preparation.

In this instance, Dimitris asked me to create a profile of the B-24 “Cisco Kid II”, whose crew included Thomas C. Pappas.

Thomas Constantine Pappas was born on November 24, 1922, in Altoona, Pennsylvania, to Greek immigrant parents from Theodoriana in Epirus. His father, Constantine, even volunteered in the Balkan Wars before settling in the U.S., where the family embraced both their Greek roots and American life.

In 1943, Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces, training as a navigator. He mastered celestial, radio, and dead-reckoning navigation, then deployed to the Southwest Pacific, initially flying transport missions from Guadalcanal before transitioning to multi-engine bombers, including the B-24 Liberator. By early 1944, he joined the 31st Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group (Heavy), 13th Air Force, serving aboard a B-24J named Cisco Kid II. Operating from Momote Airdrome in the Admiralty Islands, he took part in bombing raids over Woleai Atoll.

Tragically, on April 20, 1944, during takeoff for another mission, Cisco Kid II suffered an engine failure and crashed. All eleven crew members, including 2nd Lieutenant Pappas, lost their lives in the ensuing explosion. The Liberator crashed near a Seabee mess hall, killing over 100 service members on the ground.

Years later, in 1974, Thomas’s mother, Angeliki, honored her son’s memory by building a small chapel dedicated to Saint Athanasios in their ancestral village of Theodoriana—an enduring tribute to his sacrifice. In August 2025, Dimitris travelled to the chapel and offered a commemorative plaque describing Thomas’ life, career and ultimate sacrifice.

Read the full story here : Thomas C. Pappas | Greeks in Foreign Cockpits

This was created as a commission for a custom gift. If you would also like a custom-made profile, feel free to contact me. The cost depends on the amount of work required but for an aircraft type that I’ve already represented the cost is typically 70€ or less, making it a great option for custom prints or gifts !

In late 2021, I created the templates for most variants of the legendary SBD Dauntless dive-bomber . The original templates showed the aircraft with closed canopies, and the twin M1919 .30 caliber machine guns were not visible as they were stored inside the fuselage in this configuration.

For a new profile representing an SBD-5 assigned to VB-5 on USS Yorktown in late 1943, I had to modify the template to represent it with all canopies opened and the gun deployed. This is the result !

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You can see the profile at 2:29, but you really should listen to the entire song !

Find out more about HBME:

• Hillbilly Moon Explosion’s website
• Hillbilly Moon Explosion on Facebook
• Hillbilly Moon Explosion’s YouTube channel

One of the first names that comes to mind in association with the Hawker Tempest is that of French ace Pierre Clostermann, and particularly his Tempest JF-E named “Le Grand Charles”. Over the years, I’ve represented this aircraft several times. The first updates were simply due to the fact that my early Tempest profiles were not nearly as good as my later work. After improving the initial profile, I decided to recreate a Tempest template from scratch to create a much better profile, and thus recreated the profile.

I’ve updated the profile again, this time for another reason. Having come across an article by renowned author Chris Thomas, I realized that the serial I had used for “Le Grand Charles” was incorrect. This latest iteration shows Le Grand Charles with the serial NV994. I also seized the opportunity to represent Clostermann’s Tempest NV724 – which replaced NV994 after it was damaged on 01 July 1945. This Tempest is the one that carries the Lorraine Cross, a symbol adopted by the Free French. Many profiles and representations of Le Grand Charles include that cross but close examination of the available photos shows that these were distinct aircraft. It is most likely that “Le Grand Charles” never sported the Croix de Lorraine, although the absence of proof is not the proof of absence.

If you’re interested in the topic, I strongly advise you to read Chris Thomas’ article on the topic. You can find it on page 26 of the February 2019 edition of Info Eduard : https://www.eduard.com/info-eduard-archive/

In every artistic endeavour, artists tend to develop a specific and often quite distinct style. Few artists are able to switch styles with ease, especially whilst keeping the same level of quality. Ron Cole is one of those artists whose style is constantly fluctuating. How does he do that, one might ask ? The simple answer to that is that he doesn’t appear to have a style of his own. He simply takes from others. He is well-known among aviation artists for “borrowing” their work, hastily modifying it and then selling it under his name, along with an “authentic fragment” of an airframe.

Of course, artists constantly copy each other. I was taught at an early age to “study and imitate the masters” if I wanted to improve. This was solid advice. When I ventured into creating aviation profiles, I intensely studied artists such as Claes Sundin or Dave Douglass, to name only a couple. I tried to understand how they achieved such results, and taught myself to do the same. At the same time, I developed my own style.

This takes work, dedication and time. This is apparently too much effort for the likes of Ron Cole, who earlier this year posted on his Facebook page Ron Cole & Cole’s Aircraft Aviation Art about “handmade two-sided acrylic relic displays” he was putting up for sale. And, lo and behold, it appeared that two of the three illustrations (a Fw 190 and a P-51 Mustang) used for these displays look remarkably like my work.

The third illustration, a Spitfire, is clearly work by Mark Styling. Perhaps Ron Cole got authorization from Mark Styling to use his work for commercial purposes. I have no way of knowing that. But I do know that he never asked to use my illustrations.

How can I be so sure this is my work ? I think the following animations will remove any possible doubt.

As you can see, Ron Cole copied my Fw 190 illustration, removed my name, made a few quick and dirty modifications and then slapped them on high-priced items. Notice that aside the “modified” sections, every single detail is identical : oil stains, paint scratches, exhaust burn, paint pattern and so forth. The only major difference is the more blurry appearance of his, which is explained by the fact he doesn’t have the original high-definition file and had to use a low-resolution copy he picked up from my site or elsewhere online.

The same goes for “his” P-51 Mustang profile, although I’m not quite sure which of my P-51 Mustang illustration he “derived it from”. I can tell it’s one of my earlier profiles as it includes some mistakes that I have since corrected. Here again, the details are identical : shapes, reflections on the fuselage, stenciling, stains, etc.

All of my work is protected by copyright laws and I’ll be looking into legal action against Ron Cole. I’m not sure whether this constitutes copyright infringement or illegal derivative work. In the meantime, all I can say is that Ron Cole is a sad example of an aviation artist as he has to resort to using other people’s work to produce anything.