Spring Military Aviation and Militaria Auction
Lot 99:
Description
A collection of original black and white photographs documenting the service history of a United States Army Air Forces pilot during World War II. The archive chronicles the progression from advanced flight training in Texas to active service in the European Theater of Operations. Key documentation includes a panoramic group photograph of the 7th Fighter Squadron, 2nd Training Group, Class 43-J, dated November 3, 1943, at Foster Field, Texas. Aviation content features the North American AT-6 Texan advanced trainer at Victoria, Texas, the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt with fuselage markings AD0, and the Bell P-39 Airacobra with fuselage number 29. Personnel imagery includes a high quality portrait of a pilot wearing a shearling lined flight jacket, flight helmet, and headset, along with various candid group shots of airmen in theater settings. The European Theater section contains images of combat aftermath, including wreckage of Luftwaffe aircraft with visible swastika markings on the vertical stabilizers, bombed out industrial and residential buildings, and military gravesites. Handwritten captions are present on several images, including one titled Boys returning from a good mission. The collection is mounted on original black construction paper album pages and housed in modern plastic protective sleeves.
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