"Objective Japan!" The Story of the Seventh Air Force from "Pearl Harbor" to the Japanese Surrender. December 7, 1941 to August 14, 1945
[California: ca. 1947]. 21pp. typescript, together with maquette illustrated with eighteen photographs. Folio. Typescript stapled, minor soiling and toning. Maquette is large folio, original pictorial printed boards. Photographs pasted in, some loose. Light chipping and wear. Overall, very good. Item #1824
A large maquette with original typescript designed as a book proposal for Will Lane's work on the activities of the Seventh Air Force during World War II. The work sought "to narrate the complete circle of events that started with the Pearl Harbor attack...and ended only with the unconditional surrender of the Japanese." Formed in October 1940 as the Hawaiian Air Force, the Seventh was stationed at Fort Shafter and charged with protecting the Hawaiian Islands. On February 5, 1942, the Hawaiian Air Force was re-equipped and officially became the Seventh Air Force in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The unit was active for four years of operations across the Pacific, including the Battle of Midway and the attacks on Iwo Jima and other Japanese-held islands. The photographs herein portray some of the unit's commanders, as well as action such as mushroom clouds, bombers, and maps. The work was clearly intended to be heavily illustrated, as evidenced by the layout of the maquette. A handsome artifact of publishing at this time, as well as evidence of the appeal of material of this sort following the war. Apparently unpublished.
Price: $1,500.00