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A historic colour vertical aerial photo of a coastline. The left two-thirds of the image are filled with a very blue sea. The shore to the right looks dry and arid.

Air Photo Finder Release Notes

Highlights of newly released imagery on Air Photo Finder, offering contextual summaries for newly digitised aerial imagery from NCAP and partner collections.

Air Photo Finder delivers fast access to already digitised aerial imagery from the National Collection of Aerial Photography (NCAP) and its partners. Each batch release includes a concise summary and key metadata—collection name, sortie details, frame counts, and release dates—giving users immediate insight into what’s new and where it came from.

Collections Extent Uploaded to Air Photo Finder
ACIU	120 sorties	15,866 frames
AIRBUS	120 sorties	24,101 frames
BLUESKY	12 sorties	4,343 frames
BKS SURVEYS	43 sorties	9,006 frames
DGC	44 sorties	2,466 frames
DOS	2,329 sorties	300,575 frames
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY	78 sorties	11,874 frames
GERMAN AIR FORCE	2 sorties	94 frames
GETMAPPING	27 sorties	10,960 frames
JARIC	530 sorties	135,114 frames
MAPRW	4 sorties	654 frames
NARA	2,604 sorties	224,197 frames
NERC	172 sorties	27,361 frames
SCOTTISH OFFICE	344 sorties	54,185 frames
SIMMONS	1,321 sorties	226,552 frames
UK PERSPECTIVES	7 sorties	1,422 frames

Last Updated: 12 November 2025
Total Uploaded Sorties	7,757
Total Uploaded Frames	1,048,770

Image Release Notes

Image Release Note 0023: NARA Upload

Batch of 10,112 frames from 48 new sorties released on 10 November 2025.

Image Release Note 0022: NARA Upload

Batch of 10,391 frames from 55 new sorties released on 3 November 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a bombed city. Numerous roofless houses and craters are visible. To the left of the image are trains in some railway sidings. To the right are boats on a canal.

Image Release Note 0021: NARA Upload

Batch of 10,355 frames from 68 new sorties released on 28 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of an island headland, flanked by dark sea. A white runway extends along the headland. White flashes of explosions dot the righthand side of the image.

Image Release Note 0020: NARA Upload

Batch of 30,646 frames from 162 new sorties released on 22 October 2025.

A historic colour vertical aerial photo of an airport. Airport buildings and numerous aircraft are visible, including three large airliners and a Concorde. The low light means the Concorde is throwing a dramatic shadow of itself.

Image Release Note 0019: NCAP Upload

Batch of 31,497 frames from 191 new sorties released on 21 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a town on a coast. A couple of vessels are visible on the dark sea at the top of the image. The town is laid out along the coast in a grid, and has piers jutting out into the water.

Image Release Note 0018: NCAP Upload

Batch of 50,317 frames from 215 new sorties released on 20 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a landscape with a river running through it. On the right of the river is a small settlement. To the left is an arid landscape with a few water courses running through it.

Image Release Note 0017: NCAP Upload

Batch of 33,738 frames from 174 new sorties released on 16 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a watery landscape. The mix of land and water forms an abstract pattern of what seems to be bubbles or holes.

Image Release Note 0016: NCAP Upload

Batch of 34,291 frames from 292 new sorties released on 15 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of mountainous terrain. A semi-circle of rock cuts through the middle of the image, forming a crater in which trails or paths are visible.

Image Release Note 0015: NCAP Upload

Batch of 43,123 frames from 347 new sorties released on 14 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a city. Houses are arranged in neat blocks, interspersed with trees.

Image Release Note 0014: NCAP Upload

Batch of 42,233 frames from 432 new sorties released on 08 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a ragged shoreline. A lake stretches along the bottom of the image, with the land rising to snowy peaks along the top.

Image Release Note 0013: NCAP Upload

Batch of 52,313 frames from 487 new sorties released on 07 October 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of Hong Kong, with densely packed buildings covering a promontory surrounded by sea. Several vessels are on the water. The photo has been marked with black lines to show contours.

Image Release Note 0012: NCAP Upload

Batch of 48,235 frames from 500 new sorties released on 06 October 2025.

A historic colour vertical aerial photo of a shoreline. Along the bottom of the image is a blue sea. A wide beach interspersed with groynes runs along the sea, with the houses of a town inland from the beach.

Image Release Note 0011: NCAP Upload

Batch of 41,492 frames from 272 new sorties released on 24 September 2025.

A historic colour vertical aerial photo of a coastline. The left two-thirds of the image are filled with a very blue sea. The shore to the right looks dry and arid.

Image Release Note 0010: NCAP Upload

Batch of 46,950 frames from 238 new sorties released on 22 September 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of forested hills. To the left a small stretch of sea can be seen.

Image Release Note 0009: NARA Upload

Batch of 47,213 frames from 500 new sorties released on 17 September 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a coastline. To the right is the sea, separated from a small town by a beach. Inland is a caravan park and a dark body of water.

Image Release Note 0008: NCAP Upload

Batch of 37,433 frames from 233 new sorties released on 15 September 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of agricultural land along a coastline. The sea is to the right of the image, and some hills are visible in the top left corner.

Image Release Note 0007: NARA Upload

Batch of 47,995 frames from 564 new sorties released on 10 September 2025.

A historic black and white oblique aerial photo of the Forth Rail Bridge stretching across the Firth of Forth. The bridge is formed of iron girders arranged in rhomboid shapes. In the foreground is a small town with jetties reaching into the Forth.

Image Release Note 0006: NCAP Upload

Batch of 47,604 frames from 206 new sorties released on 5 September 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a crescent-shaped island, fringed by beaches and surrounded by the sea. A few small white clouds are visible.

Image Release Note 0005: NCAP Upload

Batch of 25,694 frames from 217 new sorties released on 1 September 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of Helsinki in winter. The regular grid of streets stands out against the snow. To the left is a ragged coastline fringed by frozen sea.

Image Release Note 0004: NARA Upload

Batch of 51,666 frames from 929 new sorties released on 25 August 2025.

A historic colour vertical aerial photo of a volcanic crater. The surface of the crater looks gritty and dusty.

Image Release Note 0003: NCAP Upload

Batch of 46,786 frames from 207 new sorties released on 20 August 2025.

A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a densely packed city. The sea is visible in the bottom right corner heavily dotted with vessels.

Image Release Note 0002: NCAP Upload

Batch of 42,071 frames from 307new sorties released on 13 August 2025.

A black and white aerial photo of about a dozen ships pulled up on a beach. The land beyond the beach has been divided up into a grid, and the scene is slightly obscured by clouds or smoke.

Image Release Note 0001: Initial Upload

Batch of 216,615 frames from 1,381 new sorties released in November 2024.

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IN THIS SECTION

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Our Mission

With a responsibility for 30 million aerial photographic images, our goal is to preserve them and make them accessible for present and future generations.

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Meet the team of dedicated technicians, historians, analysts, cataloguers, data managers and robots who deliver NCAPs collections to the public every day.

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We collaborate with organisations from around the world with the common goal of facilitating access to aerial photographic collections.

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Operating as a part Historic Environment Scotland, we are able to work closely with colleagues across archives and business support to help meet our goals.

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