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An original 3.5x2.5" vintage photo from a collection of photos brought home from WWII by a member of the 313th Bomb Wing, 20th Airforce mostly involved with B-29 superfortress bombing. We acquired this from a national sale house. This photo is from his time at Tinian, in and around the airfields where the atomic attacks on Japan were launched from. This is an extremely rare - and perhaps one of a kind - photo. Professionally packaged in a rigid mailer for safe delivery.
Photo Overview
Four United States Army Air Forces ground crewmen stride down a coral-dust road on Tinian’s North Field in the summer of 1945, relaxed between bombing missions. Two shirtless airmen in fatigues flank two comrades wearing khaki HBT uniforms and field caps; tent tops of the 313th Bomb Wing and neatly stacked coral revetment blocks for B-29 Superfortresses line the horizon under an open Pacific sky.
From this very strip the 20th Air Force launched incendiary raids on Japan and, weeks later, the atomic missions that ended the war. Informal snapshots like this were usually forofferden, making surviving images extraordinarily scarce; owning it puts you on the ground with the men who maintained the largest bomber force of World War II—don’t let this tangible piece of history march past you.
Print analysis: Glossy snapshot on period wartime photo paper with white border and mounting paper remnants on reverse; no later processing marks. Consistent silvering and edge wear indicate a Type 1 original print produced in-theater in 1945.
Condition: In fair to good vintage condition. Reverse sides of photos may contain remnants of glue, etc from having been part of an album. Please see scans of the image we have provided for the most accurate and complete state of the photo.
