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The Royal Air Force National Air Survey of 1945-6 | |
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Summary
The Norfolk E-map Explorer includes around 8,300 aerial photographs of Norfolk taken between 1945-6.
The 1945-6 Survey
After World War 2 the Royal Air Force photographed almost all of the United Kingdom as part of a National
Air Survey. This was done to help with the revision of maps and with highways and planning work.This and later surveys provide a record of the landscape in the second half of the 20th century.
They are used today for research into land use, planning, coastal erosion, archaeology, local history, boundaries, hedgerows and World War 2 defences.
Coverage
The photographs do not cover all of Norfolk. English Heritage's National Monuments Record includes others. Cloud or camera failure may also cause some gaps.
Scale
The photographs are at a scale of around 1:10,000 or 6 inches to 1 mile.
Early Aerial Photography
The first known aerial photographs were taken over Paris in 1868.Albert Coe took the earliest known in Britain in 1895. It shows Thorpe Railway Station in Norwich. The Royal Flying Corps was established in
1912, and it included an experimental photographic section. In 1917 it took the earliest known photomosaic, made from photographs joined together. This is also of Norwich.
Vertical Photography
There were developments in aerial photography during World War 2. Overlapping vertical photographs were taken of enemy territory A vertical air photograph is when the optical axis of the camera is at 90 degrees
to the earth. The camera is mounted in an aircraft flying straight and level.
A vertical photograph is also an accurate plan of the ground, like a map. There are no hidden areas and it can be used to work out areas and distances.
Full cover is possible by setting the cameras so that each photograph overlaps the previous one by 60%. This provides enough overlap on successive prints for 3D viewing.
Stereoscopy
Stereoscopy is when something is viewed in 3 dimensions using an optical device called a stereoscope. This only works when the object can be seen on 2 overlapping vertical prints.
3D viewing will not be possible from images on the Norfolk E-map Explorer. Pairs of prints and stereoscopes are available in the Norfolk Air Photography Library.3D viewing is only possible when 2 overlapping prints are available.
Warnings
The photography, the printing and the condition of the prints all vary.
Some prints have damage such as scratches, and marks from impurities in the printing process.
A diagonal cross may be drawn on in pencil, marking the centre of the photograph.
The image is as close as possible to the original print. It has not been sharpened, but the contrast may have been adjusted.
The prints have not been cropped, except to remove strips from the next frame where these occur.
The information strip is not always in the same position.
Copyright
The photographs are Crown Copyright and reproduced with the permission of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Acknowledgements
The collection includes prints generously donated by the Norfolk Archaeological and Historical Research Group. Other prints are on permanent loan from the Department of Planning and Transportation, Norfolk County Council.
Books and Articles
Some of the books and articles listed below are not available in Norfolk libraries. However, they canbe found either through inter-library loan or can be seen by appointment at the Norfolk Landscape Archaeology at the Norfolk Rural Life Museum at Gressenhall.
NAPLIB, Directory of Aerial Photographic Collections in the United Kingdom, Aslib, 1993, ISBN 0851423043
Riley, D., Aerial Archaeology in Britain, Shire Publications, 1982, ISBN 0852635923
Riley, D., Air Photography and Archaeology, Duckworth 1987, ISBN 0715621017
Steer, K., 1947, 'Archaeology and the National Air-Photograph Survey', Antiquity 81, vol. xxi, March 1947, 50-53. A copy of this edition of Antiquity is available in the Norfolk and Norwich Millennium Library.
Wade-Martins, P. (ed), Norfolk from the Air, Norfolk Museums Service, 1989 ISBN 0903101556
Wade-Martins, P. (ed), Norfolk from the Air Volume 2, Norfolk Museums Service, 1989, ISBN 0903101688
Wilson, D., Air Photo Interpretation for Archaeologists, Tempus 2000, ISBN 0752414984
Journals and Newsletters
Aerial Archaeology. An annual series published from 1977 to 1991 (12 volumes)
Available at the Norfolk Landscape Archaeology
AARG News (the newsletter of the Aerial Archaeology Research Group), published every six months
Available at the Norfolk Landscape Archeaology
Websites
Aerial Archaeology Research Group
National Monuments Record at English Heritage
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