Arabia.

£1,000 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

The second edition of this impressive chart, issued for use by the U.S. Army Air Force during the Second World War. The first edition was published two years earlier, in April 1942. This example features manuscript notes, made by a pilot navigating the Eastern Mediterranean, Syrian Desert and Persian Gulf. The chart covers a vast geographical area: west past the Suez Canal in Egypt; north as far as the Iranian/USSR boarder on the Caspian Sea and East beyond the Iranian/Afghanistan boarder, encompassing the whole of the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf. Marked “Restricted” for the use of U.S. officers, the chart was produced “for use in day light” with the warning that due to wartime conditions “lights, radio facilities, and other aids to navigation may be changed or discontinued without notice.” Throughout the Second World War, rapid technological advancement - including the use of jet engines - meant that planes were able to travel ever-greater distances as single journeys. Alongside this, the development of radio technology began to allow pilots to fly in a wider range of weather conditions. This development was of particular relevance in the Middle East where, alongside sandstorms, US troops deployed as part of the Persian Gulf Command noted that those, “… who arrived in theatre in the summer of 1942 were welcomed by torrential rains and mud more than a foot deep.” Originally from a neutral standing, the US were assisting the allied war effort by supplying military equip

• Year: 1944

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.