Great War aerial photography during the Palestine Campaign

[Eran Tearosh]

 

Are there links to British and/or Australian aerial photographs from the war?

So far, seems these photographs are scattered all over (Not to many...) 

The Germen work (hundreds of photos) is well organized in the Bavarian Archives, and I guess (to be honest - hope...) there's something like that in the AWM and IWM collections, or somewhere else.

 

Eran  

[assafx]

 

Hi Eran,

 

i'm stuck just like you.

There are a few British and Australian photographs scattered between KEW,AWM, IWM and sometimes the Hebrew U geography archive.

If i had to estimate, based on the German Fl.304 archive, the British should have had at least the same amount.

I hope that they were kept and just never catalogued.

 

btw, i know that the German had another squadron, Fl.300, that also took aerial photographs (like the one from Auja el Hafir) but i could never find it online besides a few captured ones at KEW.

 

Assaf

 

[Skipman]

There are some here but not sure if that's what your looking for. Click

 

Worth a good look anyway, quite a collection Click

 

Mike

[Eran Tearosh]

Thanks Mike!

 

The source of the Matson Collection is the work of the Photography Workshop of The American Colony in Jerusalem. The originals are at their archives, today on the grounds of 'The American Colony Hotel', a few minutes walk from the north wall of the Old City of Jerusalem. I visit there quite often.

 

Eran 

[Skipman]

 

Tremendous collection. Hope at least to have drawn it to the attention of others. Hope too that you find what you are looking for.

 

mike

[barkalotloudly]

Several years ago i purchased a collection of trench maps from the Palestine campaign  in the notes that came with these mention was made of a set of aerial  photographs,  unfortunately missing, never been able to track them down interestingly enough a set of these was offered in the Bertram Rota  catalouge of 1988 but they were unable to tell me who the purchaser was so i search on 

[michaeldr]

On 12/06/2021 at 00:17, Eran Tearosh said:

Are there links to British and/or Australian aerial photographs from the war?

 

I have by no means checked them all, however so far I have seen no indication that any of these are available on line – something for your next trip to Kew?

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C14523

 

 

 

Edited 24 July , 2021 by michaeldr

[michaeldr]

Whereas the Australians do have some available on-line; eg https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2695544?image=1

[seaJane]

18 hours ago, assafx said:

Hi Jane,

It was taken in the 30's. Near where the word Jerusalem is written, you can see the Rockefeller museum. The constraction of the building ended in 1935.

The plane seems like a Hawker Fury, that entered service in 1931.

 

Assaf

Thank you for the information, Assaf, and my apologies for putting you to the trouble.

[assafx]

10 hours ago, seaJane said:

Thank you for the information, Assaf, and my apologies for putting you to the trouble.

No trouble at all. I work at the Israel Antiquities Authority and our main offices are licated at the Rockefeller museum. I noticed it in a second 🙂

[assafx]

21 hours ago, michaeldr said:

 

I have by no means checked them all, however so far I have seen no indication that any of these are available on line – something for your next trip to Kew?

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/r/C14523

 

there are a few photographs at their online collection. the interesting part is that most of them are captured german photographs of Fl.304...

Thank you for the link, I don't know when my next visit to Kew will be but this file will be on my list.

 

Assaf

[michaeldr]

Dr Gustaf Dalman's 1925 book on the wartime aerial photography of this theatre can be seen here http://idb.ub.uni-tuebingen.de/opendigi/FoXX96_qt?sid=f7a68cad4bfed04f9aabe530b385e688 though a knowledge of German would be an advantage 

edit to add example; Jerusalem, November 1917 : [Details of squadron, (flight number?) date, time of day, altitude in metres - Fl.303, Nr.779. 2./11.1917, 8.45 vorm. H. 1800m.]

Edited 24 July , 2021 by michaeldr

[assafx]

Amazing to find it online.

At the reserve book section of the Hebrew U library, they won't let you leave the room with it.

Gustaf Dalman was the first to analyze aerial photographs and connect it to history and geography of the holy land.

another late example is: Looking twice at the Land of Israel : aerial photographs of 1917-18 and 1987-91 / by B.Z. Kedar

Dalman uses German photographs and sadly so are most of kedar's photographs

 

Thank you for the link,

Assaf

Edited 24 July , 2021 by assafx

[michaeldr]

25 minutes ago, assafx said:

another late example is: Looking twice at the Land of Israel : aerial photographs of 1917-18 and 1987-91 / by B.Z. Kedar

A very great favourite of mine too

"The Changing Land Between the Jordan and the Sea" by Benjamin Z. Kedar, ISBN 965-05-0975-5

I have given away so many as gifts to visitors here and my own copy is so well used that the binding is now an embarrassment