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*(2) Even where ground information was available, it was never able to
supply more than a small part of the vast quantity of data required for amphib-
ious planning. Pre-invasion scout and raider reconnaissance, as well as inter-
rogation of natives of the area, valuable though these sources were, provided
only spot information — the height of a wall at one point, the firmness of a
trail across the du-
nes, etc. The aerial
photograph was the
medium on which
such data was pin-
pointed, combined
with other intelli-
gence and ampli-
fied and fitted into
the complete pic-
ture.
“(3) The camera
provided the only
practical means of
obtaining continu-
ously up-to-date in-
formation about beaches not accessible for personal reconnaissance. The shore-
line — the boundary of water, land and air — is subject to the action of savage
dynamic forces. Sandbars and shoals may build up or disappear overnight
during periods of storms. In fact, many beaches undergo regular major shifts in
position during spring and fall storm periods. Examination of old photographs
of a beach area taken at different seasons of the year will show that such changes
are to be expected; successive sorties made during the planning period and
carefully studied by amphibious planners, will enable the alterations to be plot-
ted as they occur."
This paper will attempt to highlight some of the techniques and equipment
used by the aerial photographic interpreter in studying coast and beach areas
for amphibious operations. The discussion of those techniques which relate spe-
cifically to the collection of data for military usage (i.e., amphibious) operations
must be general for reasons of security.
Let us begin with a definition. In this paper we shall refer to the areas of
water and land studied in amphibious photography as the *coastal zone." We
shall arbitrarily define this zone as extending from the shoreline seaward to
about the five fathom line and from the shoreline inland either to a distance of
approximately five miles or to the first major landform barrier, whichever is
the less. These limits define the area of primary interest to the military amphib-
ious photographic interpreter, but not necessarily the limit of his efforts.
The process of studying aerial photography has been variously broken
down by some writers into *photo-reading", *photo-analysis", and *photo in-
terpretation." For simplicity, such divisions will be avoided in this paper, and
the term *amphibious photographic interpretation" will be broadly used to cover
all of the details embodied in the analysis of photography for amphibious in-
telligence purposes.
Prowse Inlet
fhote taken 10 duly 1933 Thobo tekem 25 Op tober 1991
Fig. 2. Change in shoreline configuration due to storm wave action.
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