Aerial reconnaissance began in the 18th  century when balloons were first used to observe military manoeuvres and came of age in the First World War

Aeroplanes were then used on the Western Front to identify troop locations and to direct artillery fire.  The advent of the camera and the use of stereoscopic imagery gave photographic intelligence a role it justly claims of providing 80% of the known information to the national defence forces

Descriptively it is often called “The Eye in the Sky”

During the Second World War RAF Medmenham in Berkshire was the secret headquarters for the interpretation of the millions of photographs taken by Allied planes flying over Europe 

Targets for bombing raids were identified using this  intelligence   and  the results  later  analysed   from   further aerial photography

Famous  aerial  discoveries include the German radar at Bruneval in Northern France and the V1 and V2 rockets at Peenemunde on the Baltic coast

Planning for the Allied invasion in Normandy depended on aerial photography of the coast to identify the defences and suitable landing sites

The  Medmenham  Collection   at  Muckleburgh   displays the story of aerial reconnaissance through cameras, photographic descriptions, the equipment used, and stereoscopic imagery 

The Collection includes a reconnaissance pod carried by Hawk and Tornado aircraft until recent times. Today aircraft are aided by satellites and drones as may be seen from the following video