Brazil aerial images released

Aerial photographs of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro in 1930 are now accessible on the NCAP website. The images were taken by the Aircraft Operating Company (AOC) during a mapping survey of Brazil. The company offices remained active during the Revolution of 1930, which ousted the Old Republic and led to the Vargas Dictatorship. 

 

Several of the images record a military parade in Rio de Janeiro during the Revolution. Also featured is the art deco statue of Christ the Redeemer, overlooking Rio de Janeiro. The statue, designed by Paul Landowski, stands 30 metres tall. Construction began in 1922 and was completed in October 1931. 

 

This collection of images was discovered in the former home of Claude Wavell.  Chief Surveyor for the AOC throughout their air surveys of Brazil, Wavell served at the Allied Central Interpretation Unit (ACIU), RAF Medmenham, during the Second World War. From 1941, he led the interpretation of reconnaissance photographs of radar installations and wireless transmitters.