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Class of material specific details area
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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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1942-1945 (Creation)
Physical description area
Physical description
1.06 m of textual records
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Scope and content
Series consists of aerial photographs, prints, and interpretation reports from the Second World War. These document and assess the degree of damage from bombing on major target cities in Europe, particularly in Germany and France. Arranged in alphabetical order by geographical location.
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Unclassified
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General note
Military-legislated photographic interpretation cells developed in March 1938, with the formation of the Air Ministry’s AI1(h) and the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) Bomber Command photography division. Upon the war’s outbreak in September 1939, the services of an experienced freelance aerial photographer, F.S. Cotton, were added to a small photographic unit attached to the Intelligence Staff of the Headquarters British Expeditionary Force. The section was officially known as No.2 Camouflage Unit, and later as the Photographic Development Unit (PDU). For some time, the PDU unofficially applied the resources of Aircraft Company Ltd in producing detailed drawings and interpreting film; after the two merged in May 1940, the organization was renamed the Photographic Development Unit – Interpretation and Intelligence (PDUI). For the remainder of the war, the cell underwent several name changes, including that of Allied Central Interpretation Unit (ACIU), in recognition of America’s involvement in the section. The organization was involved in every aspect of intelligence in WWII, and in early 1945, its photographic analysts joined the British Bombing Research Mission in Paris to evaluate the degree of damage and production interruption caused by Allied bombing. Their last title was the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre (UK) – (JARIC) [UK]).
General note
Series includes ca. 1700 photographs: b&w; 25 x 25 cm or smaller. Some photographs have been damaged from adhesive tape.