About Us Release Notes Overview

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 on Air Photo Finder
ACIU 120 sorties 15,866 frames
AIRBUS 115 sorties 22,877 frames
BLUESKY 12 sorties 4,343 frames
BKS SURVEYS 42 sorties 8,790 frames
DGC 22 sorties 1,037 frames
DOS 1,441 sorties 178,471 frames
ENVIRONMENT AGENCY 78 sorties 11,874 frames
GERMAN AIR FORCE 2 sorties 94 frames
GET MAPPING 27 sorties 10,960 frames
ISLE OF MAN 2 sorties 60 frames
JARIC 423 sorties 99,109 frames
MAPRW 4 sorties 654 frames
NARA 2,274 sorties 163,057 frames
NERC 172 sorties 27,361 frames
SCOT 344 sorties 54,185 frames
SIMMONS 1,125 sorties 194,712 frames
UK PERSPECTIVES 7 sorties 1,422 frames
Last Updated: 13 October 2025
Total Available Sorties 6,210
Total Available Frames 794,872

Image Release Notes

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

Image Release Note 014: 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 013: 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 012: 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 011: 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 010: 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 009: 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 008: 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 007: 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 006: 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 005: 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 004: 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 003: 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 002: 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 001: Initial Upload

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

View Already Digitised Collections

Use our mapping tools to zoom into areas of interest and explore tens of thousands of images.
Visit Our Air Photo Finder

IN THIS SECTION

Four white and grey image scanners are spaced across a line of desks. Five blue and black film winders are spaced between the scanners. Each winder has a roll of black film on it. A section of a screen is in partial focus in the top right corner of the frame.

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.

A black and white historic photo of 4 women in uniform working in an office. Large windows are visible in the background. 2 of the women face the camera, 2 are sitting with their backs to the camera. Metal film canisters cover almost every surface.

Our Team

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

A large modern, multistorey building is the focus of the image. It is primarily made from glass sheets, with white panelling between them. Our view is partially obscured by large, low bushy trees, which are spaced in between areas of grass. Decorative paving is laid directly in front of us and leads to a low, sweeping glass entranceway.

Our Partners

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

An industrial building with signage that shows a blue and teal logo. The sign reads ‘Historic Environment Scotland’. Above it is a grey ‘3’ – indicating the building unit number. The building is dark blue and has large glass windows. In the far right two white vans are parked.

Historic Environment Scotland

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.

Two figures fill the right side of the frame, and sit in front of a computer workstation on the left. The figure on the right has short, dark brown hair an is wearing a grey jumper. The figure on the right has long red hair and wears glasses with a dark frame and a dark blue top. The figure on the right is pointing at the screen. Two frames black and white images are displayed on the grey walls around them.

Get Involved

Growing our network of partners includes reaching out to a knowledgeable and engaged public, for both volunteer and outreach opportunities.