FR EN
1 / 50
a book with a drawing of a mermaid sitting on top of itseveral black and white photos of a man standing in front of a planean old black and white photo of a book with pictures of people and airplanesa picture of an old newspaper with a bunch of pictures on itmany pictures of women working in the office togethera picture of a black and white photo of a planean old picture of a plane flying over a fielda black and white photo of a collage of picturesa picture of a black and white picture of people and planesa black and white photo of a man standing in front of a planean old black and white photo of a group of men standing in front of a planea poster with a bunch of different pictures on itblack and white photo of a man standing in front of an airplaneseveral old black and white photos of men standing in front of an airplaneblack and white photo of an old airplane flying over a rural areaan old black and white photo of a group of people in front of a planea black and white photo of a man standing in front of an airplanemany pictures of old airplanes on display on a wallseveral black and white photos of men in military uniforms working on airplanesa picture of a box with a stamp on itblack and white photograph of a collage of people working in a factoryseveral black and white photos of people standing in front of an airplaneblack and white photo of a man working on a machineseveral black and white photos of a man working on a planean old black and white photo of a man sitting at a desk with a phone to his earseveral old black and white photographs of men in suits and tiesan old black and white photo of a group of people in military uniformsan old black and white photo of a book with pictures on itan old black and white photo of an airplane in the skyan old photo of a plane flying over a body of wateran old black and white photo of an airplane flying over a fieldan old black and white photo of a plane on a runwayan old photo of a picture of a mountain and a river in a binderblack and white photograph of an aerial view of a small townan old photo of a map of a citya black and white photo of an aerial view of a cityan old black and white photo of an aerial view of a cityan old black and white photo of an aerial view of a cityan old black and white photo of an airplane flying over a fielda picture of a picture of a city taken from an airplanean old black and white photo of a train traveling down a train tracka black and white photo of a collage of military scenesa black and white photo of a collage of picturesa black and white photo of a collage of pictures of a cityan old photo of a group of military vehicles parked in a fieldan old photo of a group of men in uniformseveral black and white photos of a bunch of old buildingsseveral black and white photos of a bunch of old postcardsseveral old black and white photos of a bunch of buildingsseveral old black and white photos of a bunch of buildings
Premium Maître Lydie BRIOULT

Anonymous photographic album, 31st Photographic Squadron – 9…
See original version (French)

Estimate €300 - €500
Sale commission
Description
Anonymous photographic album, 31st Photographic Squadron – 9th Air Force – England–France–Germany (approx. 85 original photographs) This album contains a remarkable collection of original photographs from one of the most famous aerial reconnaissance units that contributed to the success of the Normandy landings. The pilots of this squadron demonstrated exceptional skill in flying the P-38 Lightning (designated F-5 for reconnaissance) to fly as close to the ground as possible and photograph the French coastline, thereby enabling the identification of numerous German defences: bunkers, coastal artillery positions and various other obstacles during the spring of 1944. The quality of the photographs they brought back enabled the Allied High Command to reassess its positions and choices regarding the beaches for the D-Day landings. In fact, many obstacles had not been identified by the vertical photographs taken by the 8th Air Force’s aerial photographic reconnaissance units in early 1944. The pilots of this unit took the greatest possible risks to take their photographs whilst flying at very low altitude, something they had made their speciality. The losses suffered by this squadron were relatively significant, given that these aircraft were not at all designed for aerial combat, as they had been completely stripped of their armament and fitted instead with high-precision cameras. A large number of the photographs are in 4x5 in. (10x12.5 cm) format, in accordance with US military photographic standards. They are accompanied by larger-format prints consisting of collages of photographs produced by the unit’s laboratory to illustrate the squadron’s daily life at the various locations where it was stationed in England, France and Germany. Several photographs are dated June 1944, in the days following D-Day. One photograph is even dated 6 June 1944, showing a non-commissioned officer standing next to the board listing the aircraft and pilots deployed on that historic day. A series dated October 1944 shows an F-5 in flight with remnants of the famous invasion stripes. Other photographs show P-51/F-6 photo-reconnaissance aircraft, as well as a captured German Stuka dive-bomber. A collection of rare photographs of one of the 9th Air Force’s little-known air units. (Grégory Pons Collection)
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
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
You may also like