Just Finished Reading: Spies in the Sky – The Secret Battle for Aerial Intelligence during World War II by Taylor Downing (FP: 2011)

It was understood from the experience gained in the First World War that reconnaissance aircraft needed to fly low and slow in order to gain photographs of sufficient quality to be of any use. However it very quickly became apparent, after painfully few craft returned from missions in the opening weeks of World War Two, that new tactics and new photographic technology were needed. As the RAF struggled with the new reality – and much else besides – a daring group of engineers and pilots redefined aerial reconnaissance forever. The only way to survive in hostile airspace was to fly as high as possible and as fast as possible – by using state of the art fighter aircraft stripped to the bare essentials and flown by some of the best pilots in the service. Such pilots, the engineers and technicians that serviced them and the photographic interpreters whose job it was the decide what exactly had been photographed, whether it presented a real target and, after any attack, if the target had been sufficiently damaged or destroyed are the subject of this detailed and riveting book.

The vital element of photo reconnaissance does seem to be the forgotten child of WW2. Yet without it the RAF would have had to rely on the often unrealistic testimony of bomber pilots rather than the far more scientific bomb damage assessments possible with detailed photographic evidence, German radar systems may never have been discovered and then subsequently stolen by commandoes thereby giving Bomber Command a huge advantage in the ongoing electronic battles with the Luftwaffe, the battleships Tirpitz and Bismarck may never have been found and ultimately destroyed before they could do immeasurable damage to the Atlantic convoys and the V-weapon development and launch sites may have never been found and attacked which arguably put their development back far enough that they became largely useless as war winning devices. All of this occurred – and much more besides – because incredibly brave and talented individuals put themselves repeatedly in harm’s way to bring back photographic evidence of what the enemy was up to. Undoubtedly many lives were saved by the timely provision of up-to-the-minute information of what was around the next corner or over the next hill. From a largely shoe-string operation the British (and later Anglo-American) top secret photo-interpreter organisation became a highly efficient organisation populated by some of the brightest men and women in the country.

This excellent book complimented nicely my previous reading on the V weapons and Bletchley Park. So much so in fact that I recommend that they be read together to give a fuller picture of what was going on at the time. I have a few more books on related subjects coming up and expect that eventually they’ll make a nice little selection of books relating to this fascinating aspect of WW2. Highly recommended.