Unique composite pilot's atlas made up of 13 Joint Operations Graphics (Air) sheets covering Bahrain; Kuwait; and Aramco locations and installations in Saudi Arabia, 1:250,000 (Sheets NG-38-3, 4, 7, 8; NG-39-1, 2, 5, 6; NH-38-12, 15, 16; and NH-39-9, 13) Defence Mapping Agency; [Annotated by Aramco Aviation Department?; US Air Force?]

A unique composite atlas made up of 13 cropped and consecutively joined Joint Operations Graphics (Air) 1:250,000 sheets. An improvisation like this was a practical way around of carrying several standard format charts that could not conveniently show the long linear routes flown. These are bound in 4 sections containing 3, 4, 4, and 2 concertina-folded sheets respectively, in crudely fashioned untitled green duct tape covered card wraps 32x24cm. Each concertina folds horizontally on a N-S alignment revealing a total of 26 map spreads (6, 8, 8, and 4 respectively) each measuring 64x24cm. The interiors are generally good, with numerous annotations, one spread covered in heavy clear plastic with felt pen notes. To ensure continuous images, marginal data (maker, titles, editions, dates, keys etc) have been removed. One spread has a Joint Operations Graphic (JOG) (Air) 1:250,000 scale and a Conversion of Elevations table taped on. From this, the sheets have been identified as: NG-38-3, 4, 7, 8; NG-39-1, 2, 5, 6; NH-38-12, 15, 16; and NH-39-9, 13. This may date to the 1980s up to 1990 based on inclusion of King Khaled Military City (built by the US Army Corps of Engineers 1976-87), and the Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline) appears still to be in use (it operated to Jordan up to 1990). Annotations around Dhahran, KKMC, Tapline and Aramco installations suggest this may have been prepared by an Aramco or USAF pilot. CONTENTS: Starting on the Gulf coast and heading west, the 4TH section (made up of 2 vertically aligned sheets including NG-39-2 Al-Jubayl, NG 39-6 Az Zahran, Saudi Arabia; Bahrain) covers several tiny islands disputed by Saudi and Kuwait to the north, Jubail, Ras Tanura, Qatif, Dammam and Dhahran, and northern Bahrain showing on and offshore activities in detail. Locations around Dhahran have been labelled A-D in black felt tip. The 3RD section (4 sheets including NH-39-9, NH-39-13, NG-39-1, NG-39-5) covers from Al-Faw and Bubiyan Island on the Kuwait-Iraq border, down the Gulf coast through Failaka Island and the east of Kuwait City, via Mina Saud, Ras al Khafji, and Al Mishab, then inland into Dikakah. The 2ND section (from 4 sheets including NH-38-12, NH-38-16, NG-38-4, NG-38-8) takes in the Iraq-Kuwait border south from Al-Himar, heading south through the rest of Kuwait City, the Kuwaiti Oilfields (Al Burqan, Al Wafran, Umm Gudair), and across the Saudi border deep into Ad Dibdibah and Summan. The 1ST section (from 3 sheets including NH-38-15, NG-38-3, and NG-38-7) covers from Khawr Ghunayn in Saudi (with annotated air routes ms named "Snow Bird" and "Firebird", possibly civilian or military callsigns); Ad Dibdibah including Al Qaysumah where the Aramco pipeline ends and Tapline begins, Hafar Al-Batin; King Khalid Military Town; Ad Dahna and As Summan including part of main road under construction. (Reference: Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection, University of Texas).