WWII Silk Maps, and Cloth Escape Maps..

This website recounts the histories of British silk maps and US cloth maps prepared for the Army Air Forces and Navy, as well as the two US organizations that prepared the escape maps, the Army Map Service and the Aeronautical Chart Service. Also, included is the history of the oil cloth charts used by the US Navy on life rafts for survival purposes. The site contains many photos of these silk and cloth maps, along with some escape maps produced during WWII by the Survey of India and the RAAF. A few photos of tissue paper escape maps are also included.

WWII Silk Maps and Cloth Maps Escape Maps

 

Pretty interesting stuff. I laughed at this line:

"To maintain secrecy, Hutton states that he referred to paper maps as "pork sausages" when submitting his invoices to the Treasury for reimbursement."

 

hence the phrase "telling porkies" only kidding...LOL

 

I have the northern France Bartolomew model type (called "c" on the website) in my collection. It's an early model printed on white silk in black with road sin red and borders in kaki

 

I've always been interested by silk escape maps. Thanks for the link.

 

My father has my grandpa's clothe maps from the Pacific.The torpedo bomber pilots gave them to him at the end of the war.

 

I have found amongst my mothers effects a WW2 POW Escape Map which I believe is a WW2 British Cloth Escape Map (Batholomew) 2b/9ca. It was given to him by a polish Airman when my father was a prisoner of war in Chemnity near Dresden 1944/45. Does anyone know if it holds any value?

 

A few dozen euros. What's the story that goes with it