The author had a distinguished career in aerial photographic Interpretation and this is his seventh book, drawing from that considerable experience. The author has based his lavishly illustrated work on captured German war photographs showing what they knew about Russian strength and activity on the Eastern Front. Highly Recommended
NAME: Looking Down on War, Intelligence Images From The Eastern Front FILE: R2444 AUTHOR: Colonel Roy M Stanley II USAF (Ret.) PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PAGES: 349 PRICE: £30.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War 2, World War Two, Second World War, tanks, frontal assault, machine guns, artillery, bridges, roads, aerial photography, ground photography, Eastern Front, Luftwaffe, aerial photograph Interpreters ISBN: 1-47388-349-9 IMAGE: B2444.jpg BUYNOW: http://tinyurl.com/hypbtme LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The author had a distinguished career in aerial photographic Interpretation and this is his seventh book, drawing from that considerable experience. The author has based his lavishly illustrated work on captured German war photographs showing what they knew about Russian strength and activity on the Eastern Front. Highly Recommended One of the great challenges in drawing intelligence from photographs is in using available time wisely to locate and interpret those images that contain the most valuable information. Since the photograph became a major intelligence resource during WWI, vast quantities of images have been taken on the ground and in the air. It has become an even greater challenge since the introduction of intelligence satellites that circle the Earth producing a huge quantity of images in visible spectrum, infrared and radar. Photo interpreters have their work cut out to reach the intelligence while it still has greatest value. In 1945, the Luftwaffe was ordered to destroy its enormous stock of images to prevent them falling into enemy hands. The task was so great that more than twenty tons were located by USAF and RAF intelligence teams at a time when their own stocks of images were being destroyed. There was a growing appreciation that what became known as the Cold War was in the process of developing and any intelligence sources covering the Russian territories would become very valuable. The author has been able to use a large number of these images, including film shot on the ground, to demonstrate what the Germans knew about the Soviet Union before and after the start of Operation Barbarossa. Examples show landforms and the key cities and factories. The author has been able to use his skill as a photo interpreter to add helpful comments on the images. This is a unique collection of Nazi images and diverse. Fascinating and informative.