General Sources
- See also DoD and Space Factsheets
- See also Military.com's Equipment Guide
- BBC Online -
This site is a useful global source of small .jpg images (the resolution, usually 100 or 300 dpi,
appears in the image filename). Much better than CNN or ABCnews. Search engine goes back
to mid-90's - good for current events
- Federation of American Scientists, Military Analysis
Network -
Extremely comprehensive and accessible reference on contemporary US and foreign missiles,
vehicles, ships, aircraft and weapons systems, many with links to further resources (not always
up to date). Thumbnail graphics often poorly scanned, but some high-quality images.
- National Archives and Records Administration
- Photo Search - National Archives and Records Administration
The big enchilada. Government photos back to the beginnings of photography. Not strong on
current events. Very powerful search engine, worth some effort to master. Specify search on
"photographs and graphic material" or other desired media type.
- The Smithsonian -
"The Nation's Attic." Homepage is simply a gateway to numerous individual museums and
collections. The National Air and Space Museum and the National Museum of American History
are particularly useful sources. Weak image search capabilities, but great for browsing. Mostly
low resolution GIF images; some high resolution JPG.
- National Geographic Society -
Perhaps the richest photographic library in the world, minimally accessible on the net (web site is
focused on commercial stock photography marketing). The CD-ROM edition with over 100
years of Nat. Geo. Magazine, superbly indexed, may be useful for some purposes
- Microsoft Design Gallery -
Topical collections of clipart, photos, sound bites and animations designed to work with the
Microsoft Office software. Useful search engine; there are over 60 pages of "military" clips.
Best used with MS Internet Explorer, not Netscape Navigator.
- Free Animated GIFs, Clipart and
Web Graphics -
Extensive topical meta-index of clip art sites, mostly with the sort of cute, cartoon-like graphics
that should be used sparingly, if ever. Animated GIFs are particularly annoying after the first five
seconds.
- Free Stock Photos -
Useful JPGs, many topical categories, indexed by agency (DoD, FDA, NASA) and by thumbnail
- National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Agency -
Diverse and well organized collection of over 16,000 images; historical, coastal regional,
oceanographic, etc.
- Maritime Administration Photo
Gallery -
Contemporary JPG photos of ports, cargo handling, barges and merchant ships; small but useful
collection.
- Public Health Image Gallery -
Extensive collection of still images, image sets, and multimedia files related to public health.
Sophisticated search engine. Most of the images in the collection are in the public domain.
- Aces High, stock aviation photos and tips on taking your own, incl air-to-air
- Computer Graphics, My Virtual Reference Desk
- Landings: Aviation Image Archives Index
Image Searches
Videos
- Video Search, by All the Web search engine
- Video Search, by AltaVista search engine
- Defense Automated Visual Information System, including Joint Combat Camera Center, over 17,000 audiovisual products by DoD
- NASM Film Archives, 16,000 plus films/videotapes
- USAFE Media Server, Main Page, some GOOD stuff here
- Videos, incl air operations
- Air Combat Command (ACC), Multimedia Gallery -
Official site includes photos, clipart and video clips. Extensive material on Operation Allied
Force and current exercises and contingencies
- Navy Videos
- Newsreel clips from 1895-1970
DoD/Joint Sources
- See also DoD and Space Factsheets
- Google's Image Search Engine
- Multimedia Links by Air University Library
- Defenselink -
Official Department of Defense site with extensive graphic, photo and audiovisual content.
Thumbnail, medium-resolution and high-resolution images, with detailed captions.
Particularly good for current operations. Special search engine for news photos (not always well
indexed). Photo archive back to Dec. 1995.
- Defense Automated Visual Information System, including Joint Combat Camera Center, over 17,000 audiovisual products by DoD (for example, I did search on "space" and got 91 products, incl "air and space" demos of weapons systems) - May need to access from a .mil computer (i.e., not from home). - Still and motion imagery, in digital and traditional formats. Access to most content requires password and user id. Very high quality. Also publishes collected images on excellent CD-ROMs, e.g. US Forces in Haiti, US Forces in Somalia.
- American Forces Information Service (AFIS), products for military and about military, media policy, etc.
- American Forces Information Service (AFIS) Editor's Corner, news stories, features, photos, and line art for publishing
- National Air and Space Museum
- Federation of American Scientists, Military Analysis
Network -
Extremely comprehensive and accessible reference on contemporary US and foreign missiles,
vehicles, ships, aircraft and weapons systems, many with links to further resources (not always
up to date). Thumbnail graphics often poorly scanned, but some high-quality images.
Air Force Images, Videos, and Sounds
Air Force Art and Badges/Insignia
- Airman magazine
- Air Force Link Gallery: Current
Art -
Well-organized official site includes insignia, current and retired aircraft, and clipart, mostly in
JPG. With thumbnails and descriptive captions, but no search.
- Aircraft: Bombers, Fighters, Recce, Tankers, Choppers, Transports, Trainers, Historic, MAJCOM Shields, and some
seals (incl DAF, DOD, and Army Air Corps), rank insignia, badges, portraits, and other art
Nuke Pics
Army Imagery, Insignia, etc.
Navy Imagery, Insignia, etc.
- US Navy Photo
Gallery -
Official Navy site. Thumbnail and high-resolution photographs, organized by category (Aircraft,
Ships, Submarines, Weapons, People, etc). Good captions, powerful search engine.
- Navy Videos
- All Hands magazine, Jan 2001 issue with facts and figures for Navy
- All Hands magazine, Jan 2000 issue with facts and figures for Navy
- Fleet Imaging Command Pacific, USN and USMC imagery from Pacific Fleet
- U.S. Navy Digital Imagery, including Aircraft, Carriers, Submarines, Surface Ships, People, and Weapons
- Naval Historical Center,
Online Library of Selected Images -
Vast collection, mostly b&w thumbnails and large high-resolution photos, some color. Not very
well-organized or easy to use, but especially strong on WWII.
- Haze Gray & Underway -
One of the best naval history and photography sites on the net; particularly good on foreign
navies. Extensive out-links, well-maintained. (Homepage states that contents are copyrighted,
but may be reused with permission).
- Navsource Naval History -
"The largest US Navy Warship Photo Collection On The Internet." Thumbnails and rather large
JPG files. Many public domain images from the Library of Congress. Good, fast search engine.
Marine Imagery, Insignia, etc.
Coast Guard
- Coast Guard -
Official site includes line art drawings, insignia, logos, and photographs (free access requires
registration).
Space & Missile Multimedia
- Space Exploration Gallery, CNN
- Hubble Space Telescope: Greatest Hits
- NASA Image Exchange (NIX), 300,000 images online
- NASA Multimedia Gallery
- Photo, video, audio, and art
- The Heritage of Military Space Operations (Cape Canaveral and Patrick AFB), incl history of 45th Space Wing
- White Sands Fact Sheets (incl historical, such as V-2, Bumper Project, Corporal Missile, etc)
- Redstone Arsenal Historical Info Home Page
Flags and Anthems
Maps
- Map Collections: 1500-now, Library of Congress, includes cultural, transportation, and military campaign and battle maps
- United Nations Cartographic Section, excellent regional and country maps, PDF format, great for printing out and zooming in -
b&w maps of over 100 countries, deployment maps of peacekeeping operations, and
various thematic maps. Also available in French.
- Relief Web MapCentre -
Specialized non-copyrighted maps in various formats of worldwide humanitarian emergencies;
also includes links to UN maps in .pdf format for every country in the world
- Maps Online, AU Library
- National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGIA)
- West Point Map Library, -
Large-scale color JPG maps covering US Army military history from colonial times to modern times
- Central Intelligence
Agency, World Factbook -
Each country listed has a simple outline map, with scale, (OK for small countries, not so good
for big countries) in JPG format that may be useful for general background. Also includes Reference Maps (on menu) -
Authoritative PDF and JPG format political and physical maps of the world and continental
regions (Arctic, Southeast Asia, Oceania, etc.). Will generally require zooming and cropping for
use in presentation graphics.
- Maps of Vietnam (War)
- WW I Maps, from PBS project
- Rare Map Collection, U. of Ga., especially early America, copyright limits
- Rare Map Collection - American Civil War, U. of Georgia
- Rare Map Collection - Revolutionary America, U. of Georgia
- Maps of World, Using NOAA Imagery, National Geographic Society
- global digital elevation model (DEM), USGS
- JPL Imaging Radar Home Page, and you can try your hand at guessing the randomly selected image each time
- Global Land Cover Characterization, maps by USGS
- Map Centre, by ReliefWeb
- National Geographic Map Machine -
Powerful, colorful interactive map generator, can be slow. Creates printable versions (with NGS
copyright marking). The 1998 CD-ROM collection of all published National Geographic maps
(on 7 CDs) is of great historical interest, but relatively difficult to install and use.
- Other National Geographic Map Machine
- Online Map Creation -
Very powerful interactive map generator, supports various projections, using input boundaries
(latitude, longitude). Takes some effort to learn and use (Read the "How To" page!) Outputs GIF
and EPS formats. Occasionally slow or unavailable due to server load.
- -
Global map server with the ability to zoom in, down to 1:50,000 scale and capture the resulting
image as a GIF file. Limited to major roads and named places.
- Weather Map Sites
- Internet Medieval Sourcebook: Maps and Images
- The Perry-Castaņeda Library Map Collection, U. of Texas - Comprehensive and well-organized collection of free downloadable historical, thematic and topical maps, including hard-to-find city maps in a wide variety of scales and graphic formats.
- Maps of the World,U. of Texas at Austin
- Country Maps,The Perry-Castaņeda Library Map Collection, U. of Texas
- Links to World Historical Maps, The Perry-Castaņeda Library Map Collection, U. of Texas
- World Historical Maps, The Perry-Castaņeda Library Map Collection, U. of Texas
Military Clip-Art
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