News & Articles

Find out about the latest news from NCAP and discover in-depth stories about NCAP collections, activities and projects.

A historic black and white vertical aerial image of a large aircraft carrier, its deck covered with aircraft. Several other vessels are visible on the sea around the aircraft carrier. Docks and a port are visible on the edge of a small portion of land at the top edge of the image.

What is a Cold War Object?

At the end of May, Rachel Nordstrom (Operations Manager) and Ben Reiss (Collections Manager) represented the National Collection of Aerial Photography at the What is a Cold War Object? symposium at National Museums Scotland, exploring Cold War collections, their uses and their audiences.

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A historic black and white oblique aerial photo of a town climbing up the slope of a hill. The houses look Mediterranean. A railway runs through a station at the bottom of the hill, with lines of wagons visible on the tracks.

Celebrating our Volunteers’ Invaluable Contributions!

This Volunteers’ Week, we are highlighting the fantastic contribution our volunteers make to the National Collection of Aerial Photography’s mission to preserve and make accessible the 30 million aerial photographic images in our care.

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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of an airport. 2 runways are visible running across the image separated by fields. A road runs diagonally from the top left to the bottom right of the image. Above the road is a settlement and coastline, with the sea visible in the top right corner.

Image Release Note 0036: NCAP Upload

This release highlights imagery from the DOS collection, with a focus on the Solomon Islands, as well as coverage of Europe from the JARIC collection.

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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of the battleship Bismarck. The pale ship stands out on the dark sea.

The Photograph That Sunk a Battleship

In May 1941, a photographic reconnaissance mission flown by the Royal Air Force captured one of the most consequential images of the Second World War. Taken by pilot Michael Suckling...

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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a dam across the foot of a loch. The downstream face of the dam is comprised of numerous narrow arches. The loch sits in a highland landscape.

Anatomy Of: Hydroelectric Power Stations

In the first of our 'Anatomy Of' series of articles, we look at the way aerial photography held by NCAP reveals how the power of moving water is harnessed to...

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A historic black and white aerial photo of a dam. The dam runs horizontally across the image, with the water appearing very black along the lower edge of the image. Rocky land is visible in the upper half of the image, with water outflows visible as white splashes.

Rediscovering the Nile: How Aerial Surveys Reveal Vanished Landscapes

The National Collection of Aerial Photography preserves images captured for the Geographical Section, General Staff decades before the construction of the Aswan High Dam transformed the River Nile and its...

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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a large city straddling a river. 3 bridges cross the river, which runs into a lake at the bottom edge of the image. The city's streets and buildings are clearly visible.

Image Release Note 0035: NARA Upload

This release highlights Second World War imagery from NARA, with considerable coverage of Germany, as well as France, central Europe and the Middle East.

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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of a coastline. The sea runs along the right-hand and bottom edges of the image, with a town visible on the land to the left. In the centre is a large castle, with 2 curtain walls, 2 grand gatehouses and numerous large towers.

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales Collaboration

The National Collection of Aerial Photography has been working with the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales to digitise tens of thousands of aerial photographic images...

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A historic black and white vertical aerial photo of Caernarfon Castle with 7 large towers in its curtain wall and a large gatehouse. To the left of the castle is a walled town. The town borders the sea. Along the bottom of the image is a river on which are lots of small boats.

Image Release Note 0034: RCAHMW Upload

This release contains aerial reconnaissance imagery produced by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales from the 1940s to the 2000s, digitised and published in collaboration...

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A monochrome map of the city of Edinburgh. Lines and numbers in alternating black and red pen show where an aircraft has taken aerial photos.

Map Festival

On Friday 6 February 2026, NCAP participated in the first ever National Library of Scotland Map Festival – a celebration of all things cartographic.

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