Historic England reveal USAAF aerial photos, including Aldermaston area

Historic England have added to their website over 20,000 photographs taken by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) reconnaissance aircraft, which flew hundreds of sorties over England during the Second World War. The Historic England Archive holds a USAAF collection that records airfields, military bases, towns, and countryside in England between 1943 and 1944.

For details, see: https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/archive/collections/photographs/usaaf-collection/

Below are some of the photographs covering the Aldermaston area, which cover an interesting period; taken within 5 years of the 1939 sale of the Estate, many of the buildings in Aldermaston village are as described in the sale catalogue, and features of the Manor House grounds are clearly visible, together with the recent additions of the army huts for wartime use.

There are several images showing RAF Aldermaston and others showing the area of Aldermaston Wharf, including Stranges Brewery, the Kennet and Avon Canal and buildings at Aldermaston Station.

Click on the images to enlarge them.