I stitched together multiple aerials to create two composites that show the east and west sides of the Caen Canal and River Orne running from the Channel to Caen. The web samples provided are not the best quality but it's interesting as an overall view of the area on the dates taken. You will have to download from here to see them full size: https://spideroak.com/browse/share/Stuf/198412/SO-2/ The Wilfrid Laurier University team need to map their various boxes in some way to aid people in finding what they are looking for. The aerials can be found at the WLU WW2 Air Photo Collection under 'Calvados'. http://lmharchive.ca/second-world-war-air-photos/ Hopefully of interest. Regards ...
I simply gave up on them. I have dowmloaded nearly all the NCAP Normandy views but the Candian pics are just far far too badly organised.
mk, It's pretty mind boggling trying to sort through them unless you are familiar with certain features or recognize starting points on the coast. My son tells me that GIS and mapping is a pretty hot field right now. If the funds can be found they should be let them loose on that collection. I might add a few more composites for the Airborne/Commando areas at some point when I'm in the right frame of mind for repetitive work. Unfortunately not all the samples are of consistent quality with some darker than others for example. I think I used all the images in Box 0309 (52) but only a small portion in Box 0303. Otherwise a curiosity more than anything. Regards ...
Nijmegen, You may have come across this already - the listing for the Netherlands. The finding aid does pull up a few hits for Nijmegen. http://lmharchive.ca/the-netherlands/ Regards ...
Dunno if it helps but if you have a subscription to NCAP you can look at the aerial reconnaissance sortie profiles: http://ncap.org.uk/browse/finding-aids There are also other sources if you search for them, for example: http://www.dotkadata.com/en/woii-archief/bibliotheek-wageningen-ur/raf-overzichtkaarten-bibliotheek-wageningen-ur/ it may be possible to locate the photos based on the sortie information on the edge of the photo. More than one allied unit would have been issued photos from a sortie so these could well be the same ones already held/indexed in other collections. (Yes, I'm an photographic interpretation/GIS nerd )
HighTow, I'll probably get a subscription to NCAP at some point to see what is available in slightly better quality. For example, I noticed that both NCAP and Laurier had sorties for Squadron 400. I think MK supplied this NCAP one in a forum topic. Laurier doesn't have any for that sortie but it does for others by Sqd 400. I'm also looking for more aerials from "108/234, 7 June 44, F14//". A few examples from the sortie are available in the Larry Nelson Collection which you are probably familiar with. I came across one interesting box that covers the area from the mouth of the Orne and eastward along the coast with flights running inland. The only problem is the damn samples are smaller so detail is loss, along with what little wow factor there is from stitching images together. Regards ...
This is a crop the sortie map I made for that area 400-0240 run June 15th. The size of the NCAP images is 2700 x 2200 This is the resolution on the site http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/800x600q90/537/VPEeDn.jpg
Identifying is very difficult, and the prices for high definition are too high. They should adjust both. I am looking for aerials from the Rhineland battles. They are very hard to find, alas.
MK, That's just excellent! Plot maps similar yours would definitely help people find the areas of interest to them. As far as price goes I don't know how these organizations are run and subsidized. There would be all kinds of costs associated with maintaining their holdings, paying their people, etc. But 45 bucks a pop in the case of Laurier does seem a bit steep for the average Joe. Regards ...
Digging through my disk of high-res aerials I only have frame 3163 from 400 Squadron from 5th July which shows both bridges and the various gliders there abouts. 108/234 I've just got frames 1, 67, 75, 76 & 77 and an un-umbered oblique.
HighTow, I have the same bunch with the addition of 78. Brithm suggested that instead of a '0' that it's actually a '6' with the top blurred out which would make it Sqd 168 instead of 108. Giving the history of the two squadrons that seems to make sense. There is a 168 Sqd listed on the NCAP air units page and the link points here. http://ncap.org.uk/search/relation/58959?free-text=yes#free-text=yes&zoom=5&lat=6468735.58576&lon=229246.23864&layers=BT One of 168 Squadrons roles was to search out V-1 launch sites. Everyone of the aerials shown were digitized for the BBC documentary Operation Crossbow. I'm not sure if there are others shot by Sqd 168 that I have yet to find? Regards ...
I was going through the geographically-unidentified boxes at the Wilfrid Laurier site and came across one shot in 1943 that appears to run down the Normandy coast starting east of the Orne River mouth. The oblique aerial photos show inland views that pass the Caen Canal and Ouistreham and continue in a westerly direction. I haven't received any confirmation on this but if it is the Normandy coast I'm surprised it hasn't been identified. Am I on the right track? It certainly looks like the tall stacks of the Colombelles steel mill can be seen in the distance of third attached image below. http://lmharchive.ca/GalleryUploads/Box0078_R71_268/index.html Unfortunately oblique views don't stitch together very well because of the constantly changing perspective. Regards ...
Hi Cee, That is a very good find. Thanks for posting. Covers the area Franceville/Merville up to Courseulles. Some of these photos covering part of Sword Beach came up for sale on eBay a couple of years ago. They were marked up for briefing purposes. Will attach a few. Regards Danny
Hi, It looks like Box0078 R69 268 http://lmharchive.ca/GalleryUploads/Box0078_R69_268/ has oblique’s covering the coast from the west end of Asnelles / Arromanches to Port en Besin. The sequence of the display on the website is not in order, you will need to look at the number on the photos. Bottom left hand side. Regards Danny
Danny, Just excellent! I was hoping someone with more knowledge than I of the beaches further west would come along. All I can think is the WLU box has been identified and not removed from the list or more likely the marked up ones you show from Ebay are from another collection of the same air photos. Anyway it's quite interesting viewing oblique aerials which can be a challenge when trying to sort out distant features. It's a relatively unscathed view of the landscape before the invasion soon to come. Good catch on Box 0078 - R69 268! If you wish you can put in a notice of identification on this page. I submitted one last night for a couple of boxes which is still in the process of being moderated. http://lmharchive.ca/newly-identified-air-photos/ As you can see there is Dutch fellow who has done very well identifying many other boxes. Regards ...
