90
February 2015
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
It was 1953 when John “Jack” Sherman joined
Robinson Aerial Surveys, Inc. (Robinson). He
was only 22 years old and had just finished four
years of service in the Air Force. As part of his
Air Force responsibilities, he was assigned with
taking photographs in a low-flying aircraft, then
later develop the film and create enlarged prints.
His primary mission was to take aerial shots of
runways during the Korean War for bomb damage
assessment.
“
The U.S. used B-29 Bombers and
they would go so high up in the
sky that the Koreans couldn’t reach
them. The USAF would drop bombs
on the runway so that the North
Koreans couldn’t take off
”
— Jack
Part of Jack’s job was to assess bomb damage by taking
pictures of the airfields and mapping where all the bombs had
been dropped, so that future missions could be planned.
After Jack left the Air Force he sought employment with
Robinson Aerial Surveys, Inc. A company he found in the
Yellow Pages which was only eight blocks from his home in
Newark, New Jersey.
Robinson Aerial Surveys, Inc., (RAS) was established in
1936 by C.S. Robinson a civil engineer in Ithaca, NY. At the
time, Mr. Robinson worked for the New York State Park
Commission. Shortly after Robinson started the company,
Robinson Aerial Surveys as it was known at the time, was
awarded a contract by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to
photograph 16,000 square miles in New York State. As a side
note, in the 1940’s the company was split in two: Robinson
Aerial Surveys would specialize in photogrammetry, while
Robinson Airlines (later Mohawk then Allegheny Airlines)
provided airline services between Ithaca and New York City.
This is now part of the America West Airlines group. In 1946,
Robinson acquired Standard Aerial Surveys and moved to
Newark, New Jersey. On October 12, 1953, Jack showed
up at the company and let them know he was interested in
working for them. He was hired on the spot.
When Jack started with Robinson he had to learn the
detailed process of photogrammetry.
“We used to do everything by hand,
and hang up the photographic paper
on the wall. Even the prints were
hand assembled. I think I probably
produced most of the historic images
we currently have. Sixty years
ago you had to do it with ink and
all the maps were made from ink.
Computers changed everything.
Everything evolved; even the current
conference room has evolved. It used
to be the dark room”
— Jack
John Sherman at the office.
The Early Years
Robinson Aviation Teterboro Airport- Late 1940s
