1944 Royal Australian Air Force Silk Escape and Evasion Map of Luzon, Philippines

This is a 1944 Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) silk escape map of Luzon, Philippines. Myriad cities and towns are labeled throughout Luzon and the island's road network is illustrated in detail. Two inset maps along the left border focus on Palawan (Inset 'B') and Yap Island (Inset 'C'). A third inset, situated along the top border, situates the three insets in relation to each other.

A Short History of Silk Escape and Evasion Maps, the Royal Australian Air Force, and MIS-X

The first silk invasion maps were created and published by MI-9 (founded in December 1939), the British agency tasked with aid downed British and other Allied aviators in evading capture and, if captured, with escaping from German POW camps. The idea of silk evasion maps came from Clayton Hutton. Hutton experimented with several different materials, including tissue paper, before settling on silk. MIS-X, the American counterpart to MI-9, was founded on October 6, 1942. MIS-X and MI-9 divided the world in half and concentrated their efforts in those areas, with the benefit of not interfering in each other's operations. MI-9 concentrated on escape and evasion in Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, Burma, India, Malay, and Thailand. MIS-X was responsible for North and South America, New Zealand, Australia, China, Japan, Siberia, French Indochina, and the Pacific. In 1944, U.S. Army Map Service escape maps were delayed arriving in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) theater. In response, MIS-X SWPA began looking for alternative methods of producing these critically important maps. This crisis resulted in MIS-X making arrangements with the Cartographic Section of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) to produce the maps. MIS-X ordered 10,000 square feel of silk from Washington in January 1944 to replace the silk used by the RAAF. Later, an additional 35,000 yards of rejected parachute silk was sent from Washington to MIS-X in Australia. Eventually the RAAF made maps of Celebes, Banda Sea, Borneo, Halmahera, New Guinea, Luzon, Manila, Mindanao, and the Solomon Islands. MIS-X stated in several monthly reports that RAAF maps were not considered a totally satisfactory substitute for U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) maps because the RAAF maps were not as detailed as the USAAF maps, they were 'the best available substitute at the time.'

Publication History and Census

This map was created by the Cartographic Section of the Royal Australian Air Force in September 1944. An empty OCLC reference exists for this map, suggesting that an institution that is no longer a member of OCLC created the entry. RAAF silk evasion maps appear on the market occasionally.