Cartographic

Still Picture Aerial Photography in Record Group 342: Records of U.S. Air Force Commands, Activities, and Organizations

 

Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies Activities, Facilities and Personnel - World War II and Korean War, ca. 1940 - ca. 1980 (342-FH)

Photographs in the series Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies Activities, Facilities and Personnel - World War II and Korean War, ca. 1940 - ca. 1980, also known as 342-FH, include a number of aerial photographs, many depicting bombings during World War II. This series includes both regular still photographs and aerial photographs. The finding aid for the series is available in the Still Picture Research Room. 49,159 of the images in the series are digitized and can be found here. Aerial photographs in the series, consisting of roughly 1,700+ digitized photographs, can be found here. The finding aid is the series Subject Index to Black and White and Color Negatives, Slides, and Transparencies of U.S. Air Force Activities, Facilities, and Personnel, ca. 1942 - 1980 (342-X).

 

Colonel Goddard Photographs of European Cities, 1946 - 1948 (342-CGA)

Colonel Goddard supervised a project of photographing major European cities at the end of World War II for the Air Force. Goddard is regarded as an important figure in the history of aerial photography. Most of these photographs, however, are ground level views of Paris, Nurnberg, Munich, Heidelberg, Berlin, London, and the Azores in subseries CGA and CGD. There are also aerial obliques of London, Dover, and Paris in subseries CGB and CGC. Five rolls of 9x18 aerial photographs of France were transferred to the Center for Cartographic and Architectural Archives on February 11, 1977. All the photographs are dated 1946, except subseries CGD which are dated July 7, 1948. The pictures show street scenes; buildings destroyed by the war; panoramas of countryside; railyards and industrial areas; and landmarks such as the National Academy of Music and Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Reichstag in Berlin, and the Hofbrauhaus in Munich. None of the photographs are captioned. There are corresponding prints for all negatives except those in subseries CGD. This series is partially digitized.

 

Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force Activities, Facilities, and Personnel, Domestic and Foreign, ca. 1940 - ca. 1980 (342-C)

Air Force and predecessor picture units have generated a variety of files over the years; the most prominent, longest-running group of historical files -- involving ground-level and certain aerial (non-sequential and oblique) images -- began to take shape in the 1930's. Staffers at the Army Air Corps headquarters Photo Library organized prints deemed historically significant into a file of topical notebooks, designed to facilitate reference access. Black and white negatives corresponding to most of these prints were placed in a central, numeric negative file. In later years, a separate alphabetical sequence for black and white portrait negatives was created. And, as color-based prints entered the notebooks, corresponding color negatives, slides, and transparencies were placed in yet another file -- a numeric sequence separate from the black and white numeric sequence. The series described here consists of this latter file. The color images in the series document the activities of the U.S. Air Force and predecessor agencies during World War II, the post-war occupations of Germany and Japan, the Korean War, military incidents, the Cold War, and the war in Vietnam. Included are images of aircraft, weapons, combat action, bombings and strafings, military operations, fields and installations, tests, organizations, units, and military personnel. Corresponding prints for the bulk of the items in this series may be found in Record Group 342, Series FH ("Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force and Predecessor Agencies Activities, Facilities and Personnel - World War II and Korean War") and Record Group 342, Series B ("Black and White and Color Photographs of U.S. Air Force Activities, Facilities and Personnel, Domestic and Foreign"). The finding aid for the series is available in the Still Pictures Research Room. This series is partially digitized

 

George Goddard Collection of Photographs of London, England and the Azores, 1948 (342-CGE)

Brigadier General George W. Goddard (1889-1987) was a pioneer in long-range high altitude photography. He is known as the father of aerial photography for his many contributions to the field of reconnaissance photomapping. His principal invention was the stereo continuous strip camera. This camera employed a mechanism that was superior to the conventional shutter system in its ability to stop motion, resulting in a sharper, more three-dimensional image. The continuous strip camera produced sharp photographs from an altitude of 40,000 feet while moving at 500 miles per hour. Goddard was called out of retirement in 1962 to assist with aerial reconnaissance missions which sought to establish the presence of Soviet ballistic missiles in Cuba. Goddard's early mentors included fellow photographer Col. Edward Steichen and General Billy Mitchell. The photographs in this series were presumably taken by Gen. Goddard with an aerial camera. They show views of London, England, an RAF Transport Command airbase, and views of the Azores, all taken on the ground. Shown are scenic views of the Azores, country and village life, and group shots of his companions. None of the images are captioned, although notes on the original film cans indicated that all of the images were taken on July 7, 1948. 

 

Photographs of Military Personnel, Bases, Ceremonies, and Activities in the Canal Zone , ca. 1992 - ca. 1999 (342-CZ)

The series includes numerous aerial and ground views of Canal Zone bases, installations, and facilities - Albrook Air Force Station, Howard Air Force Base, France Field, Curundu Military Reservation, Panama Air Depot, Balboa piers, Lacona housing, and sites at Chiman and Arraijan. In addition, there are photographs of several drop zones. There are also photographs of an Army Air Forces base on the Galapagos Islands and Fort San Lorenzo, a Spanish colonial fortification in Panama. The finding aid for the series is available in the Still Pictures Research Room.

 

Press Releases and Corresponding Photographs Relating to the Seventh Air Force Division in Vietnam, 12/1967 - 1/1969 (342-PR)

This series consists of textual press releases, photographic prints, and negatives detailing stories about Seventh Air Force activities in Vietnam. The press releases cover a range of subjects including: awards and recognitions; holiday events; civic action programs; sponsorship of Vietnamese children; aerial photographs; combat support operations; and photographs depicting routine duties on base. A photograph of artist, Charles Mazoujian, sketching an F-105 Thunderchief is found in press release number 3-68-222; Mazoujian’s sketches were developed into paintings that eventually became part of the Air Force art collection. In addition, photographs can be found of Lyndon B. Johnson (1-168-14, 1-68-16, and 3-68-158), Former Senator Edward Kennedy (1-68-577), and Former Governor George W. Romney (1-68-49 and 1-68-129) visiting air bases. The finding aid for the series is available in the Still Pictures Research Room.

 

U.S. Air Force Occupation of Japan and Germany, 1945 - 1962 (342-G)

These photographs were taken by Air Force personnel and most reflect only Air Force activities. They include aerial photos of volcanoes and earthquake damage; aircraft formations such as Thunderjets over Bangkok, Thailand; ceremonies and decorations; ground and air crews; operations of ground and aircraft radar and radios; educational, recreational, religious, medical, training, transportation, and family activities; U.S. Air Force Bases; guided missiles; women in the Air Force; places of historic importance such as the summer palace of the Emperor in Kyoto, Japan, and the Reichstog Building in Berlin, Germany; Japanese women laborers harvesting lettuce; personnel including General MacArthur, General McNaughton, General Lemay, Stuart Symington, and James Conant; and wreckage of an RB-20 shot down by 2 Soviet Migs on November 7, 1954. There are approximately 350 photographs relating to Operation Vittles or the Berlin Airlift. They show various stages of loading and unloading of aircraft, little vittles or airlifting of candy to Berlin children, and ceremonies honoring the men involved in the airlift. The finding aid is the series Index to Photographs of the U.S. Air Force Occupation of Japan and Germany, 1945 - 1962 (342-GJX). This series is partially digitized.

Top