New York Police Department Aviation Unit photographs and index
Collection REC0116 - RG 062. New York Police Department
Abstract
The New York Police Department (NYPD) Aviation Unit photographs and index includes 3,638 negatives dating from circa 1935 to 1982 and a partial index of the images dating from 1971 to 1982. There are also five notes from within the NYPD pertaining to the reproduction of negatives. The images document the operations and investigations of the Aviation Unit, and most are aerial photographs. The collection has been digitized and can be accessed via the "Digital Material" section of this guide.
Extent
1.75 cubic feet
Dates
circa 1935-1982
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Additional Description
Physical Location
Materials are stored at 147 41st Street in Brooklyn.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was received by the New York City Municipal Archives sometime between 1982 and 2015. This collection originated with the New York Police Department (NYPD) Aviation Unit and came to the Municipal Archives by way of Police Officer Pilot, Danny J. Edling. The negatives were previously stored in a storage locker at Floyd Bennett Field and were placed into the care of Officer Edling, who then transferred their care to the Municipal Archives.
Existence and Location of Copies
The collection has been digitized and can be accessed via the Digital Collections website.
Processing Information
The collection was processed by Kelli O’Toole in 2015 to prepare the collection for digitization.
Scope and Content Note
This group of records consists mainly of aerial photographs which are believed to have been taken by New York Police Department Aviation Unit officers and includes 3,631 photographs, dated between 1935 and 1982. It also features a photo file index which is partially complete, including material information from some of the negatives between the years 1971 to 1982 and a listing guide. Three police department notes have been moved to an ephemera file that is being stored with the index. The photographs and index relate to the operations and investigations of the Aviation Unit of the NYPD. The majority of the negatives are aerial images taken for NYPD investigations, most notably S.S. Bremen in New York Harbor (1935), the Prospect Park Plane Crash (1964), and images of the Black Panthers headquarters. Also included are images of significant events related to the daily workings of the Aviation Unit including funerals, award dinners and new vehicle purchases. The negatives include 5x4, 2 ½ by 3 ½ and 35mm sizes on both acetate and polyester film. The negatives in the collection date from 1935 through 1982; the file index book has information on negatives from 1971 to 1982. Few of the original sleeves had additional information about some of the negatives. The description field of the database created during appraisal includes any information found on the original sleeves and the information from the Aviation Unit photo index.
Biographical/Historical Information
The Aviation Unit, established in 1929 at Floyd Bennett Airfield in Brooklyn, is a division of the New York Police Department (NYPD). Originally known as the NYPD’s Air Support Division, the branch is the first department of its kind to be developed in the United States and is arguably the first in the world. Initially, this division of the NYPD was created in response to the continuous increase in air traffic due in large part to the development of the “barnstormers,” but has since continued to grow in its role in the NYPD to include rescue operations, firefighting, port security, and tactical support. When the unit was originally developed, the fleet included only fixed wing planes, but in 1948, Bell helicopters were introduced to the fleet. Some of these first Bell Helicopters were outfitted with floating devices to make water rescues possible and today, the NYPD has created an advanced Air and Sea Rescue Unit. Since 1954, the Aviation Unit has relied solely on helicopters for air support.
Arrangement
The collection was originally arraigned with an alphabetical system that was used to identify possible subject terms. For example, “Homicides,” “Heliports,” and “Harbor” would all be filled under “H” and then subsequently assigned a chronological number under that letter. The index includes a listing guide with some of these subject terms for the alphabetical system, but not all of the meanings are included and so though it is apparent that each of the letters identifies a subject term they currently have not been determined. Due to this, the collection has kept in the original order but updated with a numerical numbering system starting at 1 and proceeding to 3,638 for ease of location within the collection.
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title
- Guide to the New York Police Department Aviation Unit photographs and index, 1935-1982
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Kelli O’Toole
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
-
Revision Statements
- 2025: In 2025, staff archivist Sarah Cuk created a revised finding aid, incorporating the historical and scope and content notes from the original finding aid, and created the Encoded Archival Description (EAD) for the online guide.
Subjects