US Army WW2 D-Day Zones of France silk Normandy Invasion Escape Map
This map is a reproduction of the highly sought after WW2 ZONES OF FRANCE escape/evasion map issued to paratroopers and aircrews flying missions over Europe during WW2 (especially D-Day). Originally commissioned by Intelligence School No. 9 (IS9) in February 1944 in preparation for the upcoming invasion, these maps were issued in escape kits just prior to the invasion.
Created using an original map that was jumped into Normandy on D-Day. Printed on a cotton/silk blend fabric, it perfectly matches the weight, feel, texture, and opacity of the original map Each map is approximately 58.5cmx60cm same as the original.
The soft cotton/silk fabric makes for a comfortable scarf as seen in many original photographs which helped prevent chafing on the wearers neck from the abrasive wool collar of the wearer's service shirt. These reproductions have an "unfinished" edge just like originals. These make great display or practical use pieces at a fraction of the cost of an original map and if you tie it as a scarf around your neck it is indistinguishable from an original.
The Zones of France map was designed as an "escape map" meaning that it was printed on a rather small bit of fabric (58.5cmx60cm) which could be hidden easily on the body when captured as well as it was printed in an exceptionally large 1:2,000,000 scale. That being the case the map was not very useful for traditional military land navigation. There are no gridlines and much of the smaller print is difficult if not impossible to read even under a magnifying glass due to its large scale as well being printed on the porous surface of fabric instead of the smooth surface of paper. Rather it was used primarily to determine a person's general geographic location so they could plan a route to "neutral" counties like Switzerland and Spain and be smuggled back to England.