Military maps featuring Ireland produced by Irish, British and German authorities during World War 2 (1939-45)

Several million maps of, or relating to, Ireland – the greatest volume ever produced in a short period – were prepared during the early 1940s as authorities in Ireland, Britain and Germany struggled to anticipate the cartographic needs that might ensue were Ireland to become a theatre of conflict in the European sector of an expanding world war. This article explores some of the key features of this short but distinctive episode in Irish cartographic history. An introductory section includes a short review of some of the more significant requirements of military maps, most notably the need for convenience of use and the availability of a grid system that allows locations to be pinpointed accurately. The principal map series produced by or for the military authorities in Ireland, Britain and Germany are then described, with the main attention being given to the small- and medium-scale topographic maps available for land forces. Map scales ranging from 1:10,000 for Belfast to 1:1,000,000 are involved, with particularly large quantities being printed of the 1:63,360 GSGS 4136 map series. A classification of the coastline and of offshore geology is a feature of some German map series. A final section gives a brief consideration to the fate of the various map series.