USS Saratoga (Signed) (Original)

Artist: John S Smith
Medium: Gouache on Board
Size: 23" x 15" (575mm x 375mm)
Date: 1981
Signature: Signed by artist bottom right
Code: SmithJSSaratogaLL

This is the Signed unique original Gouache painting by John S Smith.

The Flying Sailors: The Floating Flat-Iron. Early aircraft carrier. (Main picture) The USS Saratoga, converted from a battle cruiser to become an aircraft carrier; inset (left) HMS Heres (top) and the Japanese Kaga (bottom); (right) silhouettes showing the conversion of HMS Furious from battle cruiser to aircraft carrier (top) and silhouette of USS Saratoga as a battle cruiser.

USS Saratoga (CV-3) was the second aircraft carrier of the United States Navy, the fifth ship to bear her name. She was commissioned one month earlier than her sister and class leader, Lexington, which is the third actually commissioned after Langley and Saratoga. As Saratoga was visually identical to Lexington, her funnel was painted with a large black vertical stripe to assist pilots in recognizing her. This identifying mark earned her the nickname 'Stripe-Stacked Sara'.

Saratoga, Enterprise, and Ranger were the only fleet aircraft carriers of the United States Navy built before the war to survive and serve throughout the U.S. involvement in World War II. The ship was finally sunk in an Atom Bomb test in 1946.

This is the original artwork from Look and Learn no. 1022 (10 October 1981).

• Artist Biography
  John Stephen Smith (1921 - 2010; UK)
  John started drawing from an early age and he went to art school just prior to World War II when he was called up and joined the Royal Navy. He served on the Cruiser HMS Niagara on the Malta and Russian convoys. After the war he continued his art studies and career.
  
  His work has been commissioned by most shipping companies and railway companies and his art has been used by many leading publishers in the UK and USA.