Thomas Cooper World War II Photograph Collection

The Thomas Cooper World War II Photograph Collection is comprised of 42 photographs mostly taken by Paul A. Payne, with whom Thomas Cooper served in United States Marine Corps in the Pacific theater of World War II. The photographs were taken on Saipan and Tinian in the Mariana Islands between 1944 and 1945. They feature several American aircraft, such as a Northrop P-61, a Douglas C-47, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and several Boeing B-29s. Many of the B-29 photographs were taken on Tinian and showcase nose art painted by Bernell Hilderman. Also depicted are Amercian soldiers posing with several Japanese fighter, torpedo bomber and heavy bomber aircraft captured at Aslito Field following the Battle of Saipan. According to collection materials, many of the Japanese aircraft were dismantled into parts that were crated for shipment back to the United States for analysis. The photographs are all black-and-white prints and range in size from 2" square to 4x5".