Atlantic Wall in World War 2 - Aerial Photos taken by the United States Army Air Forces in August 1945

Published on March 6, 2025

In an untitled film roll in the National Archives and Records Administration, Markus Lenz discovered a total of 244 aerial photos of the Dutch, Belgian and French coast line taken by the United States Army Air Forces on August 4, 1945. The aerial photos were taken from the side door of an aircraft and depict a part of the Atlantic Wall.

The flight begins in Westkapelle, on the western tip of the Walcheren peninsula in the Dutch province of Zeeland, and extends to the French municipality of Leffrinckoucke in the Département Nord in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Dunkerque (Dunkirk or Duinkerke).

The film roll was digitized and offers a resolution of 2,800 x 2,800 pixels (300 dpi) for each aerial image. It should be noted that image information was permanently engraved on the negative film roll; this includes the name of the film roll, the date of recording, the flight altitude and the locations flown over. The aerial photographs were taken by a unit of the 9th US Air Fleet, which was primarily active on the European continent during the Second World War and during the Cold War.

About the Atlantic Wall

The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticipated Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe from the United Kingdom, during World War II.

The manning and operation of the Atlantic Wall was administratively overseen by the German Army, with some support from Luftwaffe ground forces. The Kriegsmarine (German Navy) maintained a separate coastal defence network, organised into a number of sea defence zones.

Hitler ordered the construction of the fortifications in 1942. The fortifications included colossal coastal guns, batteries, mortars, and artillery, and thousands of artillery pieces were stationed in its defences. Today, ruins of the wall exist in all of the nations where it was built, although many structures have fallen into the ocean or have been demolished over the years.

Aerial Photo Series

Picture Credits
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Records of the Defense Intelligence Agency, 1920-2006
Can ON220697, Aerial Photographs