Mississippi’s First National Guard Aviation Squadron Prepares for World War II, 153rd Observation Squadron Photograph Archive Showing Biplanes and Aerial Gunnery Training, circa 1940

Mississippi’s Squadron

Photograph

Air Corps large photograph album documenting the 153rd Observation Squadron of the Mississippi National Guard during the expansion of American military aviation before United States entry into World War II. Organized at Meridian’s Key Field in 1939, the squadron conducted aerial-gunnery training at Gulfport in July 1940 and entered federal service that October. As war spread across Europe, the Army adopted a program to expand its air combat forces to 54 groups. The album records a newly organized aviation unit preparing for service during this mobilization.

Photo album containing over 50 silver gelatin photographs, each 5 x 4 inches, mounted on black leaves with corner mounts. An aerial view shows a line of biplanes and a tent camp beside a hangar marked “Gulfport.” Ground views depict likely Douglas O-38 observation aircraft bearing National Guard markings, with mechanics servicing an engine and working on detached components. Airmen pose at an aircraft-mounted machine gun while ground personnel assemble ammunition belts and examine a fabric target marked “Tow Target / Type A-5.” Other photographs show radio operators in a field tent, servicemen laying out equipment for inspection, and uniformed personnel assembled beside a Southern Railway train. An ambulance is marked “153-Obsn. Sqdn. / Miss. N. G.” The front bears a U.S. Army Air Corps credit sticker naming the 153rd Observation Squadron.

The album documents the mobilization of Mississippi National Guardsmen from a recently organized state aviation unit into the federal forces preparing for World War II. Its biplanes and aerial-gunnery exercises record the equipment and training methods used as the Army expanded its air arm for a war increasingly shaped by aircraft. Views of mechanics, radio operators, and ground crews show the skilled labor and coordination required to sustain flight operations, while the temporary camp and mess lines document the daily lives of the men who served. Some photographs show surface wear and loss, including substantial loss to the image of the aircraft lineup.

Item #24088

Price: $450.00