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Roy M. Stanley

For his latest book Colonel Roy Stanley presents aerial photographs of the German and Italian fleets that were selected as important six decades ago and have long lain dormant, unindexed and unexplained. Extensive use of aerial and other Intelligence imagery from long retired files would be enough to make this book a must for those intrigued by World War II intelligence and naval history. But it is the author's commentary that makes this work truly unique, thanks to his aerial photo interpretation experience, ability to provide Intelligence analysis, and academic background. Meticulously researched for ship identification, the eye of an experienced PI sees things others might miss, and the author tells us what he sees. Some of these photos may have appeared in contemporary documents but never with the insight presented in this book. We see warships under attack, at sea and in harbor as captured by photo reconnaissance. Analysis of selective enlargements adds to the understanding. Even the most devout follower of warships will learn something.

Pen & Sword Maritime

Looking Down on War

Axis Warships: As Seen on Photos from Allied Intelligence Files

Despite the Luftwaffe being ordered to destroy millions of aerial photos in 1945, the Allies found no less than twenty tons of photos in eleven locations, including a hoard in a Bavarian barn. These together with vast numbers of photographs taken by German soldiers used for Intelligence analysis were put into classified Allied Intelligence files at a time when USAAF and RAF imagery was being destroyed. Covering Iron Curtain countries they were valuable for cartography and target intelligence during the Cold War. The captured German imagery (called GX) in this book show what the German Army knew about the Soviet Union before and during Operation Barbarossa. Examples show Eastern Front landforms, key cities such as Stalingrad, Moscow, Sevastopol, Leningrad and factories. They are accompanied by helpful comments from a skilled photo interpreter. This unique and diverse collection, some taken from 28,000 feet overhead, others taken by soldiers on the ground, reveal the war on the Eastern Front as it has never been seen before.

Pen & Sword Military

Intelligence Images from the Eastern Front

The development of air transport in the early 20th Century led military strategists to examine the concept of inserting light infantry at key points behind enemy lines by air landing and air drop. The Germans were first off-the-mark with assaults in Norway and at Eben Emael in 1940. Crete saw a larger scale attack but while ultimately victorious the cost of men and equipment involved deterred any further Axis operation. 

The Allies on the other hand developed the concept dramatically with the large scale operation HUSKY in Sicily. While only partially successful there was massive loss of life and aircraft airborne operations were a key, if relatively minor, element of Op OVERLORD The D-Day Invasion. The most famous airborne operation was the large scale but ill-fated MARKET GARDEN. 

Almost successful the Arnhem battle goes down as a heroic defeat. The culmination of WWII airborne operations was the multi-division Rhine Crossing VARSITY. Expert author and collector Roy Stanley traces the history of airborne landings in words and pictures.

Evolution of Airborne Operations, 1939–1945

“This book takes an innovative approach to describing the much-trodden territory of the D-Day landings by using a very broad range of aerial photographs. ” —The Pegasus Archive

The Normandy Invasion literally takes a different view of D-Day and just beyond, showing the well-known events using aerial photos. This is what anxiously waiting senior officers knew about progress in the early hours of 6 June 1944. The RAF and USAAF imagery used is almost entirely from long-dormant U. S. Department of Defense intelligence files.

Examining the invasion scene beach-by-beach, the eyes of a trained, experienced photo interpreter uncover details a layman would certainly miss. This overview of Normandy landings and subsequent combat shows the scope and sweep of battle and helps explain why some objectives were reached, why some units forged ahead where others were stalled. We see the beaches as never before; their width at low tide; the support vessels offshore and equipment moving inland; formidable beach obstacles, and pre-invasion aerial reconnaissance.

Think of this book as an adjunct to all the ground-level photos you have seen of men leaving landing craft or crouching beside sea walls—a different perspective on one of the momentous military actions of the last hundred years. Refer to this book when you read about D-Day and actually see what other authors have written about.

“As never before, the reader can gain a view of the scale of this amazing military formation, both of the German defenses and the Allied forces landing, being resupplied and breaking out from the beachheads. This is a book not to be missed. ” —Firetrench Aerospace & Defence