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Aerial photos from Wiltshire in WW2 made available for first time

Historic England Archive/USAAF P Aerial picture of US military camp, Devizes in Wiltshire, showing many huts in the distanceHistoric England Archive/USAAF P
This photo of a US military camp on outskirts of Devizes was taken at low level on the 30 April 1944

Thousands of aerial photographs taken by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War Two have been made available to the public for the first time.

The collection of 3,600 images includes several Wiltshire locations - including Stonehenge on Christmas Eve, 1943.

The Photographic Reconnaissance units were stationed across England in 1943 and 1944, after the US joined the war.

The photographs show how the conflict changed the UK landscape.

Whole towns and large sections of cities are captured in single frames, showing army hospital tents on Marlborough Common in Wiltshire and the Great Western Railway Works and Railway Village in Swindon.

Historic England Archive/USAAF P Detail of an oblique aerial photograph taken on an F-5 of the 31st PR Squadron, showing a game of baseball being played on a US Army camp on the outskirts of Devizes, Wiltshire, 30 April 1944.Historic England Archive/USAAF P
A baseball game taking place at a US Army camp on the outskirts of Devizes in April 1944

A low-level photograph of part of a US Army camp in Devizes shows firing ranges in the foreground while troops play a game of baseball in a recreation field.

The view of Christmas Eve in 1943 at Stonehenge shows the markings highlighting the location of a First World War aerodrome and camp.

The collection also captures the main stand of the Manchester United football ground after it was hit in a bombing raid in March 1941.

Historic England Archive/USAAF P An aerial picture of Stonehenge in Wiltshire, taken on Christmas Eve 1943Historic England Archive/USAAF P
Stonehenge on Christmas Eve 1943, showing the ancient landscape around the famous stone circle (shown top left of the picture)

The collection, which captures locations across the country in an "astonishing level of detail", has been made available to the public in an online, searchable map on the Historic England Archive.

Chief executive of Historic England, Duncan Wilson, said the collection "records changes taking place in England as a result of the Second World War, as well as capturing fascinating incidental detail, like American troops playing baseball".

Historic England Archive/USAAF P Aerial of Marlborough in Wiltshire taken 8 March 1944Historic England Archive/USAAF P
Marlborough, Wiltshire, in a photograph taken in March 1944

Mr WIlson said: "Our collection of USAAF wartime photographs were taken in England by the pilots and aircraft of squadrons that provided intelligence for the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany.

"This came at a cost, with many pilots killed in the line of duty."

Historic England Archive/USAAF P Great Western Railway Works and Railway VillageHistoric England Archive/USAAF P
The Great Western Railway Works and Railway Village in Swindon in September 1943

He said making the images available to the public for the first time helps to highlight the "vital role aerial reconnaissance played" during the conflict.

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