Verenigde Staten van Amerika - unique!! WW2 USAAF Japan mainland / China Sea SILK Pilot Evasion / escape map - Pacific - double sided! - 1945

This rare and fascinating silk escape map from the Second World War shows detailed information on Japan and surroundings. This rare silk escape and evasion map was made in April 1945 by the Army Map Service of the U.S. army. IT is marked “SF” which indicates it was printed at Sweeney Lithograph Company of Bellevile, NJ. It was created for the U.S. Army Air Force and features the Southwest Pacific Area. Silk maps were originally developed during World War II to help British soldiers escape enemy territory or POW camps, and continued to be produced after the War ended in both Great Britain and the U.S. These silk maps were developed for MI9 by Charles Clayton Hutton to help British troops find their way back to their regiments if their planes were shot down in hostile territory or if they were captured in POW camps. Hutton had to find a material that was water-resistant, crease-resistant, and could be easily hidden and noiselessly manipulated. After extensive testing, Hutton found the perfect material: silk. Printed on silk, Hutton’s maps could be folded and hidden in boot heels, jacket linings, or even-most ingeniously-Monopoly game boards, and go completely undetected. This map features China, Japan, and Vietnam on one side and China, Japan, and the Philippines on the other. The tightly woven silk allows for clear prints, and two easily read sides.

Evasion charts or escape maps are maps made for servicemembers, and intended to be used when caught behind enemy lines to assist in performing escape and evasion. Such documents were secreted to prisoners of war by various means to aid in escape attempts. During World War II, these clandestine maps were used by many American, British, and allied servicemen to escape from behind enemy lines. Special material was used for this purpose, due to the need for a material that would be hardier than paper, and would not tear or dissolve in water.[1]

Clearly issued map, nicely used!


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