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a red book with gold writing on it sitting on a white surfacea stack of old books sitting on a tablea small vase with a blue and white design on ita book with a picture of a man sitting on top of itan old photo of an open book with a black and white photo of a mountainan old photo of an aerial view of a city with a plane flying over itan open book with a picture of a plane in the skyan old photo of an airplane flying over a city in a bookan open book with a picture of a plane in the skyan open book with a picture of a mountain in itan old photo of an open book with a picture of an airplane flying over a cityan old photo of an open book with a picture of a plane flying over a cityan old photo of a book opened to reveal a picture of a cityan open book with a picture of a group of people in a fieldan old photo of a book with pictures of people in itan open book with pictures of people and animals on itan open book with a bunch of pictures on it on a tablean open book with a bunch of pictures on the inside of itan open book with a bunch of pictures on ita picture of a display of old photos on the wallan open book with pictures of airplanes on ita black and white photo of an old airplane on displayblack and white photograph of an old airplane with the number 3 painted on itan open book with a bunch of pictures on ita black and white photo of a group of people standing around a planea black and white photo of a room with pictures on the wallan open book with pictures of people on itan open book that has pictures of people in ita black and white photo of a man in a military uniforman old black and white photo of two pilots in the cockpit of a planeblack and white photograph of a man leaning on a planeblack and white photograph of a man sitting in an airplanean open book with pictures of people and airplanes on itan old photo of a plane and a plane flying side by sidean old photo of a plane flying over a buildinga black and white photo of a plane flying over a bunch of planesan old photo of two planes flying in the skyan open book with pictures of a mountain range in the pagesan open book with pictures of a mountain range in the pagesa book opened to show pictures of people and buildingsan open book with pictures of buildings and people in itan open book with pictures of buildings and a bridge in the backgrounda close up of a flag with a cadus on itflag of the u s army air forces, keesler field, missan old map of the united states of north america with a small house on itblack and white photograph of a man on a boat with a picture of a woman on the back of the boatan open book with a bunch of papers on top of itan old document with a picture of an air force seal on itan image of a close up of a piece of paper with an american flag on ita pile of old newspapers sitting on top of a table
Premium Maître Lydie BRIOULT

Photograph album of Technical Sergeant James W.
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
Sale commission
Description
Photograph album of Technical Sergeant James W. Meadows, 461st Bomb Group – 15th Air Force – Italy (800 original photographs) T/Sgt Meadows was posted to the 767th Bomb Squadron of the 461st Bomb Group flying the B-24 Liberator as upper turret gunner/flight engineer in the crew of Lieutenant Martin A. Rush, who undertook his operational tour from September 1944 onwards, operating from the Torretta base in southern Italy. The 461st BG was nicknamed the ‘LIBERAIDERS’ in reference to the B-24 Liberator aircraft with which it was equipped. The following link takes you to the website of the 461st Bomb Group Association, where you can find some information about this crew, including the name Meadows and a few photos identical to some appearing in his album: https://461st.org/Crews/767th%20Crews/rush.html Information obtained from the veterans’ association indicates that there is no individual record of the number of missions flown by Meadows or their dates. This album is probably one of the most impressive of its kind, given its thickness (around 10 cm) and the number of photographs it contains. The first few pages contain photographs taken during bombing missions; although the censors had required the top strip of each photograph to be cut off due to the information they contained, Meadows nevertheless kept them. The earliest of these are dated 6 September 1944 at 09:56, with the target being the railway bridge (RR BDG: Rail Road BriDGe) over the Sava (a tributary of the Danube) and the Zemun airfield just outside Belgrade. Information obtained from the 461st BG Association’s website confirms that the interpretation of the intelligence in these photographs is accurate. The in-flight photographs show a formation of B-24 Liberators breaking through a barrage of anti-aircraft fire, two aluminium-finish Liberators (nos. 34 and 25) bearing the markings of the 461st BG on their vertical stabilisers, aircraft carrying out their bombing runs, a bombing raid on Athens on 24 September 1944, the Munich marshalling yard on 4 October 1944, and a shot taken from the cockpit at very high altitude with the other B-24s around it in their contrails. The other bombing photographs depict various targets across Eastern Europe: the Romana Americano refineries near Ploiești (a formidable target, much feared by the crews) on 17 August 1944, the Linz marshalling yard in Austria on 20 January 1945, the Avisio railway bridge in Italy on 19 April 1945, the Lusia road bridge in Italy on 20 April 1945, the Badia road bridge in Italy on 23 April 1945, factories in Milan on 20 October 1944, … Among these early photographs is one showing Meadows (seated at the bottom left) with five other members of his crew, including his pilot William Rush, gathered around German bombs discovered at Lyon-Bron airfield. In the background, a Spitfire can be seen. This photograph must have been taken during a stopover on one of their missions. The photographs continue, showing the men of the 461st BG refuelling their aircraft and rolling the bombs along the ground to transport them to the foot of their planes. The subsequent photographs are smaller in size and depict the men’s daily life at their base in Torretta, Italy. A few photographs were taken in flight of the crater of Vesuvius; others were taken in flight during missions, at medal-awarding ceremonies, at the foot of the B-24s before setting off on missions, and a series of around 20 ‘nose art’ images, and views of the tents in which the American airmen were housed in both summer and winter. Views of the interior of these tents give an idea of their relatively precarious living conditions. Meadows also took a number of photographs whilst on leave on the island of Capri and its famous sights: the Blue Grotto, the statue of Augustus, and the Faraglioni rocks. Capri was a destination particularly favoured by American airmen. Another series of photographs taken in Algeria suggests that Meadows’ crew reached Italy via the South Atlantic route. The Americans are clearly intrigued by the Turkish-style toilets and public toilets in the street, as well as the signs for restaurants serving snails. Other photos taken on board a B-24 show Meadows climbing out through the hatch next to his turret, the pilots at their stations, damaged aircraft returning from missions, American WACO gliders, French Spitfires and Dauntlesses, followed by further series of photographs taken in flight during missions, showing formations crossing the snow-covered Alps, bombing runs in which B-24 Pathfinders fitted with radomes can be seen, before their return to base, where Meadows continued to take photographs along the coastline, over islands, and of villages in southern Italy. Historic sites and scenes of everyday life among Italian civilians are not overlooked. Barefoot children in the streets, washerwomen, ancient monuments and a stay in Rome punctuate the photographs taken during preparations for combat missions. Two cushion covers decorated with motifs from military hospitals and flight training schools accompany the album, along with a small handcrafted Italian jug adorned with the insignia of the 15th Air Force. Meadows was also keen to include in his album images of the barracks at the Torretta base under the snow during the winter of 1944–45, which was particularly harsh. The barracks housing his crew members bore a sign reading ‘Club 75’, presumably in reference to their favourite B-24, which bore the same number. Meadows kept in his album an escape map printed on fabric showing the Balkans and Tyrol, dated 1943, which corresponded perfectly to the areas in which the 15th Air Force operated. Another photo essay depicts a visit to Naples, where the bay and the fortifications overlooking the city are clearly recognisable. Several damaged, capsized ships can be seen in these photographs. It is likely that Meadows took these photos of Naples during a further visit to Capri, given the photographs on the following pages which show these airmen at various attractions on Capri, notably aboard boats at the entrance to the famous Blue Grotto. Meadows completed his album by adding a whole series of postcards from Italy, a brochure on Capri distributed by the American Red Cross to American soldiers, various military documents concerning him – including a summary of his training as a flight engineer upon leaving training schools – and identity photographs in civilian clothes taken from his escape kit so that he could produce false identity papers should he ever find himself in occupied territory. Traces within this album show that some of Meadows’s mementoes had been removed, starting with an invasion armband bearing the US flag (as indicated by the four visible holes to the left of this mark, the most frustrating being the double imprint of a 461st Bomb Group insignia made of locally produced Italian leather, which, over the years, had rubbed through onto the opposite page of the album; his flight engineer’s certificate is dated 17 December 1943, his gunner’s certificate dated 22 February 1944, and his discharge certificate stating that he had completed 18 combat missions as a gunner-mechanic. No other document specifies this number of missions; perhaps an accident must have cut short his tour of duty. Alongside several photographs of a B-24 that had made an emergency landing is Meadows’ 15th Air Force identity card, adorned with an American eagle, a flag and a message in several European languages, intended to help him seek assistance from the civilian population. Meadows also kept several tickets from visits to museums and tourist attractions, including the Blue Grotto on Capri. Documents and press cuttings complete this album. These include lists of flight equipment issued to him, such as a size 38 Type A-2 leather flight jacket, as well as a .45-calibre M-1911-A1 automatic pistol with a leather shoulder holster. A photo booklet of one of his training bases, before concluding with a small historical booklet devoted to the 461st Bomb Group, the cover of which is adorned with the unit’s insignia and motto; it contains a number of printed photographs of very average quality, due to the fact that it was produced and printed in Italy during the war. Finally, the album contains two typewritten texts which appear to be photo captions. One must certainly have accompanied a portrait of Meadows, as it details his military career and notes that he was awarded the Air Medal, whilst the other, which refers to German bombs, is clearly the caption accompanying the photograph in the album in which Meadows poses with members of his crew around German bombs discovered at Lyon-Bron. This album is accompanied by a book entitled ‘Music Bravely Ringing’, written by Martin A. Rush – the pilot of the very crew to which Meadows was assigned – in which he recounts his war memoirs and his experience of aerial combat in Europe. One of the photographs, showing Rush wearing sunglasses in the streets of Algiers, also features in Meadows’s album. (Grégory Pons Collection) (full photo file available on request)
See original version (French)
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About the sale Sale of the Grégory Pons collection and miscellaneous items (Aviation and WW2 Militaria)
Auction location
Auction time 11/14/2026 at 1:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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