Comes with hand-signed C.O.A.

This large, incredibly rare, and museum-grade WWII Iwo Jima pre-invasion aerial intelligence photograph was taken on January 12th, 1945 (one month before to the amphibious D-Day assault of Iwo Jima in February 1945).

Pre-invasion photographs like this of the Iwo Jima invasion are extremely rare. This intelligence photograph is also heavily marked with hand annotation markings for what appear to be Japanese pillboxes and hidden defensive fortifications. This was used to update the SECRET, CLASSIFIED, and RESTRICTED Iwo Jima invasion maps and pre-invasion battle plans. The area shown in this large aerial intelligence photograph shows intensive air and naval bombardments.

Operation Detachment, the amphibious assault on Iwo Jima, had its genesis in the 29 September–1 October 1944. Bombing raids and occasional naval bombardment had been carried out against Japanese facilities on Iwo Jima since June 1944 and this bombing intensified in the weeks leading up to D-day. Although the air raids damaged some Japanese fortifications, Navy underwater demolition teams landed for a beach reconnaissance overestimated the bombing missions’ impact and did not note the full extent of the Japanese underground fortifications.

V Amphibious Corps requested a concentrated shore bombardment for 10 days prior to the landings. However, citing ammunition supply issues, Task Force 52, the amphibious support force providing fire support, only provided three. Adverse weather curtailed bombardment operations on 16 February, the first day. Ultimately, only 13 hours of effective bombardment were carried out over the three-day period. Fifth Fleet also began minesweeping operations around the island, specifically of the approaches to the designated landing beaches. Prior to the operation, Spruance had detached Task Force 58, his fast carriers (which also carried eight Marine Corps fighter squadrons), to strike strategic targets on Honshu in wide-ranging support of the Iwo Jima landings. The Marines, already unhappy with the shortened duration of naval gunfire support and believing continuous close air support of the ground forces should take priority, hardly welcomed this decision.

Battle of Iwo Jima:

The Battle of Iwo Jima was an epic military campaign between U.S. Marines and the Imperial Army of Japan in early 1945. Located 750 miles off the coast of Japan, the island of Iwo Jima had three airfields that could serve as a staging facility for a potential invasion of mainland Japan. American forces invaded the island on February 19, 1945, and the ensuing Battle of Iwo Jima lasted for five weeks. In some of the bloodiest fighting of World War II, it’s believed that all but 200 or so of the 21,000 Japanese forces on the island were killed, as were almost 7,000 Marines. But once the fighting was over, the strategic value of Iwo Jima was called into question.