"P-47D Thunderbolt" mug

During the Second World War, aerial reconnaissance became a matter of survival. With air raids a frequent occurrence, it was essential for soldiers and civilians alike to be able to quickly distinguish between Allied and enemy aircraft.

To this end, the British and American governments developed aerial reconnaissance manuals that were widely distributed from 1940 onwards. These booklets, often produced by the Ministry of Information in the United Kingdom or the U.S. War Department, contained silhouettes of aircraft seen from the side, front and, most importantly, from below, as this was how an aircraft appeared when flying overhead.

These illustrations were remarkably accurate: every curve of the wing, every shape of the tail fin or cockpit could make the difference between a British Spitfire and a German Messerschmitt Bf 109. Volunteer observers, organised into networks such as the Royal Observer Corps in the United Kingdom, trained themselves to instantly recognise aircraft models using these manuals.

The How to Identify Warplanes collection is directly inspired by these educational and strategic works. It recalls a time when knowledge of the shapes in the sky was a real line of defence.