Description
Object description
Service of Flight Lieutenant M N Matthias with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. The collection covers Nos. 208 and 112 Squadrons in Egypt, the Western Desert, Sicily and Italy 1942 - 1944. Including: No. 208 Squadron at Burg-el-Arab, Egypt, December 1942; Port Sudan and scenes on the flight up the Red Sea Coast while ferrying Kittyhawks to Cairo, January 1943; No. 2 Aircraft Delivery Unit, Cairo; the Western Desert, including El Adem and Marble Arch aerodromes; scenes of the Nile Delta from a train travelling from Alexandria to Cairo; various scenes in Alexandria, Cairo, Tripoli and Benghazi; No. 2 ADU Detachment at Berka Aerodrome, Benghazi, January - March 1943; Benina aerodrome; Wing Training Flight, posted from ADU to Desert Air Force Kittyhawk Fighter Bomber Wing; No. 112 (Shark) Squadron at Kairouan, April - May 1943 and at Zuara, the wing resting prior to invasion of Sicily, May - July 1943. There are also photographs covering the Invasion of Sicily, including scenes at Agnone; the campaign on mainland Italy, including Grottaglie (Tarranto), Brindisi, Bari, Foggia, Mileni, resting in Naples and Sorrento, Cutella, San Angelo, Guidonia (near Rome), Falerium and Perugia, September 1943 - July 1944. The photographs in Italy show war damage to various towns and villages, including the railway yard at Foggia; daily life on airfields and landing grounds; combat damage to the squadron's aircraft; abandoned and destroyed German equipment; some aerial photographs taken by Matthias from his Kittyhawk. There are also group and individual portraits of aircrew and ground staff of No.112 Squadron. The eruption of Mt Vesuvius in March 1944 is also covered.
Physical description
One maroon cloth card covered photograph album with the word 'Pictures' in red on the front cover. Pages laced into album using orange and brown twisted cord. Black and white prints are fixed to the album pages using photo corners. Handwritten annotations in white ink are found on each album page and hand drawn maps in white ink are on the insides of the album covers