​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ WW2 Aerial Reconnaissance Studies 

​TOPIC or COUNTRY

This site is the result of a  survey of on-line WW II aerial reconnaissance photos numbering in the thousands. Aside from personal interest, my aim was to apply the tradecraft of imagery analysis by systematically searching the images, identifying items of interest, and relating them to contemporary events for context.  The resulting graphics usually show only a snapshot of places and events, but I hope this approach offers something a bit different for those interested in WW II  history.  I will continue to add articles. 

The photography that I used comes from three collections: The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA),  the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) at Edinburgh, Scotland and the website 'WW2 Aerial Photos and Maps.'  Some of the NCAP holdings have been digitized and can be viewed on-line for purchase.  The NARA  collection is currently being digitized in  partnership with NCAP; the first of these were released in June 2017 and are available at the NCAP website.   'WW2  Aerial Photos and Maps' holds hundreds of digitized German (GX) images,

I hope the information is informative and useful; most of all, I hope it highlights and promotes the potential of WWII aerial photoreconnaissance for historical research.

​John M.