The 942nd Engineer Aviation Topographical Battalion: April 4, 1944 - May 8, 1945
Belgium? The 942nd Engineer Aviation Topographical Battalion, 1944. Presumed First Edition, First printing [The unit at the end had 30 Officers and 550 men--edition likely did not exceed 750 to 1000 copies]. Wraps. Format is approximately 7.875 inches by 10.25 inches. Unpaginated (68 pages). RARE, not found in Dornbusch!!! Illustrated front cover. Illustrations. Maps. Cover has some wear and soiling. This is largely a pictorial work, with many head shots of individual members of the Battalion. In addition, includes some photographs of Belgium, High Wycombe, Battalion activities. When the Battalion was activated in was located at Kew Gardens, Surrey (within the limits of greater London). On April 17th, 1944 the Battalion arrived at its permanent quarters which were located at AAF Station 101, Eighth Air Force Headquarters, High Wycombe. Upon arrival, the Battalion was immediately engaged in much preparatory work for the invasion (D-Day). With the advent of "Bombing through the clouds" the Battalion was called upon to originate and develop a map for radar navigational purposes. This map was used to guide the bombers to the target even though clouds obscured the check points. The Rhine River and Siegfried Line defenses were photo-mapped and a 1:5000 scale mosaic of Berlin, one of the largest mosaics ever attempted in the theater, was successful completed. Important 'Dropping Zone" maps for airborne landings were made. One of the several jobs that were produced for 'outside the Theater" planning agencies was a series of special maps of power facilities of Japan. This particular project involved the use of as many as 157 different color patterns. In January 1945 the Battalion was reorganized and became an integral part of the 325th Reproduction and Interpretation Center at Virton, Belgium. More