National Collection of Aerial Photography

{{Short description|Archive in Edinburgh, Scotland}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

File:National_Collection_of_Aerial_Photography_Logo.png

The National Collection of Aerial Photography is a photographic archive in Edinburgh, Scotland, containing over 30 million aerial photographs of worldwide historic events and places. From 2008–2015 it was part of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of ScotlandWilliams, Allan (2013) Operation Crossbow: The Untold Story of Photographic Intelligence and the Search For Hitler's V Weapons and since then it has been a sub-brand of Historic Environment Scotland. Many of the aerial reconnaissance photographs were taken during the Second World War and the Cold War, and were declassified and released by the Ministry of Defence. The collection also contains over 1.8 million aerial survey photographs of Scotland,{{Cite web|url=https://maps.nls.uk/os/air-photos/info.html|title = Ordnance Survey Air Photo Mosaics, 1944-1950 - National Library of Scotland}} during and in the years after the Second World War, as well as post-war Ordnance Survey, over 4 million photogrammetric images, and over 10 million aerial survey images of international sites as part of The Aerial Reconnaissance Archives (TARA). The collection contains both military declassified and non-military aerial photographs from over a dozen different national and international organisations.

NCAP’s historical aerial photography is primarily used to locate unexploded Second World War bombs by European bomb disposal companies{{Cite news|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/business/firm-uses-historic-aerial-photos-to-find-unexploded-wwii-bombs-a-825836.html|title = Firm Uses Historic Aerial Photos to Find Unexploded WWII Bombs|newspaper = Der Spiegel|date = 9 April 2012|last1 = Curry|first1 = Andrew}} and in historical, archaeological and climate change research.{{Cite web|url=https://southerncoastalgroup-scopac.org.uk/scopac-research/scanning-photography/|title = Scanning of historical aerial photography • the Southern Coastal Group and SCOPAC}} It is also used for documentaries and dramas on television and in film.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/lifestyle/2693889/secrets-scotlands-submerged-ruins/|title=Hidden underwater: The secrets of Scotland's submerged ruins|first=Gayle|last=Ritchie}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/entertainment/603365/scotland-sky-closest-can-get-time-travel/|title = Scotland from the Sky - the closest you can get to time travel}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09xptsg|title = BBC One - RAF at 100 with Ewan and Colin McGregor}}