This collection includes the following material gathered by James Smith: photo album containing Smith's handwritten diary, photographs, postcards, currency, and maps; a printed copy of Smith's diary; a song, "Ballad of Thirty First;" and the booklet "The Story of the Thirty First Photo Reconnaissance Squadron."
Biographical / Historical:
The Thirty First Photo Reconnaissance Squadron was activated in August of 1943 and deactivated in November 1945. The Squadron's campaigns included the following: Air Offensive, Europe; Normandy; Northern France; Rhineland; Ardennes-Alsace; and Central Europe. The Squadron won a Distinguished Unit Citation in 1944. James Smith was an enlisted man for this unit.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Earl F. Miller, gift, 1999, 1999-0018, NASM
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Joint Photographic Reconnaissance Center Search this
Extent:
9 Cubic feet ((10 boxes))
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Aerial photographs
Training manuals
Date:
bulk 1914-1945
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of historical information on aerial photographic reconnaissance, compiled by the donor, Samuel Batchelder. The bulk of the material is publications, including "The Illustrated War News" (World War I), '"Evidence in Camera" (British Air Ministry), and "Enemy Defences" (Mediterranean Allied Photographic Reconnaissance Command). The collection also includes recognition and training manuals for photographic interpretation, aerial photos of the European Theater of Operations, and damage shots of Allied bombing targets.
Biographical / Historical:
Samuel L. Batchelder (1908-1991) was affiliated with the US Army Air Forces Intelligence School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Joint Photographic Reconnaissance Center in Mendenham, England.
Provenance:
Samuel L. Batchelder, Gift, 1985
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This donation consists of 65 negatives taken in 1937 and 1938 by Major Tweedy who was an Aerial Photographer with the 2nd Observation Unit, stationed at Nichols Field, Philippines. Along with images of Nichols Field and officers of the squadrons based there, the following aircraft are featured: Boeing P-12 (Model 102), Boeing P-26, Thomas-Morse O-19C, Keystone B-3A and Martin B-10B. The collection also includes an 11-image sequence documenting a parachute dummy test drop at Nichols Field in 1938.
Biographical / Historical:
Major George M. Tweedy (1915-2001) attended San Diego State College before leaving in 1935 to join the Army Air Corps. Tweedy's military career spanned 26 years, and much of it concerned military photography. He was in the Philippines with the 2nd Observation Unit during the 1930s shooting aerial photography, and in 1941 he was in Canada and Alaska providing aerial photographs which were used in the building of the Alcan Highway. During World War II, he was stationed mostly in England with the 409th Bomb Group as a photo officer. After the war, Tweedy was an agent for the Army Counter Intelligence Corps in Alaska and then transferred to the Air Forces Office of Special Investigations. Tweedy was also a photo officer at Fort George Wright before retiring in 1961.
Provenance:
Katheryn Brown, Gift, 2003
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of one 8 by 10 inch photograph of Ivan Becker holding a Fairchild K20 aerial camera in front of a Cessna L-19, and the booklet, "Aerial Photo Reconnaissance cycle for the 47th Infantry Division."
Biographical / Historical:
Ivan Becker (b. 1938) was born in Budapest, Hungary. Orphaned by the Holocaust, he immigrated to the United States in 1946. In 1951, Becker was drafted into the United States Army, where he was trained and worked as an Army photographer for the 47th Infantry Division. Becker was discharged in 1953, and become a successful businessman. In 2007, Becker was appointed by President Bush to the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, the governing body of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
Provenance:
Ivan Becker, Gift, 2007
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
