Landmark Books in All Fields
ItemID: #117537
Cost: $9,500.00

Two World War II Pacific Maps

World war ii

"AIR FORCE, PACIFIC FLEET. DO NOT USE FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES. RESTRICTED": LARGE ORIGINAL HAND-COLORED MAP DETAILING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE USS SALAMAUA IN THE PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR II, TOGETHER WITH LARGE EIGHT-PIECE MAP OF THE PACIFIC

(WORLD WAR II) (SALISBURY, Fred R.). Two World War II Pacific Maps. No place, September, 1944 / circa 1945. One map: one sheet, measuring 28-1/4 by 21-1/2 inches, printed on recto, with hand coloring; Second map: Eight pieces, each measuring 6 by 6 inches, combining to form a map 12 by 24 inches, labeled in pencil, with a photograph of the same map without hand-labeling and a negative of the same photograph; in original U.S. Navy envelope labeled (partially by hand) "Top Secret" measuring 8-1/2 by 10-1/2 inches. $9500.

A large original map—labeled "restricted"—dated September 1944, used during the war by Lt. Commander Fred R. Salisbury to record the activities of the USS Salamaua in the Pacific theater, together with a second large original map in eight sections—labeled "TOP SECRET" on its envelope—showing the Pacific theater during World War II, with major details labeled in pencil.

The first map, from the collection of Lt. Commander Fred R. Salisbury II of the escort carrier USS Salamaua, features a map of the western Pacific Ocean from China to Hawaii and from the Kurile Islands to northern Australia. Major land masses and islands are hand-bordered in color. The printed map includes air distances between major islands in the Pacific theater. Additional colored lines show additional sea routes, likely followed by the USS Salamaua. Marginal notes indicate several missions by the USS Salamaua, including providing air support for Okinawa operations from May 13-31, 1945, and the typhoon that damaged the ship on June 5. The note "8/7-Suicide Subs" indicates the ship's anti-submarine duties from August 5-15. Task Force 94.17, of which the Salamaua was a part, cleared naval mines and destroyed at least two and perhaps three Japanese midget submarines. A blue line on the map indicates the Salamaua's route in early September into Tokyo Bay as part of an escort for the U.S. Eighth Army, which was to begin occupation duties. The second map, also from the collection of Salisbury, is in eight pieces attached to card stock, and covers the exact same area, with grid lines showing every 10 degrees of longitude and latitude, and handwritten labels identifying major bodies of water and island groups.

Between the Philippines and Guam is a small mark and the word "Indianapolis," marking the approximate location that the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis was sunk by a torpedo from a Japanese submarine. Three hundred of the 1,195 crewmen went down with the ship, which sank in twelve minutes. Of the remaining 890, only 316 survived for four days in the shark-infested water before being rescued. The sinking of the Indianapolis was the greatest single loss of life at sea, from a single ship, in the history of the U.S. Navy. USS Salamaua (1944-1947) was a Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier built in Vancouver, Washington; named Salamaua after the invasion of the village of Salamaua in New Guinea; and launched on April 22, 1944. Captain Joseph Irwin Taylor Jr. (1902-1985) commanded the ship with a crew of fifty-four officers and 518 enlisted men. Designed to carry 27 aircraft, during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf, the Salamaua carried 14 FM-2 fighters and 10 TBM-3 torpedo bombers. After two transport trips to New Guinea in the summer and fall of 1944, the ship traveled to the Admiralty Islands to prepare for the invasion of Luzon, Philippines. During the Invasion of Lingayen Gulf, a kamikaze attack on January 13, 1945, left a 16-foot by 32-foot hole in the Salamaua's flight deck and several fires burning. The starboard engine was submerged, and the ship listed 8 degrees to starboard but managed to keep up with the task group using only the port engine. After initial repairs at Leyte, the ship returned to San Francisco for further repairs, which began on March 3 and continued until late April. By May, the Salamaua was supporting land operations on Okinawa. On June 5, the ship endured a typhoon, which destroyed all aircraft bolted to the ship's flight deck and rendered the flight deck inoperative. After repairs at Guam, the Salamaua participated in anti-submarine operations through the end of the war. In late August, the ship escorted a troop convoy of the U.S. Eighth Army to Tokyo Bay, where it arrived on September 2, and the ship's planes photographed the landing of the occupation troops at Yokohama during the formal Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri. For the next several months, the ship completed three "Magic Carpet" trips to return veterans to the United States. Decommissioned in May 1946, the ship was broken up in 1947. For its service, the USS Salamaua received three battle stars. Fred R. Salisbury II (1914-1990) was born in Minnesota and named for his grandfather. He worked in his father's business, the Salisbury & Satterlee Company of Minneapolis that manufactured furniture and mattresses. During World War II, he enlisted the U.S. Navy in February 1942 and served as lieutenant-commander of the USS Salamaua (CVE-96), a Casablanca-class escort aircraft carrier. Salisbury was released to inactive duty in March 1946. After the war, he served as secretary and then vice president of Salisbury & Satterlee Co.

First map with expected folds; a few shallow closed tears along edges, a few very faint stains. The second map with tape on edges of map sections; some stains and soiling.A fascinating pair of original World War II maps.

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