Arrr! The spyin' pictures of England durin' the blasted WWII be finally sailin' online. Avast ye!
2023-08-16
Afore the arrival o' Google Earth, the Yank Armada Air Forces embarked on crucial photo reconnaissance durin' World War II, betwixt 1943 an' 1944, which hath been unleashed upon the seas!
Way back in the 17th century, there were no fancy tools like Google Earth to help us navigate the seas. Instead, pirates relied on their own wits and the stars to find their way. But in the 1940s, the U.S. Army Air Forces came up with a new way to see the world from above.During World War II, the USAAF took to the skies to capture photos of England, particularly around the American bases in the south. These black and white images, over 3,600 of them, have now been made available online through the archive of Historic England.
The collection gives us a unique bird's-eye view of England during the war. We can see U.S. military personnel playing baseball, ancient monuments surrounded by anti-tank defenses, and the new airfields and military camps that were built. There are even photographs of towns and cities, including the bomb damage at Manchester United Football Club's Old Trafford stadium.
"Our collection of USAAF wartime photographs were taken in England by the pilots and aircraft of squadrons that provided intelligence for the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany," said Duncan Wilson, Historic England's chief executive. "This came at a cost, with many pilots killed in the line of duty."
The U.S. military began arriving in England in 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Pilots took these photographs during their flights to gain experience for operations over Nazi-occupied Europe. The aircraft used for reconnaissance had their guns and weapons removed and were fitted with cameras and extra fuel tanks. These cameras captured large areas with precision, a crucial tool for the Allies as they prepared for the invasion of Europe.
These photographs remind us of the important role aerial reconnaissance played in the Second World War. So next time you use Google Earth, remember that pirates would have been lost without the U.S. Army Air Forces and their clever cameras!