Wartime Britain then and now: New aerial WWII images revealed to public

These fascinating images show just how areas have changed – and stayed the same – over the past 80 years.

The collection of aerial photographs taken during the Second World War were taken by the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) Photographic Reconnaissance units, stationed at bases across England in 1943 and 1944, after the US joined the war in December 1941.

The 3,600 photographs offer a birds-eye view of the country as it changed during the war, including bomb damage to towns and cities such as Salford.

Bomb damage to areas around famous landmarks including St Paul’s Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral can also be seen in the intricate images, which can be seen as it was and how it is now by scrolling the bar.

St Paul's Cathedral (PA/Historic England)

Southwark Cathedral and London's South Bank (PA/Historic England)

Manchester United's Old Trafford football stadium in Trafford, Greater Manchester, was also among the areas damaged during the war and photographed in May 1944.

Damage to the main stand of the football ground can be seen in the photo, after it was hit in a bombing raid in March 1941. The home of Manchester United was not used again for football until 1949.

Manchester's Old Trafford football ground (PA/Historic England)

Ancient monuments surrounded by anti-tank defences in West Sussex can also be seen, such as Cissbury Ring Iron Age hillfort in Worthing where ditches and concrete cubes can be seen laid out to impede an enemy advance.

Meanwhile, there is low-level photograph showing part of a US Army camp in Wiltshire which shows firing ranges in the foreground while troops play a game of baseball in a recreation field in the top left of the image.

Cissbury Ring Iron Age hillfort in Worthing (PA/Historic England)

The collection, which capture a variety of locations and an “astonishing level of detail”, have been made available to the public for the first time in an online, searchable map on the Historic England Archive.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Historic England, said: “Our USAAF Collection records changes taking place in England as a result of the Second World War, as well as capturing fascinating incidental detail, like American troops playing baseball.

Salford, Greater Manchester (PA/Historic England)

“Our collection of USAAF wartime photographs were taken in England by the pilots and aircraft of squadrons that provided intelligence for the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. This came at a cost, with many pilots killed in the line of duty.

“We are making these images available to the public for the first time online, giving people access to this remarkable collection of historic photographs. They help to highlight the vital role aerial reconnaissance played in the Second World War.”