Scanned image of Luftwaffe vertical air photograph of the First World War flying boat base at Cat Firth, Shetland Islands.

Description Scanned image of Luftwaffe vertical air photograph of the First World War flying boat base at Cat Firth, Shetland Islands.

Date 1939

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

Catalogue Number SC 797389

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of C 47587

Scope and Content Luftwaffe aerial photograph of Seaplane Base, Cat Firth, Shetland Islands In this photograph much of the base remains unfinished. Near the sea a slipway and hard-standing area (3 and 2) have been completed for seaplanes to use, though the adjacent hangar (1) is still being built. The cluster of buildings at the opposite side of the base (4 on this photograph) are described as being accommodation blocks, though only seven are completed with a further 12 being built. 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, probably in 1939, this photograph shows a seaplane base under construction at Cat Firth, Shetland. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/797389

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap