Image Collection

The National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) is home to 30 million diverse images, featuring historic events spanning 100 years and over 170 territories. 

These photographic images are grouped into collections on the basis of the bodies that generated them. Some of these collections - such as the Joint Allied Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (JARIC) - contain millions of images and are still growing. Others are only a few thousand strong and record long-since completed projects. 

We are currently transitioning to our new website. If there is something you can't find then please visit our legacy website or contact us directly for further assistance.

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Aerial Photography Collections

A black and white aerial photo of about a dozen ships pulled up on a beach. The land beyond the beach has been divided up into a grid, and the scene is slightly obscured by clouds or smoke.

Allied Central Interpretation Unit

The ACIU Collection is home to 5.5 million photographic reconnaissance images taken during the Second World War, providing a visual record of occupied Western Europe.

A colour aerial photo of the Wimbledon area in London. Streets of houses are visible at the right and left edges. A golf course with bunkers and trees occupies the middle. To the left of centre are about 20 tennis courts and a tennis stadium.

British Aerial Survey Firms

NCAP has extensive holdings of photography taken by several important British aerial survey companies over a period of 50 years.

A black and white aerial photo of a city on the edge of the sea. There are buildings and an industrial area in the centre and fields to the right. The photo has been marked with purple pencil highlighting blocks of buildings.

Defence Geographic Centre

The DGC Collection contains aerial photographs of locations around the world, originally used to create maps for issue to British and Commonwealth forces.

A black and white aerial photo of a city. The streets are arranged in a grid. There is a coastline to the right with an area of dark sea at the right-hand edge. To the left are two meandering watercourses and an area of undeveloped wetland.

Directorate of Overseas Surveys

The DOS Collection provides a unique historical perspective, recording the changing landscapes of much of the Commonwealth throughout the 20th century.

A black and white aerial photo of coastal wetlands. The image has the appearance of abstract swirls and patterns in shades of black, white and grey. There seem to be a few trees in the centre and an area of water to the left.

Environment Agency

The EA Collection is a valuable record of the quickly changing coastal landscapes of the south-east of England, from Bournemouth round to Gravesend.

A black and white aerial photomap of a town surrounded by an irregular grid of black and white fields. The photomap is annotated with place names – including Stargard, the name of the town – and is overlaid with numbered map grid squares.

German Air Force

The GX Collection contains photos taken by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War, which were then used for intelligence purposes during the Cold War.

An oblique black and white aerial photo of a city with a coastline. The sea is at the bottom left corner. A small number of ships are on the water. The city is made up of what appears to be low-rise apartment blocks. There is a park in the centre.

Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre

The JARIC Collection holds millions of Cold War reconnaissance images and forms unique record of British interests and activities.

A black and white aerial photo of 17 planes at an airfield. The planes are all situated in bays off two tracks running vertically through the image – one light-coloured and one dark. The planes and tracks are surrounded by featureless fields.

Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing

The MAPRW Collection contains c.150,000 aerial photographs taken during WWII by Allied units operating from North Africa and Italy.

A colour aerial photo with a park containing trees and red paths at the left, and Buckingham Palace in the bottom left corner. The River Thames is to the right with the London Eye lying flat over it. The shadow of Big Ben is to the right of centre.

Millennium Mapping

NCAP is home to the Getmapping and UK Perspectives Collections, two parallel projects to create a visual record of the UK at the turn of the millennium.

A black and white oblique aerial photo of an airborne plane from side-on. The plane has one propellor and a see-through cockpit with the pilot visible. There is a rear-facing gun turret, and the fuselage is marked with an American star and ‘312’.

National Archives and Records Administration

The NARA Collection contains worldwide imagery digitised as part of a partnership with the United States National Archives and Records Administration.

A colour aerial photo of the sea, very dark blue to the left and white from the glare of the sun on the right. In the middle a thin peninsula covered in brown grass extends into the sea. It has white cliffs and ends in a series of individual stacks.

Natural Environment Research Council

The NERC Collection contains over 27,300 aerial photographs taken around Europe for research purposes on behalf of the British Geological Survey.

A colour aerial photo of islands surrounded by a deep blue sea. There is one big island left of centre and a small one to the right. The islands have green grass and a mix of rocky and sandy shores. The sea is light blue over the sand.

Scottish Office Air Photographs Unit

The Scottish Office APU Collection provides a remarkable, 100-year record of Scotland’s changing landscapes from 1.5 million aerial photos of Scotland.

Learn About Aerial Photography

Do you want to find out more about Aerial Photography and exploring the world from a different perspective?

How-To Guides
A black and white aerial photo of Rosyth docks. The image is busy and confusing. The sea is at the bottom edge with some ships in dry docks or tied up at piers. There are numerous industrial buildings and roads. At centre right is a small woodland.
Interpreting Aerial Images

Learn more about how to analyse and understand aerial imagery to make the best use of it for your research needs.
A greyscale drawing of a plane flying above 6 trees. A triangle pointing straight down from the plane indicates the area covered by a vertical aerial photo. A triangle pointing down at an angle indicates the area covered by an oblique aerial photo.
Types of Aerial Images

The capture of aerial photography has most often been been a systematic process. Learn to identify each type and see how they differ.
A large-scale black and white aerial photo of Glasgow. The river from the previous images now occupies almost the whole frame. At the left side, ships are clearly visible docked next to the river. There are blocks of flats in the bottom left corner.
Scale in Aerial Images

Aerial photographs come in a range of different scales. Learn what impact different scales have on understanding aerial photographs.

Archive Research

Discover the important context of collections and missions through our archival database online.

  • Unexploded Ordnance risk assessment
  • Assessment of site use legacy
  • Identifying potentially contaminated land
  • Land use change analysis
  • Climate change research
  • Property boundary disputes
  • International boundaries research
  • Historical map verification
  • Insurance risk assessment
  • Policy planning
  • Cultural history
  • Creative industries
  • Animation and multi-media
  • 3D applications

Finding Aids

Finding aids show the geographic area covered by each photograph within a sortie. Use them to identify and order copies of photographs that have not yet been digitised and uploaded to our website.
Read more
A colourful map of Paris, with blue representing water and green for woods. The map is covered with black boxes indicating where aerial photos were taken. There is an inset covering Rouen and a label with information about the reconnaissance sortie.
A finding aid for an aerial reconnaissance sortie flown over Paris, France in 1940
Collection: ACIU, Sortie: HAA/059 (1 July 1940)

View Already Digitised Collections

Use our mapping tools to zoom into areas of interest and explore tens of thousands of images.
Visit Our Air Photo Finder