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
Email: [email protected]
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 (DIMOC)
(888) 743-4662
Web site: http://www.dimoc.mil
Email: [email protected]
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) 723-3563
Email: [email protected]
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, Public Communications - DOD Public Affairs
1400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1400
Web site: http://defense.gov/photos
telephone (703) 571-3343
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
2500 Linden Lane
Silver Spring, MD20910
Web site: http://www.medicalmuseum.mil
telephone (301) 319-3300
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
-
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Attn: AAMC-MDC
102 4th Ave.
Building 35, Ft. McNair
Washington, D.C. 20319-5060
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 [Art Curator telephone (703) 805-7359]. It also has
historical information on all U.S. Army Museums [telephone
(703) 805-9792.)
-
U.S. Army Military History Institute at the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
ATTN: Special Collections
950 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://www.usma.edu/Library
Reference Desk (845) 938-3259
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
-
General George S. Patton Museum
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
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 Artillery Museum
238 NW Randolph Rd.
Fort Sill, OK 73503
Web site: http://sill-www.army.mil/famuseum/
telephone (580) 442-1819
-
Commandant (CG-09231)
Attn: Coast Guard Historian's Office
U.S. Coast Guard, Stop 3031
2703 Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave. SE
Washington, D.C. 20593-7031
Web site: http://www.history.uscg.mil
telephone (202) 267-372-4651 / 372-4653
Holds materials relating to the Coast Guard,
post-Civil War era to early 1990s.
-
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/our-collections/photography.html
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.
Prepared by: Prints and Photographs Division Reference Staff,
January 1998. Last revised: May 2018.
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