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Image of the Month: Not even three weeks after VE Day, an aircraft of the 15th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron (USAAF) recorded this Boeing F-9 and Lockheed F-5 at Bari Airfield. These were the photographic reconnaissance variants of the B-17 Flying Fortress and the P-38 Lightning. The 15th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron supported Operation TORCH (the Allied invasion of French North Africa) and subsequent landings in Italy. They operated both the F-5 and the F-9, and by the time this photograph was taken were based at Bari.
Image credit: Collection: MAPRW, Sortie: 15SG/L/0102, Frame: 3083 (28 May 1945).
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View Image in Air Photo Finder
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This month’s newsletter celebrates the 80th anniversary of VE Day, with a look at some of the amazing imagery we hold around this momentous occasion.
We would also like to take this opportunity to alert our users to some upcoming changes to our online presence. As you may be aware, over the last few months we have been transferring our web content and selected digital images to the recently launched ncap.org platform. This new online resource is currently in its Beta phase, with further enhancements planned over the coming months.
As part of this transition, the legacy website at ncap.org.uk will be officially retired – earlier than anticipated – on 24 June 2025. Historic Environment Scotland is retiring a number of its web services including ncap.org.uk, as due to their age they can no longer be safely operated from a cybersecurity perspective.
To ensure a smooth transition, key information pages will be automatically redirected to the new platform. We are accelerating the digitisation of our collections to make larger volumes of imagery available than ever before but appreciate that some imagery currently available will not become available again online for an extended period of time. We will contact any of our users who will be affected by the change directly regarding any impact on their subscription services.
We appreciate your patience and support as we work to improve your experience with NCAP digital resources. You can read more about the NCAP online transition on our new website here: https://www.ncap.org/news/2025/retiral-of-ncap-legacy-site, and the wider Historic Environment Scotland changes here: historicenvironment.scot/about-us/news/retiral-of-hes-web-services. If you have any questions or concerns, please do get in touch with us at ncap@hes.scot.
We hope you enjoy exploring this month’s newsletter!
Best wishes,
The NCAP Team
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| VE Day and the Crucial Role of Photographic Reconnaissance and Intelligence |
The Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing Collection |
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| Intelligence gathered from the aerial reconnaissance imagery now cared for by the National Collection of Aerial Photography played a critical, though often overlooked, role in bringing about the Allied victories that led to Victory in Europe Day on the 8th of May, 1945. |
Our Image of the Month this May comes from the Mediterranean Allied Photo Reconnaissance Wing (MAPRW) collection. The collection contains c.150,000 aerial photographs taken during the Second World War by Allied units operating from North Africa and Italy. |
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| Air Photo Finder in Focus – Reims |
Book - Operation Crossbow: The Untold Story of the Search for Hitler’s Secret Weapons |
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| With this month’s focus on VE Day, we would like to share with you a special image on our Air Photo Finder. The preliminary surrender of the German forces took place in a schoolhouse in the French city of Reims (before the definitive surrender document was signed in Berlin) – the square building visible to the left of the train tracks in this image taken five months later. |
Find out more about how the men and women of the Allied Central Interpretation Unit (ACIU) helped bring about VE Day through Allan Williams’ book Operation Crossbow. Thanks to the bravery of Allied pilots and the intelligence work of the ACIU, Operation Crossbow helped find and neutralise V-weapon sites, reshaping the war's outcome.
Image courtesy the Medmenham Collection. |
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| © Historic Environment Scotland - Scottish Charity No. SC045925 |
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Historic Environment Scotland
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