Perry Barr and Perry Beeches from an American reconnaissance aircraft, May 1944

The companion frame from the same May 1944 US flight covers the south-west edge of the district: Perry Beeches, Perry Reservoir and Perry Park.

Exposure 1022 of sortie US7/LOC/88, taken by the second camera of the same run as exposure 2022. It is printed with south at the top. It shows the Perry Beeches housing, the Tame Valley Canal and railway, Perry Reservoir, and open ground and allotments around Perry Park. On open ground near the reservoir there is a star-shaped layout of emplacements around a central post, which looks like a heavy anti-aircraft gun site. Local wartime memories mention guns in Perry Barr Park protecting the Kynoch/IMI works.

Notes

NARA gives the frame centre as 52.5313, -1.9124 ('Perry Barr, Birmingham District'). The film edge reads '1022 Birmingham 28 May 44 24" 18000'. The frame is south-west of Kingstanding, at the edge of the Kingstanding Together area. Kingstanding's own streets are at most at the frame's north-east corner and I have not identified them. The gun-site reading is my interpretation of the image and is not in the catalogue, so treat it as possible and check it against the HER or the Defence of Britain records. Same unit attribution and date caveats as exposure 2022. Shown here turned north-up for easier reading; the original frame is printed with south at the top.