GW051B. Raoul Lufbery with Lion Cubs by Thomas Gunn Miniatures

GW051B Raoul Lufbery American fighter Ace with Lion Cubs. Lufbery was born to an American father and French mother in 1885. His mother died when he was only 1 years old, his father went back to the USA leaving Lufbery in the care of his French grandparents. Lufbery ran away at aged 17 years old and enlisted in the US Army before ending up in the Foreign Legion by the time WW1 commenced. Lufbery requested a transfer to the air service and was accepted for pilot training at the end of 1914. In 1916 Lufbery transferred to the Lafayette Escadrille which had recently formed with a core of American volunteer pilots, he quickly started totting up his aerial victories and in 1917 was commissioned into the United States Air Service with the rank of Major. In May 1917 Lufbery took off to intercept a Rumpler but was seen to fall out of his aircraft between 200 to 600 feet, as he hit the ground he was impaled on metal railings which along with fall killed him immediately. It has since been claimed that Lufbery had unclipped his seatbelt to clear a blockage in his machine gun, however when his plane unexpectedly flipped over he was ejected to his death. Lufbery died with at least 17 confirmed kills and was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988. Our sculpt of Lufbery shows him with 2 Lion Cub (Whiskey & Soda) which were the unofficial mascots of the Lafayette Escadrille. Whiskey was particularly fond of Lufbery and would follow him around like a dog! Limited to 100 in number and priced at $43.50/£32 for the set.