Image Collection British Aerial Survey Firms
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.

A Geonex photo of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, home of Wimbledon
Collection: AIRBUS, Sortie: GEONEX/0083/89, Frame: 0110 (26 November 1989)

British Aerial Survey Firms

The British Aerial Survey Firms grouping contains photographs from a range of collections, all taken by some of the numerous British aerial survey companies flying during the second half of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first. Significant collections within this grouping include Simmons Aerofilms, AIRBUS Defence & Space, BKS Surveys and Cartographical Surveys. Alongside these are smaller collections from 3Di International, Bluesky International and Mason Land Surveys as well as surveys commissioned by the Isle of Man Government and Oxfordshire County Council.

A slightly washed-out colour aerial photo of Leeds. The centre of the image shows large buildings with a train station to the left of centre. To the left are large structures which might be industrial buildings. To the right are several green spaces.
This photograph of Leeds is typical of twentieth-century British aerial survey imagery; Collection: Simmons Aerofilms, Sortie: AF/92C/0628, Frame: 9637 (31 October 1992)

History

In the aftermath of the Second World War, extensive rebuilding and development projects throughout Europe helped drive a boom in aerial surveying. This was further encouraged by increased demand for oil and other minerals, while waning colonial powers sought to map their overseas empires and Cold War participants surveyed important international territories. At the same time, a wide range of surplus military aircraft became available to civilian aerial survey operators, providing the means for extensive aerial surveying to take place.

Aerial surveying continued to thrive throughout the second half of the twentieth century. As a result, the United Kingdom was home to many significant aerial survey firms, working all around the world on government and private contracts. These firms frequently changed names and were acquired by other companies, leading to the build-up of large archives of aerial photography.

A colour aerial photo with white cliffs stretching from the bottom left corner to the top right. There is green grass at the top of the cliffs and a building in the top left corner. Below the cliffs is a rocky beach and a small area of turquoise sea.
An NRSC image of the chalk cliffs at Beachy Head, East Sussex; Collection: AIRBUS, Sortie: NRSC/0012/99, Frame: 0004 (15 June 1999)

Although satellite imagery started to become available in the 1960s, aerial photography remained and remains a popular way of conducting surveys. Particularly important in this grouping is the Simmons Aerofilms Collection. Formed in 2001 from the merger of Simmons Mapping and Aerofilms Limited, this Collection also includes holdings from significant survey firms such as Hunting Surveys, Fairey Surveys and Clyde Surveys.

Other firms well represented throughout the British Aerial Survey Firms grouping are J A Story, Geonex, BKS Surveys, Cartographical Surveys and Astral Aerial Surveys. Also included are the holdings of the National Remote Sensing Centre, founded in 1980 as a government centre of excellence for earth observation.

A colour aerial photo of Oxford, with buildings arranged around a road running from left to right. Spires and domes are visible, along with quadrangles of buildings arranged around grass. An open park surrounded by trees is at the bottom right.
The quadrangles and dreaming spires of Oxford from above; Collection: Simmons Aerofilms, Sortie: AF/97C/0773, Frame: 0496 (30 May 1997)

Acquisition

The various collections in British Aerial Survey Firm grouping were acquired by the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) from 2013-2023. As survey firms changed hands, went out of business, or went digital, their (often substantial) holdings of historic analogue aerial photography became surplus to requirements. NCAP has been delighted to be able to acquire these collections, preserving them, making them accessible and setting them in the context of the wider National Collection.

A black and white aerial photo of an airport surrounded by fields and some houses. The runway runs from the centre of the image to the left edge. Planes and airport buildings are visible. A motorway runs vertically through the image right of centre.
Gatwick Airport, West Sussex, from a J A Story survey; Collection: AIRBUS, Sortie: JAS/0013/73, Frame: 0009 (25 April 1973)

Scope

The photographs in the British Aerial Survey Firms grouping were taken from 1961-2009. They cover large areas of the globe including North America, Africa, and the Middle East. Within Europe, there is a particular focus on the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the Isle of Man.

Geographical coverage
Anguilla Greece Philippines
Australia Guernsey Portugal
Austria Guinea-Bissau Qatar
Bahamas Hong Kong Saint Lucia
Bahrain Iceland Saudi Arabia
Barbados Indonesia Scotland
Belgium Iran Sierra Leone
Bermuda Ireland Somalia
British Virgin Islands Isle of Man South Africa
Brunei Jersey Spain
Cambodia Kenya Sri Lanka
Cayman Islands Kuwait Sudan
Curacao Libya Tanzania
Cyprus Malawi Tobago
Czech Republic Malta Turks and Caicos Islands
Denmark Mauritius Uganda
Egypt Montserrat United Arab Emirates
England Nepal USA
Ethiopia Netherlands Virgin Islands
Falkland Islands Nicaragua Wales
France Nigeria Yemen
Germany Northern Ireland Zambia
Ghana Oman

collection Contents

Together, these collections are made up of nearly 2.8 million images on aerial photographic film:

  • c.2 million from Simmons Aerofilms
  • c.337,000 from AIRBUS Defence & Space
  • c.270,000 from BKS Surveys
  • c.83,000 from Cartographical Surveys
  • c.24,000 from Mason Land Surveys
  • c.24,000 from 3Di International
  • c.20,000 from Bluesky International
  • c.13,500 from the Isle of Man
  • c.1,500 from Astral Aerial Surveys

Air Photo Finder

Some of these Collections have been digitised and are available to view on the Air Photo Finder.

Subscriptions

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ArchivesSpace

Some of these Collections are accessible via our Paid Image Search and Search Room services. Visit ArchivesSpace to learn about the Collection hierarchies.

Air Photo Finder  Subscriptions

ArchivesSpace: 3Di - external  ArchivesSpace: AIRBUS - external

ArchivesSpace: Astral - external  ArchivesSpace: BKS - external

ArchivesSpace: Bluesky - external  ArchivesSpace: Cartographical - external 

ArchivesSpace: Isle of Man - external  ArchivesSpace: Mason - external

ArchivesSpace: Simmons - external  

IN THIS SECTION

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 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.