SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
Article about: Another USAAF map (apoligies for the blurry photo) and a very unusual map!! I recently purchased the 'Sheet E' map, the seller stating that he got it from an elderly neighbour who use to wor
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
Next groupings of the escape maps (the 'tissue' maps are not shown nor is the unissued singles sided 43 series E map - Zones of France in the next post). They are grouped as:
South East Asia Theatre 44 Series
South East Asia Theatre
Europe 43 Series
Europe 'Black and white'
Medditerranean / North Africa
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
Zones Of France - The one issued to paratroopers. I have two, one made of silk the other feels like a very fine cotton or linen. They show an identical printed map (see the block of lines above the 'Ligurian Sea'), however the cotton / linen map is marked '139 (WEA) MAR 44' and the silk one '1.S.9 (WEA) MAR 44'.
The silk map also shows a printing error where it has been creased when printed (see the areas of white in the Ligurian Sea).
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
Next is the rare alloy hilted fighting knife which came with the cotton/linen Zones of France map. It is shown alongside a 3rd Pattern FS knife (which belonged to a para who fought at Arnhem) for comparison.
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
And finally the compasses so far! (not shown is the razor blade compass)
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
Part of any good escape kit was money, shown below is an example of some of currency issued (although a couple of the notes are occupation money). Some escape kits, especially American, had pieces of gold or gold coins in them. Funnily enough these are quite rare!
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
Strictly speaking not an escape aid, but very handy if you found yourself alone in a foreign country. These booklets were issued to servicemen on the run up to D-Day and show pictures of a variety of every day objects that you could point at (rather than speaking very slooowly and VERY LOUDLY in English!)
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
Another map I picked up! It shows Norway and is sheet A/B from the FGS series of maps.
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
these are amazing pieces thanks for sharing
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
An American 'blood chit' card for Russia. Slightly bigger than a credit card its use is exactly the same as the silk/fabric blood chits. I believe that these were issued mainly for bomber crews who faced the possibility of landing in Russia (or Russian occupied countries towards the end of the war) if their aeroplane was damaged over Germany and they were unable to return home. Also issued for aircrew involved in Operation FRANTIC
Operation Frantic - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
It is shown alongside the British blood chit and Escape map Sheet G of the 43 series
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Re: SOE pencil dagger, silk escape maps and escape compasses
A cloth survival chart for the navigation of rubber rafts. Printed on Rayon and for the South East Asia Theatre of war it details how to sail and navigate a life raft should you be unlucky enough to ditch into the ocean (there is a lot ocean over there!). It is shown with AAF Eastern Asia series map showing Nemuro.
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