diff --git a/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js b/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js
index a8c6cfd..7133758 100644
--- a/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js
+++ b/services/mam-api/src/routes/assets.js
@@ -483,7 +483,7 @@ router.get('/:id/video', async (req, res, next) => {
   } catch (err) { next(err); }
 });
 
-// GET /:id/thumbnail - Signed URL for thumbnail image
+// GET /:id/thumbnail - Signed URL (JSON) or 302 redirect (?redirect=1) for thumbnail
 router.get('/:id/thumbnail', async (req, res, next) => {
   try {
     const { id } = req.params;
@@ -503,6 +503,9 @@ router.get('/:id/thumbnail', async (req, res, next) => {
     }
 
     const url = await getSignedUrlForObject(thumbnail_s3_key);
+
+    // ?redirect=1 lets <img src="...thumbnail?redirect=1"> work directly in the browser
+    if (req.query.redirect === '1') return res.redirect(302, url);
     res.json({ url });
   } catch (err) {
     next(err);