News & Articles

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

A red robot arm carefully lifts a historic photographic print onto a glass scanner bed. The background is out of focus, but other robot arms and scanners are just visible. To the left, a person sits at a computer screen with their back to the camera.

Pioneering Robotic Digitisation

Read about how we are using groundbreaking technology and techniques to digitise millions of the images in the NCAP Collection.

Read more
A colour aerial photo of an airfield, with a runway running horizontally across the image. The airfield is surrounded by trees. 6 grass-covered bunkers are to the lower left of the runway, with airfield buildings to the lower right.

Cold War Imagery Documents Global Political Events

The NCAP Collection contains millions of images relating to the Cold War, ranging from the Suez Crisis to British interests in south-east Asia and events at home such as Greenham...

Read more
A historic black and white vertical aerial photo with the sea to the left and land to the right. There are several ships on the sea and more at piers projecting from the land. The land is heavily built-up. There are lines and annotations in red and white pencil.

Hong Kong Aerial Imagery Dating Back to 1924

The oldest imagery available through the NCAP Collections illustrates a unique and engaging view of Hong Kong. 

Read more
A black and white oblique aerial photo of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The grand white ceremonial arch stands in the middle of a roundabout. Trees surround the roundabout and handsome white buildings stretch into the distance.

A Brief History of Aerial Photography

Aerial photography is almost as old as photography itself. Find out more about the history of the fascinating medium which underpins the NCAP Collection.

Read more
A black and white annotated aerial photo of the Forth Rail Bridge. The bridge and its shadow span the image vertically. The words ‘Firth of Forth’ have been written across it and the word ‘Flak’ in the middle marks the location of anti-aircraft guns.

Aerial photography and the Second World War

Photographic reconnaissance facilitated vital intelligence work on both sides during the Second World War. 

Read more
A stack of 10 thin cardboard boxes for aerial photos. The boxes have labels on them indicating the photos were taken in Sarawak and Sabah between 1945 and 1962. The labels contain information about the sorties and the squadrons that took the photos.

Completion of the Directorate of Overseas Surveys

The Directorate of Overseas Surveys was responsible for a multi-decade mapping project of British overseas territories, resulting in a unique record comprising of over 1.7 million images.

Read more
A large blue industrial building. It has the number 3 on it and the logo of Historic Environment Scotland. At the far end of the building is a bike shelter and two small white vans.

NCAP Moves to Scotland

Learn how the NCAP collection came to be, and why this culturally significant collection is part of Historic Environment Scotland. 

Read more
A grand red brick building with cupulas at each corner. In front of it is a lawn scattered with fallen leaves and lit by raking sunshine. Trees are visible to either side of the building, and there is a row of yew trees between it and the lawn.

The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives moves to Keele University

The National Collection of Aerial Photography started life as a research resource cared for and developed by Keele University. At it's foundation, The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (TARA) became the official...

Read more