A.A.F. CLOTH MAP ASIATIC SERIES: No. 32 & No. 33. NO. 32 FRENCH INDO CHINA & NO.

Washington D.C. 1943-44, U. S. Army Map Service. Silk map, folds circa 10.3 x 7 cm.,opens to ca. 51 x 65 cm.,very good, clean, excellent copy,2 color maps,2 sides, glossary,legend, magnetic compass & current flows. FIRST EDITION FIRST ISSUE . *** **** *** . . ISSUED BY U.S. A.A.F. [ARMY AIR FORCE] . . "A.V.G." [AMERICAN VOLUNTEER GROUP"] & "FLYING TIGERS" . . & THE FOURTEENTH AIR FORCE IN CHINA & BURMA ["CBI"] . . *** . . AN ORIGINAL WORLD WAR2 SURVIVAL & EVASION MAP . . FOR "I.E." & "FLYING TIGER" PILOTS FIGHTING JAPAN . . A SUPERB MAP OF SOUTHERN CHINA FROM KUNMING TO GUANGZOU, . . . GUANGXI, NANNING, LIUZHOU, GUILIN, FROM CHONGQIN, . . FRENCH INDO-CHINA, HANOI . . FROM NORTH VIETNAM SOUTH & DOWN TO SAIGON . . INCLUDING THAILAND, CAMBODIA & LAOS . *** This excellent and detailed cloth map was used by the "A.V.G." ["AMERICAN VOLUNTEER GROUP"] known as the "FLYING TIGERS" in the "I.E." ["CHINA-BURMA-INDIA"] theater throughout World War 2 in China, Burma & Indo China. . This "E & E" ["Escape & Evasion"] cloth map was carried by pilots & air crew on combat missions and attacks on Japanese assets. This map was valuable to downed pilots and crew, behind hostile and enemy lines. . It was first carried by the "A.V.G." fighter pilots in early 1942 when they first attacked the Japanese Air Force over Burma: air combat over Rangoon, Touongoo and Southwest China, Kunming, Chiang Mai [Thailand], Hanoi and the strike against Japanese air planes parked at Noi Bai airfield. . *** The famous "Battle of Toungoo," [Burma] March 19-March 29, 1942 was one of the key battles in the Battle of Yunnan-Burma Road in the Burma Campaign of World War II and Second Sino-Japanese War. The failure to hold the city of Toungoo opened up the route for the Japanese to make their lunge to Lashio around the allied flank and into the Chinese rear. The "A.V.G." fighter pilots performed brilliantly, downing a substantial number of Japanese planes, with minor losses to themselves. . *** This map and others like it for the adjacent areas were commonly worn on fighter pilot's neck, or put in the pocket of the flight jacket, survival vest or in the flight suit pant leg pocket. . *** MAP NO. FRENCH INDO CHINA: A.A.F. [Army Air Force issue]. A pair of maps, one on each side in color. Shows most of old Vietnam, from just above 19 degrees north down to just below 9 degrees South and from 101 degrees at the West to 110 degrees to the West, about half of Hainan Island, the whole coast line from North to South, down to Nga Ba Hoc Nang, including Poulo Condore, Saigon, Nha Trang, Tourane, part of Thailand the West, Cambodia and Laos [Vientiane]. . * MAP NO. 33, CENTRAL CHINA: Shows: Ch'ung Ch'ching [Chungqing] down to Yunnan province and Kunming. Guangxi province: Guilin, Liuzhou, Nanning and points south to French Indo China. . Hanoi, Kwangchow and the South China Sea, with the North tip of Hainan Island, the Gulf of Tonkin and the border between China & North Vietnam. . This area was all part of the basic combat region for the "A.V.G." & "FLYING TIGERS" later for the FOURTEENTH AIR FORCE. The Americans prosecuted the war against Japanese forces throughout this area. . * With ocean currents noted for survival back to land. The map also has other important information for downed pilots, such as an Annual Magnetic Change compass, miles & kilometer scale, nautical miles [1:1,000, 000], altitudes of land mass, legend & key to symbols, roads, towns, cities, rivers, mountains and an index to international boundaries. . * This map was part of the U.S. Army Air Force & Naval flyers "E & E" [Escape and Evasion] survival kit, printed on thick silk parachute or other indelible cloth. Each air crew member carried among other survival supplies, a .38 caliber pistol, survival knife, a signal mirror [stainless steel or glass], compass and some survival food rations, fishing kit, water purification tablets, along with minor medical supplies; the whole kit was tucked into flight suit pocket, survival vest, or flyers sheepskin jacket or trouser pockets. . * The majority of these perishable maps have been lost during WW2 and very few survived. This map was a fliers "Last Hope" to get back to friendly forces once they parachuted our of their plane or after an unexpected landing behind Japanese lines. . *** Color photos are posted to our website. . *** REFERENCE: . BALDWIN, R.E. et al.:LAST HOPE THE BLOOD CHIT STORY. * DOLL, John G.: CLOTH MAPS, CHARTS AND BLOOD CHITS OF WORLD WAR 2. * wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Toungoo . * .