RCAF.com
Photographic Establishment
Motto: Knowledge from the Skies
Clutching a scroll, a mythical two-headed raven of the Tlingit and Haida Indian tribes. In the mythology of these West Coast Indian tribes, the raven is reputed to have brought light and knowledge to the world. The scroll suggests the use of aerial photography in "unrolling the map."
The first operations carried out by the Air Board in 1920 were for aerial survey, and this work has been continued by the R.C.A.F. down to the present day. The Pho- tographic Section was located in Ottawa until January 1936 when it moved to a new building especially built for it at Rockeliffe, and thereupon became the Photographic Establishment. The P.E. has remained at Rockeliffe ever since. During the war it was known for a time as No. 1 Photographic Centre (September 1942 to May 1944) and then as No. 1 Photographic Establishment. In February 1952 the numeral was deleted and it became the R.C.A.F. Photographic Establishment.