The 3D Spies of WW2

[Monte Davis]

"the suspenseful, previously untold story of air photo intelligence."

 

Is it Hitler^h^h^h^h^h^h History Channel influence that makes it mandatory
to add "previously untold"..? Yes, some WWII documents are still being
declassified, but 98% of the substance of this program - and certainly the
stereoscopic photogrammetry that's the essence of it - has been known for a
long, long time. E.g., during the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, in which U-2
reconnaissance photos figured prominently, there were plenty of news
backgrounders about how these photo interpretation techniques and skills had
been used on Peenemunde and V-weapon launch sites, on the Ruhr dams, on
submarine pens, etc. If you missed that, you could get most of it from
"Operation Crossbow" (Sophia Loren, Trevor Howard, George Peppard) in 1965.

 

OK, call it routine promotional hype. I guess it rubs me the wrong way
because of the periodic go-rounds here about the "discovery" (in the 1970s,
1980s, 1990s, 2000s, world without end) that US Space Hero Wernher von Braun
had actually been - gasp -- THE SAME PERSON who led development (and knew
all about slave-labor production) of the V-2. Each time it becomes more
firmly the conventional wisdom that the US government/military-industrial
complex suppressed WvB's dark past, and "now at last it can be told" -- when
in fact, all the salient information had appeared in 1945 newspapers and in
the first wave of WWII histories by 1950.

 

Foax, there was no need to "suppress" it; it was simply rolled over and
drowned out by a newer, shinier narrative about Our Cold War Wizard:  WvB on
Walt Disney space specials, WvB as keynote speaker at aerospace industry
events, WvB in NASA press releases and press conferences. I object to the
"suppression" narrative because it lets us off the hook too easily, as
consumers of news and history and as citizens.

 

In the same way, there's a lot less actual news in the Snowden/NSA
"revelations" than meets the eye - and very little that couldn't have been
inferred by paying attention since the Church Committee in 1975, the FISA
court legislation since 1978, and of course the Patriot Act since 2001. *Of
course* the master narrative becomes "Ooh, look at all the nasty secrets
They've been keeping from us." It's so much more comfortable than "Jeez, we
turned the lights down and cranked up the surround sound for 'The Siege' and
'24' and 'Zero Dark Thirty' - how were we supposed to know?"

 

If they can get you asking the wrong questions.      
 

 

From: owner-pynchon-l at waste.org [mailto:owner-pynchon-l at waste.org] On Behalf
Of David Morris
Sent: Monday, July 22, 2013 9:07 PM
To: P-list
Subject: The 3D Spies of WW2

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/military/spies-3d.html


Program Description


During World War II, Hitler's scientists developed terrifying new weapons of
mass destruction.mass destruction. Alarmed by rumors of advanced rockets and
missiles, Allied intelligence recruited a team of brilliant minds from
British universities and Hollywood studios to a country house near London.
Here, they secretly pored over millions of air photos shot at great risk
over German territory by specially converted, high-flying Spitfires. Peering
at the photos through 3D stereoscopes, the team spotted telltale clues that
revealed hidden Nazi rocket bases. The photos led to devastating Allied
bombing raids that dealt crucial setbacks to the German rocket program and
helped ensure the success of the D-Day landings. With 3D graphics that
recreate exactly what the photo spies saw, NOVA tells the suspenseful,
previously untold story of air photo intelligence that played a vital role
in defeating the

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