6
January 2016
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
Part of a 12-panel plastic-relief map of the World’s topography and bathymetry as
published in Unclassified maps and charts by the U.S. Department of Defense in the
1960s during the era of the Cold War. The panels were physically vacuum-molded
in the Ruth Building Annex of the Army Map Service (AMS) in greater Washing-
ton, D.C. with a 25:1 vertical exaggeration. Topographic paper maps in a variety of
scales were produced by AMS for decades by color separation printing. For a given
map series, commonly 1:250,000 scale, each color was printed with a different
printing plate. A separate zinc plate of the contours was produced and sent to the
model section, and a cartographic technician then manually followed each contour
with a pantograph 3-D milling machine stylus that scratched off the image of the
contour line as an aid to the technician in order to keep track of what was already
accomplished. A stack of glue-laminated plastic sheets consisting of alternating
green and white layers was placed on the milling machine bed, and the contours
were cut into the stack of plastic sheets as the pantograph followed the contours.
After each contour was completely milled out of the stack, a technician then peeled
off the remaining excess and then re-initiated the milling of the next lower contour
line. With a complete map sheet milled into a stair-stepped series of contours, an
artist then filled in the steps with modeling putty and smoothed out the topography
by hand. The resultant relief map was then fiber-glassed and placed onto a drill
press to produce sufficient holes for vacuum frame operation. Final 1:250,000 scale
topographic sheets (usually Joint Operations Graphic or JOG charts) were printed
onto white acetate sheets and placed into the heated vacuum frames to soften the
acetate and sucked onto the fiberglass form. The production process resulted in
near-perfect cartometrically accurate plastic relief maps. Once inventories were
declared excess, the entire series was sold to Hubbard Scientific, Inc., and re-sold
to the general public. Nine-track magnetic tapes of the digitized topography re-
corded during the initial milling process were used to develop the very first digital
elevation models that eventually were used for “Nap of the Earth” terrain-following
guidance systems for military applications. The National Geospatial-Intelligence
Agency (NGA) still produces 3-D topographic maps for briefing display purposes.
This 12-panel set (1:12,233,000 scale) is mounted in Cliff Mugnier’s home office,
and some map tacks are visible that hold the panels to the wall. Can you find all
seven tacks?
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING
& REMOTE SENSING
J
ournal
S
taff
Publisher Dr. Michael Hauck
Editor Russell G. Congalton
Technical Editor Michael S. Renslow
Assistant Editor Jie Shan
Assistant Director — Publications Rae Kelley
Electronic Publications Manager/Graphic Artist Matthew Austin
Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing
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