I have just recently started to take a course in GIS and started
thinking along those lines to find places to locate your air photos. I
did some minimal research (google search) to find the following
websites:

First off here's a basic what is GIS website incase you aren't familar.
http://www.gis.com/

This one you'll have to go through the bookmarks listed under Mexico
to see if any will suit your needs (sorry don't have time to check
myself)
http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/gis/bookmark.htm

Or you can try this GIS message board
http://spatialnews.geocomm.com/community/


Other than that all I could suggest would be to get into contact with
an archivist in the area you're looking at. Though I know nothing
about Mexico and I'm not sure they have them and you stated you don't
know much spanish. Or (last option) you can contact your local
archivist as a starting point.

That's all I can come up with. Sorry, hope it helps. Let me know if
you need anymore information on GIS and I'll try to point you in the
right direction.

Kristin Munro

Anthropology Major SUNY Brockport
[log in to unmask]

On Wed, 02 Mar 2005 19:24:39 -0800, william mcAlexander
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Greetings fellow HISTARCHs,
>
> This question is for those with a knowledge about things south of the border.
>
> Most people have forgotten that Mexico was a major air power prior to WW I.
> In 1913 Didier Masson used an airplane launched in the hills of Sonora to bomb Federalist gunboats.  Not very succesfull though.
>
> Secondary sources claim that on 30 November 1913, two Americans flying for different factions in the Revolution exchanged pistol shots near Naco in Sonora, Mexico.
>
> In 1915 Pancho Villa had five aircraft at his disposal for observation/stratigic strike use.
>
> What this points to is that prior to the U.S. action in Mexico in 1916, although the exact numbers are hard to piece togather, Mexico had more aircraft than thier neighbors to the north.
>
> If so, where are the pictures.  Right now, I've been able to locate a 1914 photo of an aircraft at Guaymas.  Secondary sources about Villa's air force state that former box cars were used as support facilities.  So far, that's it.
>
> Do any of you know of sources with photos that might depict enough detail to show how Mexican airfields were laid out?  Right now, with what little evidence I have, they appear to be linear.
>
> Of course, I haven't had any need to use what little Spanish that I learned 20 years ago untill now.  So, that is a bit of a hinderence to me.
>
> Thank you for any assistance that can be provided.
> William E. McAlexander Jr.
>
>