My first attempt at mapping was a by-product of using Google Earth to find modern latitude and longitude coordinates for a 345th Bomb Group mission database update. In order to save the mission locations, I placed markers at the coordinates where I had determined the targets to be located. The result was a decent map of where the 345th operated. Because only one map pin was used to mark each squadron’s target, the locations were by necessity an averaged location of where those bombs dropped. As a result, the accuracy of the marker location suffered and was more of an general area indicator.
Accuracy was also hindered by not knowing the geographic coordinate systems used on the various mission maps that accompanied the mission narrative reports. In many cases, landmarks could be used to help locate a target. In other cases, placement of the markers came down to my judgement. Whenever possible, I consulted 1940’s era Army Map Service topographic maps to locate terrain features that could be used to improve accuracy. Overall, the map succeeded in giving a good overview of where the 345th operated.
Then, Google decided to stop supporting Google Earth and it was no longer feasible to embed those maps in websites. That was unfortunate, because Google Earth was free, readily available, easy to use and could have been a great way to share this information. All that is left of the former glory of the free Google Earth is the ability to make screen shots without any ability to zoom in or see information in popups. These maps could be saved as kml or kmz files and be emailed to interested people, but that is not so efficient. Below is an example of that early map but it is not too useful as it is.
Those Google Earth maps can be displayed in Google Maps and retain the zooming feature but most of the identifying data associated with each map dot is gone and all the dots are the same color. When a map dot is clicked on in this image, a mission number is displayed, but no squadron or date information. The marker style and color could be updated individually, and the data could be added back in by editing each marker. Better than nothing perhaps, but still not a good way to display the data.
So, I decided to find another map making program and ended up choosing Esri’s ArcGIS Pro because it offered a whole lot of flexibility and could accept the data from the Excel spreadsheets that had already been produced. I worked through a few of their mapping tutorials and then started working on the 345th mission data again.
The map below was created using ArcGIS Online and shows all the combat missions of the 501st Bomb Squadron. Zooming in by using the “+” button or by clicking on the map will reveal that there are many more missions than are shown at the original zoomed out level. Clicking on a dot will open a pop up that displays some pertinent mission information. The popups can be configured to display any information that is in the database. The latitude/longitude coordinates shown in the pop ups are in WGS-84, which is the latest worldwide geographic coordinate system, and is used by Google Earth and other mapping services. There are several base map styles available, ranging from the National Geographic style used in this map, to satellite imagery and topographic maps.
In upcoming posts, I will display similar maps for the other three squadrons of the 345th Bomb Group as well as maps showing all the missions for the entire group and maps of the locations of lost airplanes. Beyond those, I am working my way through the mission reports again and further refining the bombing locations in order to display the data by each airplane on a mission and include the crew members of each plane in the pop ups.