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an old book with a picture of a marine on itthree old photos of a man and a woman in baseball uniformsan old black and white photo of a group of people standing in a fieldan old black and white photo of a man standing in front of a palm treean old black and white photo of a field with trees in the backgroundan old black and white photo of a group of people in military uniformsseveral black and white photographs of a plane in a fieldan old black and white photo of a bunch of airplanes in a fielda black and white photo of a plane flying in the skyan old black and white photo of a group of people and a dogan old black and white photo of a group of people in military uniformsan old photo of a book with pictures of airplanes flying over watera black and white photo of an airplane flying over the oceanan old black and white photo of a group of men in military uniformsseveral old black and white photos of a man and a woman standing in front of a planean old black and white photo of a group of people in a fieldan old black and white photo of a group of people posing for a picturean old photo of a book with pictures of a plane in itan old black and white photo of a group of people on a boatan old photo of a man with a machine gunan old black and white photo of a group of men posing for a picturean old black and white photo of a group of men in military uniformsan old black and white photo of a group of men posing for a picturetwo old black and white photos of a man and a woman in front of a planean old black and white photo of a book with pictures of a landscapean old black and white photo of a book with pictures of people in itseveral black and white photos of people in a boat in the wateran old photo of a man on a motorcycle and a planean old black and white photo of a group of men standing in front of a boatan old photo of a man standing in front of an airplanean old black and white photo of three men standing in front of a tentseveral old black and white photos of a man and a woman and a horseseveral old black and white photos of men standing in front of an airplaneblack and white photo of a group of pilots posing in front of an airplaneseveral old black and white photos of men standing in front of an airplanean old black and white photo of a group of men sitting on a benchan old black and white photo of a man standing in front of a planean old photo of an airplane being flown in the skya black and white photo of an old photo of a man standing next to an airplanean old black and white photo of a group of men standing in front of a planean old black and white photo of a group of men in military uniformsan old black and white photo of a man and a woman in the woodsseveral old black and white photos of a man and a woman in bathing suitsfour black and white photographs of men standing in front of a palm treean old black and white photo of a group of people in a fieldblack and white photograph of a plane that has fallen down in a fieldan old black and white photo of a group of people on a beachfour black and white photos of a man sitting on a motorcyclean old black and white photo of a group of men standing next to each otheran old black and white photo of a man standing next to a pile of logs
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Anonymous photo album, VMTB-131 – US MARINE CORPS – South Pa…
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Estimate €300 - €500
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Description
Anonymous photo album, VMTB-131 – US MARINE CORPS – South Pacific, Solomon Islands (241 original photographs) The caption “Joe Mc-Gee my radio-gunner” on one of the photographs should make it possible to identify the album’s owner, who was therefore the pilot of the crew. This album therefore likely belonged to a pilot of a TBF Avenger torpedo bomber in Squadron VMTB-131. This unit was based in the South Pacific during the Solomon Islands campaign. Trained in the United States at San Diego on the SB2U Vindicator dive bomber (some photographs appear towards the end of the album), this squadron was the Marine Corps’ first torpedo bomber unit. It took delivery of TBF Avengers from September 1942 onwards and arrived in Guadalcanal in November 1942, where it was based at Henderson Field, which would come to symbolise American resistance to the Japanese naval air forces. The TBF Avengers notably bear early-style roundels typical of the period May 1942–June 1943, which confirms the early date of these photographs. This photo album is an exceptionally rare document, given the extreme conditions faced by Marine aviators during the Battle of Guadalcanal, which brought theadvance of Japanese forces and the start of the counter-offensive throughout the Solomon Islands campaign. The early timing of these events, the ferocity of the fighting and the harsh living conditions mean that taking and preserving these photographs was a remarkable feat. Most of the photographs are captioned, though there are a few missing (which is quite common in albums of this sort). The photographs show the daily lives of the airmen in this squadron as they interacted with the local population, including an airman brandishing flags seized from the enemy as trophies. Between operational deployments, VMTB-131 was based away from Guadalcanal in the New Hebrides on the island of Espiritu Santo. Various photographs of Henderson Field show the runway, bomb trolleys and their payloads stored in the open air, airmen in flight suits preparing to set off on missions, TBF Avengers in flight, the unit’s mess hall ablaze, and aerial views of Henderson Field. One photograph shows one of the squadron’s airmen, Willie ‘Chopper’ Lares, who was shot down during the Bougainville campaign. Of the 12 airmen aboard the four TBF Avengers that were shot down, he was one of only three survivors to be recovered. A series of photographs shows the base flooded due to tropical storms, with the squadron’s men using auxiliary fuel tanks and lifeboats as vessels to get around. A pilot posing on the wing of his Avenger is probably the owner of this album, as these two photographs are not captioned. A whole series of photographs shows SB2U Vindicators with roundels dating from before May 1942, when the unit was based in the United States and operated as a dive-bombing squadron before switching to the TBF Avenger torpedo bomber. Other, later photographs show Corsairs, Wildcats and Avengers at an American base, presumably when VMTB-131 returned to the United States after its tour of duty. The photo captions then stop, and a series of very high-quality photographs shows men in flight uniforms posing around the entrance to a shelter made of sandbags, presumably on Bougainville or Espiritu Santo. Among the photographs that follow are new shots taken at Henderson Field, or at Cape Torokina on the island of Bougainville, as well as the wreckage of a PB4Y-1 Liberator (the naval version of the B-24) and PBY Catalinas used for sea rescue. An album covering a period for which previously unpublished photographic material remains particularly scarce. The cover is detached from the album. (Grégory Pons Collection) (complete photo file available on request)
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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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