Accession no. RARE.2022.0063: Purchased, 2021 March
[identification of item], Royal Air Force Silk Escape Map Sheet 44L (Southeastern China)/44M (Northern French Indochina), SPEC.RARE.MMS.0355, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Lindsay Resnick, 2022 October; Finding aid written by: Lindsay Resnick, 2022 October
Escape and evasion maps are maps made by one country's armed services for its servicemembers caught behind enemy lines during war. The maps are intended to be used to help captured servicemembers escape enemy territory and into friendly territory, where they can be rescued. Historically, these maps were made of silk or other fabrics that could be folded up extremely small and not dissolve in water, unlike traditional paper maps. They were often sewn into clothing, such as flight suits, before a mission. During World War II, the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force produced many such maps of the European, Pacific, and Mediterranean theaters.
The Royal Air Force Silk Escape Map Sheet 44L (Southeastern China)/44M (Northern French Indochina), dated 1944, is a silk map created by the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force during World War II. The map measures 38 inches by 24 inches and is double-sided. One side, side 44L, mostly depicts southeastern China, and the other side, 44M, depicts a small part of China and much of northern French Indochina, an area that, as of 2022, is part of the territory of Vietnam and Laos. It depicts large cities, small towns and villages, national borders, water features, roads, railroads, and topographical features that may be helpful for servicemembers (in this case, airmen) trapped behind enemy lines to find their way to safety.