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The U.S. Army began aerial photography after World War I to free them from the time consuming and costly survey parties. Major James W. Bagley was placed in charge of the small engineer detachment at Wright Field to supply aerial photography for military mapping. The experiments of this time period produced methods of aerial mapping that opened up vast areas which would have been denied to a ground surveyor during World War II.
NASM.1991.0034
United States. Army. Corps of Engineers
1926-1938
Dr. Martin Gordon, Gift, 1991, 1991-0034, Public Domain
1.09 Cubic feet ((1 records center box))
National Air and Space Museum Archives
This collection contains bibliographies, correspondence, reports, articles, pamphlets and drafts of papers on aerial mapping and photography (one authored by Maj. James Bagley). It also contains a dictionary of photographic terms (in German) and material on various cameras and other equipment including Adam Hilger Ltd.'s Survey Stereoscope; Fairchild's Solar Navigator; Brigg's Gyroscope Vertical Indicator; J.G. Saltzman, Inc.'s, lighting and enlarging equipment; Messter Topograph; the Nistri Photocartograph and the Santoni Photogrammetric method (in both English and Italian); and the aerocartograph (blue prints and quadrangle mapping).
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Aeronautics, Military
Aeronautics
Aerial photography
Cartography
Maps, Military
Cameras
Photography -- Equipment and supplies
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Manuals
Dictionaries
Pamphlets
Articles
Reports
Correspondence
Bibliographies