German Luftwaffe Aerial Photographs

Yes, I was hoping that it would slightly easier to access the info than it actually is

I have access to some of the London area but before you ask, no they don't cover any airfields - mostly the area around the Thames and a few "fingers" heading out west and south. Nearest I've seen them get to an actual airfield is the very bottom tip of Hendon.

The only place I can say for sure has some is the Gloucestershire County Records Office which has a few from, ta-da, Gloucestershire! It's easy enough to get access to them and you can photograph them at your leisure although the lighting is a bit naff and they don't provide/allow tripods/stands.

Basically I have seen a really good one of St Athan, but don't know the source.
Tried different Welsh archives (for general St Athan/Llandow stuff aswel) with no joy.
I was hoping they were easier to find and locate specific areas etc.

As far as I know, the largest collection of German and Allied recon photos is held by TARA.

Thank you for your enquiry to The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives
(TARA). We have moved from The University of Keele to RCAHMS and are
working hard to setup our research service. We are also working to setup
a public viewing area within RCAHMS to allow visitors to come and do
their own research from our microfilm - the original records are being
remotely stored for the next few years. This service should be available
within the year.

If there is an area that you are interested in we can do remote
research.

We probably do have photography of your area(s) of interest. For doing
this research for you we need a map where your area of interest (AOI) is
exactly indicated. Best would be a polygon around your AOI. The research
lasts about an hour for one location and it would cost between £30 and
£60 (only if location does not exceed 100 hectares). If the research
time exceeds one hour, TARA staff will contact you. A research fee would
only be charged if coverage of the AOI is found.

Along with a map of the area you are interested in we will also need
your address for sending you the final product.

After the research you will receive low -resolution images from a
microfilm and a list with flights that cover your AOI. This list will
include Sortie References, Dates and rough scales. With the delivered
microfilm scans, you can then decide which you would like to order as
high-resolution images.

We deliver high resolution (1200 dpi) scans at a cost of £50 each (This
price is reflective of the handling, preservation and digitisation time
that goes into each print). For all UK citizens 17.5 % VAT has to be
added to all prices.

______________________________________________________________
Pulling material from the store.

Now that our archive is being stored remotely we have to pay a large
pull / delivery fee. This is reflected by a charge of £3.50 per item
pulled from the store for digitisation.

Not that I plan to visit in the near future but what is their location? Clearly a personal visit would keep those horrendous costs down.

I think they moved to Edinburgh didn't they?

IMPORTANT: Please note that The National Archives are no longer held at Keele. The National Archives, Keele University and the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland (RCAHMS) have joined forces to secure the future long-term preservation and continued development of the aerial reconnaissance archive. The archive is now held by RCAHMS in Edinburgh. (9th December 2008)

So I guess it's this lot:

www.rcahms.gov.uk/air-photograph ... ction.html

Looks like their Air Photo Finder link is busted, this is the direct link:

jura.rcahms.gov.uk/APF/start.jsp

Just came across this paragraph by chance looking for something else:

RAF wrote:

The Luftwaffe flew many reconnaissance missions over the United Kingdom. These aerial photographs were recovered after the war and taken to the United States. They are now preserved in the US National Archives.

From: www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/do ... graphs.pdf

Fair few useful links and details of how to search here: www.archives.gov/research/order/maps.html

I am confused. I know this does not refer to Luftwaffe photos but I am interested in aerial photos of Randle Works in Runcorn and the FFDs in the immediate post-war period. I know there are such photographs of Randle I have seen them in other places.
I was guided by the RAF Museum to English Heritage at Swindon where there seems to have been a consolidation of such photos. I spoke to very helpful lady. If I give her a couple of weeks notice when I am in the area (in mid-May) she says she will find any relevant photos for me to inspect.
So this may be helpful.