Early Techniques and Equipment (continued)

Bagley Three-Lens Camera

James Bagley of the US Army Corps of Engineers developed the 3-lens camera around 1917. The three lenses, one vertical and two oblique, provided expanded ground coverage without adding the distortion produced by the wider angle lenses of the day. Operated manually, the camera recorded the three exposures simultaneously on one roll of film.

Portable Photo Labs

To provide quick access to reconnaissance photography, portable labs were sometimes towed into the field. Shown here is an 18-foot long processing laboratory equipped with separate rooms for developing and printing. Inside the lab, which was equipped with its own generator, as many as 200 prints could be processed per hour. (38k jpg)
Courtesy of Defense Visual Information Center.

George W. Goddard

George Goddard is one of America's foremost pioneers in aerial photography. He started his training at the Officer's School in Aerial Photography, US School of Military Aeronautics at Cornell University in 1917, and later rose to such positions as Director of the Army Photographic School at Chanute Field, Illinois, Chief Photographic Officer in Charge of Aerial Photographic Research at Wright Field, Ohio, and Aerial Reconnaissance Chief of NATO. His work greatly advanced the technology in many fields of aerial photographic science including night reconnaissance photography, in-flight processing, high altitude and long-range lenses, and the use of infrared film for distinguishing camouflage.

Goddard pioneered the development of nighttime reconnaissance photography. One night in 1925, he stunned Rochester, N.Y., by igniting an 80-pound flash powder bomb to light up the whole city. The result was the first aerial night photograph. Pictured here is one of his first attempts at recording an aerial view of Rochester at night.
Courtesy of Defense Visual Information Center.

Early Techniques

Military Reconnaissance