1950s–1960s Photo Album Mainly of Sondrestrom Air Base in Greenland, with Some from Sidi Slimane Air Force Base in Morocco.
Greenland and Morocco: 1950–1960. Photo album containing 115 photographs, one newspaper clipping and two pen illustrations. Photographs mainly measuring 4 x 5 inches; with Near Fine contrast. Overall excellent to Near Fine. Item #List3513
An album mainly containing photographs from Sondrestrom Air Base in Greenland. Built in 1941–1942 after Henrik Kauffmann’s treaty with the US, Sondrestrom, known as Bluie West-8 until 1951, was located near the Kangerlussuaq fjord in southeastern Greenland. This part of the album dates to after 1960, when the 4684th Air Base Group was activated at Sondrestrom. Photos show building exteriors: the clothing store, hobby shop, bowling alley, officer’s and airman’s clubs, air police, hospital, and dining hall; as well as Sud Busters Inn, the Valhal Saloon, and an Esso fuel building. There are also satellite arrays, antennae, acetylene tanks powering a light, military trucks driving around the rocky, snowy terrain—the shots of wildlife and scenery show the striking Greenland landscape—and many photos of planes. These include USAF and Royal Canadian Air Force planes (including several of a hulking Lockheed LC-130 Hercules with skis), and those of Scandinavian Airlines and Eastern Provincial Airways. Also included are two original pen illustrations satirizing life at Sondrestrom.
Photos later in the album appear to be older; one is captioned “3906th Air Installation S[?]DN Base Fire Department Sidi Slimane Air Force Base”, dating it to between 1951 and 1962, when Sidi Slimane, also a critical Cold War base, was returned to Morocco. This photograph shows a group of men posing in front of a fire truck, and the caption also includes their surnames. Several photos of dancers in hula-style costumes, captioned “N.C.O. CLUB SHOW”, are not identified by location.
Overall the album is quite competently shot and documents an important US military installation. Of interest to historians of Greenland during the Cold War.
Price: $1,200.00
Status: On Hold