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an image of a book with a picture of two planes flying in the skyan open book with a picture of a cat on itan open book with pictures of military men standing in front of a planean open book with pictures of people in the watera book with pictures of airplanes in it on a tablemany pictures of airplanes in this book on the tablean open book with pictures of people and animals in ita book with pictures of people and airplanes in ita book with pictures of military men and planes in itan open book with a black and white photo on itan open book with pictures of airplanes on it
Maître Lydie BRIOULT

74 - Book: ‘The Eight Ballers: Eyes of the Fifth Air Force’ With …
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Estimate €20 - €40
Sale commission
Description
Book: ‘The Eight Ballers: Eyes of the Fifth Air Force’ With a particularly fascinating collection of illustrations, this book, written by John Stanaway and Bob Rocker and published in 1999 by the American publisher Schiffer, traces the history of the 8th Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, nicknamed the ‘Eight Ballers’ (the unit’s emblem featured a number 8 billiard ball). Attached to the US 5th Air Force, this elite unit operated in the South-West Pacific. Its pilots carried out daytime reconnaissance missions, flying solo and unarmed in modified Lockheed F-4 and F-5 Lightning fighters (reconnaissance variants of the famous P-38). The book highlights their crucial strategic role during major air and naval battles such as those in the Coral Sea and the Bismarck Sea, as well as the extreme conditions they faced whilst mapping the front Over 500 period photographs, the vast majority of which come from the personal archives of veterans of the unit. The text also includes the squadron’s official and annotated logbook. 184 pages. Published in English. (Grégory Pons Collection)
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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
Lot description modified on 10/06/2026 at 5:14 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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