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Description

The Long Range Air Navigation Chart: Solomon Islands, published by the Army Map Service for the U.S. Army Air Forces in December 1944, is a restricted military map, offering a crucial artifact of the strategic and tactical considerations during World War II. This intricate air navigation chart, fashioned for the specific use of the War and Navy Department agencies,  elucidates the topographic and navigational intricacies of the Solomon Islands.

Developed during a critical juncture in World War II, the chart served as a crucial tool in air navigation for military operations in the Pacific theater. It manifests the strategic significance of the Solomon Islands, a key battleground in the Pacific, where major campaigns were fought between Japanese and Allied forces. This chart exemplifies the confluence of cartography and warfare, underlining how geographic knowledge was central to military planning and operations.

The chart draws from an array of diverse and comprehensive sources, including Hydrographic Charts from the Netherlands and the U.S., Orographic Map of Australia and New Guinea, Provisional Maps by the U.S.A.F.F.E., Australian Aeronautical Maps, and Encyclopaedia Britannica's World Atlas, to name a few. The breadth of these sources attests to the painstaking efforts to compile the most accurate, up-to-date, and detailed information to assist in strategic planning and navigation during the war.

Beyond merely marking geographical features, the chart incorporates a multitude of significant data including international boundaries, railways, rivers, cities of various sizes, military fields, airports, seaplane bases, and aeronautical light beacons. Particularly noteworthy is the incorporation of radio communication stations, direction finder stations, and broadcasting stations, emphasizing the crucial role of communication in war tactics.

Gradients of elevation color-coded onto the chart provide further critical information for air navigation. Coupled with the chart's annotations indicating lines of equal magnetic variation for 1943, it stands testament to the comprehensive and sophisticated navigational aids provided to the military aircrew during the war. In sum, the Long Range Air Navigation Chart: Solomon Islands is not only a functional navigational guide but also a vital historical artifact, shedding light on military cartography and strategy during one of the world's most consequential conflicts.

Condition Description
Large folding map with toning at folds.