Group of three vintage United States military reference and training manuals. Includes a U.S. Marine Corps “Marine Battle Skills Training Handbook – Individual Combat Tasks,” a “New Soldier’s Handbook” published by The Infantry Journal, and a WWII-era “Recognition Pictorial Manual of Naval Vessels,” marked “Restricted” and issued jointly by the War Department and Navy Department.

The naval recognition manual is FM 30-50 / NAVAER 00-80V-57, published in 1943 and used to train military personnel to identify Allied and Axis warships through photographs, silhouettes, drawings, and identification information. Museum records confirm the manual covered vessels of the United States, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and Italy. Its string-tied loose-leaf format was specifically designed so material could be added or replaced as recognition information changed.

Dimensions: approximately 7 x 4 in., 8 x 5 in., and 10 x 6 in.

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