This cover photo from 1946 shows a stereoplanigraph, described as “one of the most universal and elaborate photomapping instruments ever built.”
It was “used to plot topographic maps from stereoscopic photography and for aerodynamic triangulation from aerial strip photography.
The floating dot seen in the stereoscopic model by the operator can be moved in three dimensions by means of the two handwheels and the pedal.”
It appeared on the cover, “War-Developed Equipment for Peacetime Use” which described construction equipment, surveying and mapping instruments, and bridging techniques being demonstrated at Fort Belvoir, Va., by the Board of Engineers, the Corps of US Army Engineers. research and development wing.
Many of the items had been developed by the Board during World War II and were revealed thanks to the lifting of wartime secrecy restrictions.
Others, including the stereoplanigraph, were captured German instruments. “Board studies of captured German surveying equipment indicate that the Germans were very advanced in the design of certain types of instruments.”
