WWII 4th Fighter Escape Map A/C & D w/ Letters Named I.O Grouping RAF MI9 USAAF For Sale

This is an unbroken, named historical archive belonging directly to Captain Charles Edward Ashcraft III (O-909858). Capt. Ashcraft served as a vital Intelligence Officer (MOS 9300) and Station Adjutant (MOS 2110) for the legendary 4th Fighter Group, 8th Air Force based at AAF Station 356 in Debden, England.

Moving between the 4th Headquarters Squadron and the elite 334th Fighter Squadron (the highest-scoring fighter squadron in the group), Captain Ashcraft was the operational and administrative backbone of the base command. He was tasked with safeguarding top-secret escape maps, managing localized tactical flight charts, issuing coordinates during high-stakes pre-flight briefings, and documenting mission outcomes. He is famously noted in historical combat records for giving final flight parameters to elite aces like 1st Lt. Ralph "Kidd" Hofer right before crucial operations.

This archive represents the exact tools, top-secret intelligence gear, and personal effects he kept by his side at Debden Airfield. Won as a single lot at a prominent Massachusetts estate sale.

1. Top-Secret WWII Tissue Mulberry Paper Escape Map (Sheet D) (very thin front side is visible on the reverse)

• Tactical Coverage: Southern & Western France, the rugged Massif Central, and the critical Alpine borders. Highly detailed regional coverage includes Haute-Savoie (the Franco-Swiss border corridor near Annemasse), Haute-Vienne (the French Resistance hub near Limoges), Haute-Loire/Ardèche, and the strategic Atlantic coastline highlighting Île d'Oléron and Île de Ré.

• The Mission: This was the definitive escape chart used by airmen attempting to slip past enemy lines into neutral Switzerland or down toward the Pyrenees. Printed on ultra-lightweight, completely silent fibrous mulberry paper designed to be hidden easily and unfolded soundlessly in pitch darkness.

• Dimensions: ~20" × 13 7/8"

• Condition: Excellent. Very thin but fully intact with clean fold lines and the prominent red "D" sheet designation clearly visible. Map is on translucent mulberry a much more rare variant than silk or cloth as many didn't make it to present day as they were designed for pow encampments.

2. WWII British MI9 Tissue Escape & Evasion Map – Double-Sided Sheet A/C

• The Ultimate Collector's Find: This double-sided tissue map features a highly coveted, genuine ghosted "IMPERIAL AIR MAIL" watermark pressed into the fibrous tissue edge. This is a definitive hallmark of authentic British wartime intelligence map production by papermakers Wiggins Teape using seized Japanese plant pulp for MI9.

• Coverage: Central/Eastern Europe (including Hungary, Nagykanizsa, Zalaegerszeg, and the Franco-Swiss border/Mediterranean corridors). Used during Operation Frantic (the 1944 Russia Shuttle missions).

• Features: Includes original, factory-printed dark blockouts used to redact/mask classified wartime borders. Designed to be lightweight, silent when unfolded in the dark, and easy to conceal.

• Dimensions: ~21" × 19"

• Condition: Good theater-used condition with expected creasing, light edge wear, a few tiny pinholes, and one small flap tear. Highly vibrant colors

3. Personal Linen London Pocket Map with 4th Fighter Group ID Slip

• Publisher: Geographers' Map Co. Ltd / C.S. Hammond & Co. Printed on durable linen/cloth.

• Dimensions: ~33.6" × 23" unfolded.

• The ID Goldmine: Tucked safely inside is an official, annotated small paper slip providing his exact wartime command address: "Capt. C.E. Ashcraft / O-409858 / Hq. 4th Fighter Gp. / A.P.O. # 559 c/o PM / N.Y. N.Y." (APO 559 was the wartime post office code for AAF Station 356 in Debden, England).

4. Capt. Ashcraft's Personal Stationery Printing & Desk Stamp Set

• Copper Press Plate: A solid metal printing plate featuring his name engraved in reverse: "Charles E. Ashcraft, III."

• Wooden Hand Stamp: A heavy wooden-handled desk ink stamp carved with his name: "C.E. Ashcraft." Features a Buck's Patent base mark.

• Calling Cards: Three original, finished vintage paper calling cards printed from this exact setup.

• Ink Pad Tin: An original vintage red Camel Ink-Pad tin containing dry ink residue.

5. Personal Keuffel & Esser (K&E) Mannheim Slide Rule & Initialed Case

• Model: Vintage K&E Mannheim slide rule, Made in USA. An essential calculating tool for a wartime logistics and intelligence officer.

• Leather Case: Premium stitched leather case with his initials "C.E.A." deeply pressed into the front flap. Faintly incised lower down on the leather is a line of postwar collector provenance tracking ("Samuel Wright, Georgetown").

6. Personal Photomatic Framed Portrait Photograph

• Details: A 3" x 2.5" metal-framed photo booth portrait capturing a young Charles E. Ashcraft III alongside a young woman (almost certainly his wife, Helen Madeleine DeMuth, whom he married on June 18, 1938).

• Reverse: Retains its authentic 1930s coin-operated backing card reading: "Taken by the Photomatic Trade Mark... International Mutoscope Reel Co., Inc. New York City."

• Condition: Image is in spectacular condition; expected aging/light rust on the metal frame borders.

7. Pre-WWII 27-Page Diary-Style Travelogue Letter & Envelope (1936)

• The Provenance Anchor: Written by Ashcraft under his lifelong family nickname "Bud" (signed "C.E.A. III" on page 1). Sent to his father, postmarked to the Conchas Dam project in New Mexico (a historic New Deal-era U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project).

• Contents: 27 pages total (26 sheets are densely written front-and-back, equating to 53 pages of text). Measures 11" × 8.5". A highly informal, humorous, and raw travelogue charting a cross-country road trip with his friend Bob starting on August 24, 1936, precisely logged at "6:57:29 2/5 AM." Includes custom hand-drawn socioeconomic town layout diagrams and cartoon caricatures.

• Condition: Excellent vintage condition. Features a minor rust stain/hole at the very top edge of a few sheets from an old storage clothespin, adding to its raw, unedited authenticity.

TERMS, CONDITION, & POLICY COMPLIANCE

• Historical Disclaimer: The 1936 letters contain unedited personal correspondence reflecting the unfiltered social language of the era, including period-typical derogatory terms. As historical preservationists, we provide these primary source documents fully intact for educational purposes. This material does not reflect our company values. In compliance with platform policies, sensitive language is digitally blurred in the listing photos only; the physical items remain completely original and unaltered.

• Sale Terms: This lot is sold 100% as-is, as a single, unbroken historical collection from the estate of Gerald McCue in Massachusetts. Please review all high-resolution photos carefully as they constitute part of the overall item description.

Shipped with extreme care, fully insured, and signature tracking required.