Sources of U.S. Military Images: Major Repositories
PRINTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS DIVISION
Jump to: General Sources (multiple military
branches) | Army | Coast
Guard | Navy | Air
Force and Military Aviation
The Library's collections contain many U.S. military images.
However, they generally are not well indexed by military units,
type of vehicle, or name of ship. An extensive search might uncover
images of interest, but such a search would need to conducted in-person
by the researcher or his/her representative. The institutions listed
below have specialized collections of military images which are
generally well indexed.
The following repositories include holdings from multiple branches
of the military:
- The designated repository for all official U.S. military photographs
taken before 1982 is the:
Still Picture Reference
Special Media Archives Services Division
National Archives & Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Web site: http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/college-park/photographs-dc.html
Telephone: (301) 837-0561
Fax: (301) 837-3621
1,522 images from the collections of the Still
Pictures Branch have been reproduced in War & Conflict:
Selected Images from the National Archives 1765-1970,
edited by Jonathan Heller (Washington, D.C.: National Archives
and Records Administration, 1990). LC Call number: E181.W27
1990
- Photographs that are considered "active" pending transfer to the National Archives:
Defense Imagery Management Operations Center
March Air Force Base, CA
(888) 743-4662
Web site: http://defenseimagery.mil
Still, motion and multimedia imagery including imagery of operations and activities from throughout the Department of Defense.
-
Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305
Web site: http://www.hoover.org/
telephone (650) 723-2058
This institution has a large collection of posters,
prints, drawings, and photographs, from various countries,
with a special focus on the 19th century.
-
Department of Defense, Office of Public Affairs, DDI
Room 2E765, The Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1400
Web site: http://www.defenselink.mil/multimedia/
telephone (703) 697-6162 / 697-6161
This public affairs office is particularly helpful
in providing photographs and information, including of recent
events, primarily to the media.
-
Armed Forces History Collection National Museum of American History
Division of Military History and Diplomacy
Smithsonian Institution
P.O. Box 37012
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
telephone (202) 633-3950
This office is a good source of information on early
American military uniforms and has a photograph collection.
- National Museum of Health and Medicine
Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Walter Reed Medical Center
6900 Georgia Avenue at Elder Street, NW, Building 54
Washington, D.C. 20306
Building's zip code: 20307
Web site: http://nmhm.washingtondc.museum/
telephone (202) 782-2200
Established during the Civil War as
the Army Medical Museum, this Museum's collections
focus particularly on specimens for research
in military medicine and surgery, including
the history and practice of American medicine.
The museum's collections are made available
for the education of medical professionals,
Department of Defense personnel, historians,
and the public through exhibits in the museum,
loans to other institutions, and individualized
study.
Particular Branches of the Military
- Army
-
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Attn: AAMC-MDC
103 3rd Avenue
Building 35, Ft. McNair
Washington, D.C. 20319-5058
Web site: http://www.history.army.mil
This office has custody of the Army War Art
collection of paintings, with photographs available of
the paintings [telephone (202) 761-5396]. It also has
historical information on all U.S. Army Museums [telephone
(202) 761-5373.)
-
U.S. Army Military History Institute at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
ATTN: Special Collections
905 Soldiers Drive
Carlisle Barracks, PA 17013-5021
Web site: http://www.usahec.org/
Reference telephone (717) 245-3949
Although especially known for its Civil War
holdings, this institution has custody of large research
collections of photographs on the U.S. Army from 1840
to the present donated by private sources. Includes collections
of Omar Bradley and Lewis Blaine Hershey. Coverage is
smaller for more recent events such as Desert Storm and
Somalia.
-
U.S. Military Academy Library
Jefferson Hall
758 Cullum Road
U.S. Military Academy
West Point, NY 10996
Web site: http://usmalibrary.usma.edu/
Reference Deak (845) 938-8325
The Archives includes cadet portraits, 20th
century photographs of students, staff, and buildings
taken by the White Brothers, and some Signal Corps, UPI,
and AP photographs. The Special Collections have uncopyrighted
photos of cadets and class photos, 1857 to the present,
and alumni files. Coverage in Special Collections includes
the Boxer Rebellion, WW I, WW II (Gen. Kruger and Gen.
Bradley collections), Korean War, and a small amount
of material on the Vietnamese Conflict.
-
United States Army Women's Museum
2100"A" Avenue
Fort Lee, VA 23801
Web site: http://www.awm.lee.army.mil/
telephone (804) 734-4327
-
George S. Patton Museum of Cavalry and Armor
P.O. Box 208
4554 Fayette Avenue
Fort Knox, KY 40121-0208
Web site: http://www.generalpatton.org/
telephone (502) 624-3812
-
U.S. Cavalry Museum and 1st Infantry
500 Huebner Road
Fort Riley, KS 66442
Web site: http://www.riley.army.mil/UnitPage.aspx?unit=DPTMS.Museum
telephone (785) 239-2737
-
U.S. Army Field Artillery & Fort Sill Museum
437 Quanah Road
Fort Sill, OK 73503-5100
Web site: http://www.army.mil/museum/
telephone (580) 442-5123
- Coast Guard
-
Historian's Office (CG-09224)
U.S. Coast Guard, Headquarters
2100 Second Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20593
Web site: http://www.uscg.mil/history/
telephone (202) 267-372-4651 / 372-4653
Holds materials relating to the Coast Guard,
1968 to present
- Navy
-
U.S. Naval Institute
Photo Service
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402-5034
Web site: http://photos.usni.org/
telephone (410) 295-1022
This library has a large collection of naval
and maritime photographs. Coverage is of the U.S. Navy,
U.S. Army, Marines, and Air Force. Have U.S. and foreign
vessels, individuals, and combat photographs. Collections
date from Civil War to present.
-
Naval History and Heritage Command
Photographic Section
Washington Navy Yard,
805 Kidder Breese SE
Washington, D.C. 20374-5060
Web site: http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/nhcorg11.htm
telephone (202) 433-2765
This office has a wealth of information on
sources of photographs relating to any aspect of U.S.
naval history. Excellent coverage before 1920, good WW
II coverage, moderate holdings through Vietnamese Conflict.
- Air Force and Military Aviation
-
Air Force Historical Research Agency
600 Chennault Circle
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424
Web site: http://www.afhra.af.mil
telephone (334) 953-2395
-
National Air and Space Museum
Archives Division, MRC322
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. 20560
Mail: P.O. Box 30712
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Web site: http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/arch/collections/photoarchives.cfm
telephone (202) 633-2315 or (202) 633-2320
This office is an excellent source of information
about the Air Force photographs held by the National
Archives.
Prepared by: Prints and Photographs Division Reference Staff,
January 1998. Last revised: November 2009
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