Image Collection National Archives and Records Administration
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’.

A Grumman Avenger flying over Japan, two weeks after the Japanese surrender
Collection: NARA, Sortie: CV16/5177, Frame: 0002 (27 August 1945)

National Archives and Records Administration

The National Archives and Records Administration Collection contains aerial imagery and associated records. These have been copied under the auspices of a digitisation partnership between the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) and the United States National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The partnership aims to copy NARA's extensive holdings of aerial photography held in Record Group 373 – Records of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

A low-level black and white oblique aerial photo of a beach. There is a town on some white cliffs in the background. The beach is scattered with numerous wooden structures to make landing more difficult. The sea is visible to the right of the image.
Beach defences at Ault in Picardy, France; Collection: NARA, Sortie: US31/0271, Frame: FFO_0112 (06 May 1944)

History

NARA is an independent agency of the United States federal government. It preserves and shares public records that trace the story of the United States of America, its government, and people.

As the nation's record keeper, NARA carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centres, Presidential Libraries, and online. NARA holds over 30 million aerial photographs dating from 1935 to 1970, transferred to it from the Defense Intelligence Agency.

A black and white aerial photo of an expansive palace complex. The complex is a square shape with rounded top corners in the middle of the image. Densely packed buildings fill the top edge and top corners of the image. The image is quite pale.
The Temple of Heaven, Beijing; Collection: NARA, Sortie: 5MC/0018, Frame: LV0014 (03 July 1945)

This imagery was predominantly created by the US Navy, Army Air Corps and Air Force for military reconnaissance and mapping projects, but also includes Second World War-era aerial photography captured by the Americans from the Germans (code-named GX) and the Japanese (code-named JX).

While NARA’s holdings include areas of the United States, the focus of the partnership with NCAP is on non-American imagery. The coverage at NARA for areas of the world outside the United States is concentrated on World War II and immediate post-war US military activities and facilities.

A black and white aerial photo of Berlin from a high altitude. A river runs vertically through the right side of the image, parallel with the right edge. The city buildings are arranged in a rough grid.
A reconnaissance photo of Berlin, just a week before D-Day; Collection: NARA, Sortie: US7/1703, Frame: 4027 (31 May 1944)

Acquisition

NCAP began its digitisation partnership with NARA in 2017. Focusing on aerial photography from the Second World War, the digital imagery created through the partnership is made publicly accessible via the NCAP website. NARA imagery is regularly added to NCAP on a rolling basis.

A black and white oblique aerial photo of Paris. The elegant metal lattice of the Eiffel Tower rises in the centre. A park with trees is in the foreground and a river runs horizontally behind the Eiffel Tower. Paris stretches into the background.
The Eiffel Tower, Paris, shortly before the German surrender; Collection: NARA, Sortie: US7/LOC/0001D/LIB, Frame: 0085 (19 April 1945)

Scope

So far, NCAP has digitised NARA images from across Europe dating 1936-1951, including countries not well represented in other NCAP collections such as Iceland and Russia. Further afield, regions included in the project include South America, South-East Asia, the Pacific, and the Middle East.

Geographical coverage
Argentina Ireland Qatar
Austria Italy Russia
Bangladesh Japan Saudi Arabia
China Kosovo Serbia
Denmark Latvia Slovakia
Estonia Lithuania Solomon Islands
Federated States of Micronesia Mariana Islands South Korea
Finland Marshall Islands Spratly Islands
France Moldova Switzerland
Germany Myanmar Thailand
Greece North Korea United Kingdom
Greenland Oman United Arab Emirates
Hungary Pakistan USA
Iceland Palau Vietnam
Iran Philippines
Iraq Poland

collection contents

The NARA Collection at NCAP is made up of:

  • c.240,000 digital aerial photographs (the physical originals are retained by NARA)

Air Photo Finder

All NARA images so far digitised on behalf of NCAP are available to view on the Air Photo Finder.

Subscriptions

Subscribe to NCAP to view zoomable images and finding aids. 

ArchivesSpace

Visit ArchivesSpace to learn about the Collection hierarchies.

Air Photo Finder  Subscriptions  ArchivesSpace - 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 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 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.