Founded in 1919, mainly for use in gunnery training, it developed into a body of specialists performing multifarious tasks for the navy, Fleet Air Arm, and Royal Marines, from documenting flight-deck accidents and weapons tests to intelligence work and combat photography and cinematography. (During the Second World War its activities were complemented by those of civilian professionals enlisted as Admiralty press photographers.) Public-relations needs, requiring positive images of the navy's role in a changing society, have significantly influenced the branch's capability since 1945. In 1997, dramatic pictures of relief operations during the Montserrat volcano eruption could be instantly transmitted to civilian news organizations. The Imperial War Museum, London, holds c. 1 million official naval photographs; images of life aboard the royal yacht Britannia are in the Royal Collection at Windsor.
— Robin Lenman
See also military photography.Bibliography
- Mercer, N., Camera at Sea: The History of the Royal Naval Photographic Branch 1919-98 (1998)
