Image Collection Defence Geographic Centre
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.

This photograph of Kowloon Bay in Hong Kong is among the earliest at NCAP
Collection: DGC, Sortie: PEGASUS/RN/H/0026, Frame: 0026 (14 November 1924)

Defence Geographic Centre

The Defence Geographic Centre (DGC) Collection contains aerial photographs of locations around the world, dating from 1924-1949. The photography was taken by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Navy (RN) for government bodies now known as the DGC. These photographs were used to provide a baseline for the creation of maps for issue to British and Commonwealth forces.

A black and white aerial photo of a city on a peninsula running from left to right surrounded by water. The city buildings are arranged in a grid overlaid with yellow pencil lines. At the bottom of the image is a fort on another, smaller peninsula.
Contour annotations on a photo of Valletta and Fort St Angelo (bottom), Malta; Collection: DGC, Sortie: GSGS/MALTA/03, Frame: 6405 (13 July 1927)

History

The DGC can trace its history back to 1803 and the establishment of the Depot of Military Knowledge within the British army. The Depot of Military Knowledge included a Topographical Branch which had responsibility for military mapping.

Over the next 100 years, the name and structure of the body responsible for military mapping changed frequently, until in 1908 it became the Geographical Section, General Staff (GSGS) as part of the Directorate of Military Operations. In 1943, the name changed again to the Directorate of Military Survey. All the DGC imagery in the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) was taken by either GSGS or the Directorate of Military Survey.

A black and white aerial photo of ancient ruins. The ruins are arranged in two distinct groups to the left and right. The right-hand group contains a semi-circular amphitheatre. The coast and a small strip of sea are visible at the top of the image.
Ruins of the ancient Roman city at Sabratha in Libya, 50 miles west of Tripoli; Collection: DGC, Sortie: GSGS/LIBYA/SAB, Frame: 0017 (15 February 1943)

Further changes took place throughout the second half of the twentieth century, until the DGC was officially formed in 2000 as a subordinate unit of the Defence Geographical and Imagery-Intelligence Agency. Today, the DGC provides geographic information to UK defence and government departments, as well as international partners.

It delivers this through mapping, aeronautical charts, geo-referenced aerial imagery, and digital data. Perhaps surprisingly, demand for conventional paper maps and charts continues alongside the significant growth in the demand for digital data.

A black and white aerial photo of a dam in the desert. There is a large area of white sand along the left edge, and very black-looking water across the bottom third. Four torrents of water can be seen spilling onto the rocky ground below the dam.
When opened in 1902, Egypt's Aswan Low Dam was the world's largest masonry dam; Collection: DGC, Sortie: GSGS/EGYPT/NILE, Frame: 0001 (02 May 1934)

Acquisition

Since 2017, the DGC has transferred regular batches of historical aerial photography to the care of NCAP for preservation, digitisation, and cataloguing.

A black and white aerial photo of a lake. The lake runs from top to bottom through the middle of the image. The water looks very black. Either side are rocky shores, partially covered in sand. The shores are fissured with old water courses.
The Aswan High Dam opened on this site in 1970, superseding the earlier Low Dam; Collection: DGC, Sortie: GSGS/EGYPT/NILE, Frame: 0019 (02 May 1934)

Scope

The DGC Collection covers a range of countries around the world, from 1924 to 1949. Particularly notable are images of Hong Kong (1924) and Malta (1926), which are the earliest images in the NCAP Collection. Other areas included are north Africa (Egypt and Libya), east Africa (Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia), the Middle East (Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia) and central Europe (Hungary, Austria, and Northern Italy).

Geographical coverage
Austria Iran Malta
Azerbaijan Iraq Nigeria
Egypt Italy Saudi Arabia
France Jordan Scotland
Hong Kong Kenya Somalia
Hungary Libya Yemen
Iceland Malaysia Former Yugoslavia

Collection Contents

The Collection is made up of:

  • c.45,000 predominately print aerial photographs, with a small number of film transparencies and glass plate negatives

Air Photo Finder

A small amount of this Collection has been digitised and is available to view on the Air Photo Finder. Uncatalogued imagery is only accessible with knowledge of exact sortie references.

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ArchivesSpace

Visit ArchivesSpace to learn about the Collection hierarchy. 

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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 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. 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.