Original Item: Only One Available. This is a vintage, original, never-issued WWII Army Air Force silk Airman's 2-sided color "escape" chart map which is dated April, 1944. The war in the Pacific still had almost 18 months to go before Japan surrendered unconditionally.

It is two sided and measures 26 inches high by 20 inches wide.

Both sides read AAF CLOTH CHART - PHILIPPINE SERIES at the top center. Side 1 is titled: NO. C-40, LUZON ISLAND. Side 2 is titled: NO. 34, SOUTHEAST CHINA.

The chart was produced by the Army Map Service U.S. Army Washington D.C.

At the time this chart was produced our understanding of the jet stream was rudimentary. High altitude wind currents are shown though not in as much detail as a modern chart/map. Our B-17 and B-25 pilots and crews learned that there were some very strong air currents aloft when their aircraft's times to targets took much longer than anticipated and the return trips went faster. This chart/map reflects the limited knowledge of the time but was a tremendous help to the pilots and crews nonetheless.

This map is in exceptional condition; rich in color and detail and became very important in the beginning of 1945. The Battle of Luzon, fought 9 January - 15 August 1945, was a land battle of the Pacific Theater of Operations of World War II by the Allied forces of the U.S., its colony the Philippines, and allies against forces of the Empire of Japan. The battle resulted in a U.S. and Filipino victory. The Allies had taken control of all strategically and economically important locations of Luzon by March 1945, although pockets of Japanese resistance held out in the mountains until the unconditional surrender of Japan. While not the highest in U.S. casualties, it is the highest net casualty battle U.S. forces fought in World War II, with 192,000 to 205,000 Japanese combatants dead (mostly from starvation and disease), 10,000 American combatants killed, and between 120,000 to 140,000 Filipino civilians and combatants killed.