#PE71
Ca. 1948
Oblong Folio (ca. 31.5 x 21.5 cm or 12 ¼ x 8 ¼ in). 18 grey cardstock leaves with tissue guards. 44 mounted gelatin silver photographs from ca. 18 x 12.5 cm (7 x 5 in) to 11.5 x 3.5 cm (4 ½ x 1 ½ in); two loosely inserted photographs ca. 27 x 13.5 cm (10 ½ x 5 ¼ in) and 22 x 16 cm (8 ½ x 6 ¼ in). Most images with period print captions on white paper labels attached to mounts. Period black cloth album fastened with string. Spine rubbed on extremities; mounts slightly age-toned, several tissue guards with minor tearing; ne photograph with crease in corner, but overall a very good album of strong interesting photos.
A historically interesting collection of photographs mostly showing the British and American sectors of Berlin, taken and collected by a British serviceman working at the Berlin Air Safety Centre in 1948. The BASC was a joint operation between the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union, tasked with ensuring flight safety for all traffic in the Berlin control zone (airspace). Operations began in 1946 and continued until 1990. The compiler of the album was likely part of the British Royal Air Force.
Over 15 photographs show the operation and personnel of the Berlin Air Safety Centre. They include portraits of both British and American employees at work, the control towers at Tempelhof and Gatow (RAF station, 1945-1994), planes on the tarmac, and snapshots of the compiler’s colleagues and friends who are identified in the captions (“Roger Sugar,” “A/C. Allen,” “Edie Vrosh,” etc.). One photograph is a large group portrait of the compiler and fellow servicemen, identified on verso.
Other photographs in the album show Berlin, mostly the western half. They include views of the Control Commission for Germany headquarters, the governing body for the British Sector; the main gate of the “ACA” (Allied Control Authority or Allied Control Council); “York House,” another location used to house the British occupation government; and a view of the Russian Sector. They also include photographs of “Adolf Hitler Platz” (now Theodor-Heuss-Platz), the Olympic Stadium, “SSHQ,” and “the only new building in Berlin.”
Overall, a historically interesting collection of photographs showing the Berlin Air Safety Centre and the British Sector of Berlin shortly after World War II.
