Item #17449 WWII Scrapbook Archive of 70 Documents and Ephemera from the Aircraft Carrier USS WASP And An Additional WWII Scrapbook Made From Wartime Articles from Time, Life, and Parade Magazine. WWII Aircraft Carrier Archive.
WWII Scrapbook Archive of 70 Documents and Ephemera from the Aircraft Carrier USS WASP And An Additional WWII Scrapbook Made From Wartime Articles from Time, Life, and Parade Magazine
WWII Scrapbook Archive of 70 Documents and Ephemera from the Aircraft Carrier USS WASP And An Additional WWII Scrapbook Made From Wartime Articles from Time, Life, and Parade Magazine
WWII Scrapbook Archive of 70 Documents and Ephemera from the Aircraft Carrier USS WASP And An Additional WWII Scrapbook Made From Wartime Articles from Time, Life, and Parade Magazine
WWII Scrapbook Archive of 70 Documents and Ephemera from the Aircraft Carrier USS WASP And An Additional WWII Scrapbook Made From Wartime Articles from Time, Life, and Parade Magazine

WWII Scrapbook Archive of 70 Documents and Ephemera from the Aircraft Carrier USS WASP And An Additional WWII Scrapbook Made From Wartime Articles from Time, Life, and Parade Magazine

WWII Aircraft Carrier Archive

Scrapbook Album

This WWII archive consists of a large USS WASP scrapbook of about 70 original documents and 22 original photos, as well as a WWII Scrapbook consisting of more than one hundred pages of clippings from newspapers such as Time, Life, and many others. The USS WASP scrapbook measures 14" x 8.25" inches. The scrapbook begins with 2nd Lt. Ayers' appointment to the USS WASP CV-18, an aircraft carrier that was very active in the Pacific Theater in the last two years of World War II. Also includes 22 Silver gelatin photos, black and white, the loose photos are predominately 10" x 8.5", a few are smaller. The USS WASP laid claim to destroying 114 ships, 224 Japanese planes, and attacking a number of islands. Inside the scrapbook is a commendation from December 1944 to 2nd Lt. Ayers from his Commanding Officer, for his "exceptional courage and tenacity of purpose...in the face of falling bombs and strafing." At times, the WASP was under almost continuous attack by shore-based aircraft, and experienced several close kamikaze attacks.

The scapbook has an archive of about 70 individual military documents inside include: Plans-Of-The-Day, maps, rosters, and official mimeograph and typed memos with handwritten signatures. Several issues of the Waspirit, the ship's on board mimeograph paper and editions of the Daily Press, bringing news from the fronts to the WASP's sailors in the middle of the South Pacific. Also included is an 11 page mimeographed document on the capacity of the Japanese Air Force, with nicknames given to the enemy aircraft. The pamphlet proclaims: "The Jap's had based their hopes for a quick victory on surprise, American commitments in the Atlantic theater, and and astonishingly good airforce... However, time proved that several of these advantages had been achieved at a cost, namely inferior fire power, absence of armor and leak-proof gas tanks." Eventually the WASP was hit by a 500-pound armor-piercing bomb. The bomb penetrated the flight deck and the armor-plated hangar deck, and exploded in the crew's galley, killing around 102 crewmen. Inside is a booklet from the Mass service dedicated to the crewmembers lost in the attack. A number of other ephemera included: newspaper clippings, cards, coupons, tickets, etc. The 22 Photos are primarily larger group shots of the soldiers, though there are also ones of just officers and a couple of just 2nd Lieutenant Ayers alone. Also comes with an invitation to the graduation ceremony for Ayers' class, the Sixteenth Aviation Specialists. This scrapbook is a highly detailed record from a commissioned officer on one of the most important vessels in the Pacific Theatre of WWII. The WASP was the 9th Navy ship to bear the name, after the USS WASP CV-7 was sunk by Japanese torpedoes outside of Guadalcanal in 1942. The WASP CV-18 was engaged in the following pivotal operations in the Pacific: Marianas, Western Caroline Islands, the liberation of the Philippine Islands, and Iwo Jima. It had regular skirmishes with Japanese air forces, and one photo depicts the crew on deck in front a mural tallying "Aircraft Shot Down", "Ships Sunk", and "Islands Attacked." By 1945, The USS WASP would return to the US for repairs, before heading back to the South Pacific where it would have limited engagements with the Japanese before the end of the war. Some items loose within scrapbook but overall in very good condition.

Item #17449

Price: $2,900.00

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