A camera that was used in the Manhattan Project (Atomic Bomb Drop on Nagasaki)

Did someone already say it? Standard aerial photography format in US is 9"x9" since a very long time ago. I believe since the 1930s, definitely before WWII. Raid's camera is (was) most likely 9x9.

I have some incomplete aerial cameras in my "hoard", lots of images in print and transparency. Today, I (we) do photogrammetry with stereo digital imagery. Its rather an advance in accuracy, precision, and flexibility. More convenient too. The old stereoplotters are something to behold....best done in person so you can appreciate the complexity and Rube Goldberg nature of them.
 
What a worthwhile thing to do. Pity it was so expensive/difficult to get it operational -- would love to see a portrait from that. And it would be a great personal relic.

Swords to plowshares &c.
 
I saw an aerial camera being serviced at Wild/Leitz many years ago.
It was indeed 9"x 9" Format.approx.
Very Long rolls went thru it.
If two exposures, slightly apart in time, are done high above, they can become stereo.
I am sure those who have used or played with such beasts, will find a back!
The X-Ray film, one shot at a time sounds great.
Not as X-Ray, but as cheap BW film..
Then sell it! Your kids will benefit.
A f1.66 lens on such a huge format sounds wild.
 
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raid said:
I was initially informed by some optics experts that maybe the camera [and very fast lens] were used in physics lab experiments and in X-Ray experiments. The max aperture of 1.66 is unsual for a 10x10 camera. The lens hood is impressive looking.
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The camera and lens would be useless in X-ray experiments because the refracting index of glass for X-rays is exactly 1, meaning that X-rays cannot be focused by lenses made of glass.

If I were you, I'd get the prominence established before you do anything else. You need to get Winnek's daughter to send you a signed letter with a certified copy of the diary page, then you need to hit the libraries (by which I mean physically go there), find pictures of aerial cameras used in the bombers, speak to the bomber and ground crew who were involved and might still be alive, find the original negatives of the images and see if they could match your camera and lens, talk to the Air Force aerial reconnaissance team, etc.

At this point, all you have is a vague statement that might be consistent with the camera being used in Boxcar, but that's all. You need to establish that before you do anything else.
 
Avotius said:
Very interesting piece of history even if it is connected with one of the biggest mistakes ever. Imagine that call...."kokura is covered in fog, we can see anything." other side of the line replies "ok whats the next city on the list?" not a good day.
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The Japanese deserved A bomb for what they did to other countries. People forgive Germany but not Japan. THEY ARE THE INVADERS AND AGGRESSORS.
 
I gave the Naval Aviation Museum whatever information I have on this camera, and their historians took it from there. The believe that it is a fact that this camera was used in WWII.

Raid

giganova said:
The camera and lens would be useless in X-ray experiments because the refracting index of glass for X-rays is exactly 1, meaning that X-rays cannot be focused by lenses made of glass.

If I were you, I'd get the prominence established before you do anything else. You need to get Winnek's daughter to send you a signed letter with a certified copy of the diary page, then you need to hit the libraries (by which I mean physically go there), find pictures of aerial cameras used in the bombers, speak to the bomber and ground crew who were involved and might still be alive, find the original negatives of the images and see if they could match your camera and lens, talk to the Air Force aerial reconnaissance team, etc.

At this point, all you have is a vague statement that might be consistent with the camera being used in Boxcar, but that's all. You need to establish that before you do anything else.
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The daughter of Douglas Winnek sent me an email yesterday and today too. She may have seen my WWII camera at the Naval Aviation Museum, and she sounds very happy about it.
 
Why not place a ground-glass on back and see what the images might look like?
Take some images with a digital of the screen.
Interesting (if possible to do) portraits as lens may only do infinity..
 
uhoh7 said:
Great story here 🙂 Do we have any links to the images these cameras made?
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It took me over 12 years to figure out the history of this camera, and it may take more years to (ever) find military (maybe secret) images that were taken by it.
 
leicapixie said:
Why not place a ground-glass on back and see what the images might look like?
Take some images with a digital of the screen.
Interesting (if possible to do) portraits as lens may only do infinity..
Click to expand...

The camera is on display at a museum. It is now their camera. I doubt it that they will be interested in ever using it.
 
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