Handy Island

Handy Island
"The Air War Finds A Handy South Atlantic Island" was the caption on this Peter Hurd painting of Ascension Island, from Life Magazine, April 1945. It was the only place for pilots to refuel between Natal and West Africa.
Showing posts with label Time Magazine January 1944. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Time Magazine January 1944. Show all posts

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Time Magazine and Wideawake Field: January 1944

General George Marshall, Time's 
Man of the Year, January 3, 1944

Boobies on the Runway
Time Magazine
January 3, 1944

"If we don't hit Ascension
My wife gets a pension."

"So, sing U.S. flyers of the South Atlantic.

"This week the Army officially revealed why. Tiny (34 square miles) Ascension Island, 1,400 miles from the bulge of Brazil, is one of the vital links in the Air Transport Command's world-girldling chain of airfields. Ascension is the dot in the ocean that made it possible to fly Lightning (P-38) single-seated fighters across the South Atlantic to combat fields in North Africa and England.