Shooting the Front: Allied Aerial Reconnaissance in the First World War - Hardcover

Finnegan, Terrence J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0752460528 ISBN 13: 9780752460529

Publisher: The History Press, 2011

Synopsis

The First World War demanded revolutionary technology to break the vicious stalemate in which the armies of Europe found themselves, as soon as static, or trench warfare became established. One such technology was aerial reconnaissance and photography, which together with the growing intelligence use of phone tapping and radio intercepts, changed the nature of war forever.

Colonel Terry J. Finnegan’s Shooting the Front reviews the entire evolution of Allied aerial photography and photographic interpretation during the Great War, in a text packed with data and based upon meticulous research in archives worldwide. The photographs included are both informative and spectacular, charting perforce the early years of aviation itself. Shooting the Front shows not only how important aerial reconnaissance was to the war effort, but also how it became the foundation for modern-day exploitation of imagery and geospatial intelligence used to guide today’s decision makers on global issues, and shaped intelligence work for generations to come.

Colonel Terry J. Finnegan served 30 years in parallel careers in the Air Force Reserve and in the Department of Defense as a senior level civil servant supporting NATO and NORAD alliances. His assignments included the National Security Agency, European Command, NATO, Pacific Command and Central Command during Operation Desert Storm. Terry was also a senior civil servant with NORAD, Space Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency. He has written articles for Studies in Intelligence, Over the Top and Over the Front, and was a contributor to Images of Conflict, Military Aerial Photography & Archaeology. He lives in California.

 

 ‘The definitive reference work … There is no chance that the work will ever be surpassed’ – David R. Mets, Professor Emeritus, School of Advanced Air and Space Studies

‘Truly a pathbreaking book’ – Ernest R. May, Charles Warren Professor of American History, Harvard University

‘The sourcebook in its field’ – Col Scott A. Willey, USAF (Ret.), Book Review Editor, Air Power History

‘This is a benchmark in World War I aviation history’ – Walter J. Boyne, former director of the National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution

‘Finnegan has done a remarkable job … He incorporates the previously neglected dimension of photographic interpretation and its comprehensive battlefield application, from front lines to rear echelons’ – Dennis Showalter, Professor of History, Colorado College

 

About this title

About the Author

Colonel Terry J. Finnegan served 30 years in parallel careers in the Air Force Reserve and in the Department of Defense as a senior level civil servant supporting NATO and NORAD alliances. His assignments included the National Security Agency, European Command, NATO, Pacific Command and Central Command during Operation Desert Storm. Terry was also a senior civil servant with NORAD, Space Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency. He has written articles for Studies in Intelligence, Over the Top and Over the Front, and was a contributor to Images of Conflict, Military Aerial Photography & Archaeology. He lives in California.

Edition details

• Publisher: The History Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0752460528
• ISBN 13: 9780752460529
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 408