Aerial view.

Description Aerial view.

Date 1940

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

Catalogue Number C 47646

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 797398

Scope and Content Luftwaffe aerial photograph of Skitten Airfield, Highland Construction of Skitten Airfield began early in 1940, and this Luftwaffe photograph from December of that year clearly shows the runway and a cluster of buildings in one corner; it is possible that the base was not yet completed at this time. In 1942, one runway was extended as a result of Skitten becoming a reserve airfield for bomber command. Surrounding the airfield, particularly to the south and east, there are anti-glider obstacles which appear as white fences across the fields. 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, this photograph shows Skitten Airfield, which lay to the north-west of Wick. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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