Vintage Photo of a B-29 Pilot Before a Korean War Mission, 1951 | Restored Historic Print
Beautifully designed. Printed on archival paper for modern walls.
This vintage photo of a B-29 pilot was taken in May 1951 on Okinawa, just before a mission over North Korea. Captain Melvin E. Jarvis of Salt Lake City, Utah, sits at the controls in a cloth flying helmet, a throat microphone and a heavy padded vest. The Air Force wrote that he "looks gigantic" in more than 105 pounds of flight gear.
About This Historic Photo
Jarvis flew with the 307th Bomb Group, which came to Kadena Air Base from MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, in August 1950. In May 1951, the B-29s turned almost all their effort to bombing enemy troops at the front, flying 94 sorties in six days, most of them at night. More than 6,000 men flew on B-29 combat crews in Korea, and 635 of them were killed or missing.
KNOWOL restored this print from the National Archives' highest resolution scan of the original Air Force photo (342-FH-4A(29066)). It's printed edge to edge on ultra premium luster photo paper, a popular choice for fine photographic prints. Luster has a finish between gloss and matte and takes a heavy layer of ink, so the tones come out rich and deep.
The story behind this photo: read the full history in the KNOWOL library, with the sources for every fact.
The Details
About This Print
A physical reproduction of the artwork shown. Choose the available size and format above. The product description provides the subject and edition details.
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Materials & Craftsmanship
This reproduction is printed on archival paper. Framing materials for framed editions are listed in the product description. Decorative room props shown in display photographs are not included.
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