Scanned image of Luftwaffe vertical air photograph of Kirkwall, Hatston Airfield and surrounding area.

Description Scanned image of Luftwaffe vertical air photograph of Kirkwall, Hatston Airfield and surrounding area.

Date 1940

Collection Records of the German Air Force (Luftwaffe), Second World War Aerial Reconnaissance

Catalogue Number SC 797394

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 47652

Scope and Content Luftwaffe aerial photograph of radio station and Hatston Airfield, Kirkwall, Orkney Islands In this aerial photograph, the radio station (annotated as A) is noted as being under construction. Within the station compound there are four radio masts visible. The runways of Hatston Airfield are clearly visible to the west of Kirkwall. Another feature, annotated as GB 49 28, is also a radio station. Evidently the station was still being built, as other photographs, taken almost a year later, show two radio masts and other buildings still under construction. Although the Luftwaffe flew intelligence-gathering sorties throughout the war, the majority were flown in 1939 and 1940. In addition, the German national airline, Lufthansa, covertly took photographs across Britain in the years before the war while ostensibly surveying new routes for flights. Aerial reconnaissance photographs were used by Luftwaffe intelligence officers to identify new targets for bombing sorties, to assess the damage caused by earlier raids and to gather information about the strength of defences. Taken during aerial reconnaissance by the Luftwaffe in 1940, this photograph shows a radio station to the south-east of Kirkwall, and Hatston airfield which is situated to the north-west of the town. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/797394

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap