(2) Location and study of natural and manmade obstacles or barriers.
(3) Location and identification of key terrain features.
(4) Location and study of enemy positions.
(5) Location and study of routes of advance and withdrawal.
(6) Location and identification of targets, including enemy weapons.
(7) Site location for tactical, operational, or target purposes.
(8) Study of details of captured enemy installations, personnel, and
documents of a tactical, but not of a technical nature.
(9) Evaluation of comparative photographs of enemy activities.
(10) After-action evaluation and damage assessment.
b. In addition to the
subject
areas
listed
above,
tactical
aerial
documentation should include:
(1) Identification and evaluation of natural
and
artificial
terrain
features that cannot be recorded from the ground.
(2) Evaluation of friendly camouflage discipline.
3.
Terrain photography. Requests for terrain coverage are usually concerned
with landmarks, general topography, major stream routes, critical slopes,
stream crossings, type of field boundaries, swamps, marshes, and various kinds
of terrain obstacles.
Photographic requirements consist primarily of
panoramics from selected high points.
However, closeups will often provide
valuable information on the porosity of soils, degree of erosion, condition of
beaches, and similar details of tactical importance. This coverage is further
supplemented by details of soil and rock texture, soil firmness or lack of
firmness, and terrain slope.
a. Appropriate photography is accomplished through medium and closeup
views, both single frame and stereoscopic. Stereo pairs are produced to show
rock outcrops and soil conditions.
Soil texture can be indicated by
photographing a handful of soil.
b. Photography, both aerial and ground, can be used to determine
trafficability. For example, the tracks of a vehicle with varying loads can be
photographed on a representative road or cross-country area for purposes of
comparison.
The impressions made by the wheels will indicate wheel-bearing
characteristics of that type road or soil. A ruler should be included in each
photograph to illustrate the depth of the impression.
The amount of loading
carried by the vehicle must be stated on the data control sheet of every
photograph.
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