Really old FEDs

[Dez]

I have somehow accumulated three old FEDs, from 1937, 40, and 41. The 1941 camera is a 1s, from the very last of the Kombinat series. The two newer ones feel much less refined than a contemporary Leica, and the chrome on all three is rather coarse, but they work perfectly. The chrome may be coarse, but very heavy and apparently indestructible. They appear to be better made than the post-war versions and dirt cheap as well.
Is this just my perception, or were the prewar FEDs something special? A genuine Leica II as well preserved would be a rarity.

Cheers
Dez

 

[Dralowid]

I have 8344 which is a very well made camera...

FED 001 by dralowid, on Flickr

 

[David Hughes]

Hi,

How are you dating them so precisely? Meaning the distinction between 1940 and 1941 and so on.

Regards, David

 

[Dez]

A bit of extrapolation from the date ranges shown on the Sovietcams site.
http://www.sovietcams.com/index.php?414372438

My FED-S for example was less than 250 numbers from the end of the series.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[David Hughes]

I wish mine was...

Regards, David

 

[Dez]

I have 8344 which is a very well made camera...

FED 001 by dralowid, on Flickr

Very nice indeed! My 1937 is the later "Lavatory Seat" model with the smaller shutter speed dial. I wonder why they made that change; I always preferred the look of the larger dial.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Valkir1987]

Very nice indeed! My 1937 is the later "Lavatory Seat" model with the smaller shutter speed dial. I wonder why they made that change; I always preferred the look of the larger dial.

Fed had plans to build a model with slow speeds. They had to change the top cover just as Leica did. Only very few Fed cameras have been made with a slow speed dial.

 

[Jacques M.]

Leitz had done the same earlier. In 1933, they had changed the "round" cover against an angled one, to lodge the transmission of the slow speed mechanism for their Leica III.

Jacques.

 

[goamules]

I had this early one for a while.

 

[goamules]

Still have the one on the right.

 

[Dez]

Fed had plans to build a model with slow speeds. They had to change the top cover just as Leica did. Only very few Fed cameras have been made with a slow speed dial.

I understand the change to the angled top. My question was actually about the earlier change from a 15mm to 13mm diameter for the shutter dial.

Cheers,
Dez

 

[Robert Lai]

FED must have done better than Zorki, being run by the KGB after all. The Zorki 1 that I had flaked chrome, and the shutter capped also.

 

[David Hughes]

FED must have done better than Zorki, being run by the KGB after all. The Zorki 1 that I had flaked chrome, and the shutter capped also.

Hi,

I thought it was run by the Ukrainian [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]People's Commissariat of Education and later on by the [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs. They ran a lot of things in the USSR but for some reason people only talk about the police as though they did nothing else. From what I have read about it they were fairly independent.

Regards, David
[/FONT]

 

[Vadimson]

FED camera found in the wreckage of the Soviet fighter shot down in 1943

 

[Elmar Lang]

Interesting pictures indeed.

Are there more of them, on the recovery of that airplane's remains?

Was the pilot identified?

Best wishes,

Enzo (E.L.)

 

[Vadimson]

Was the pilot identified?

pilot is not identified 🙁

 

[Elmar Lang]

By the way, do exist a complete reportage of the discovery and excavations of the airplane and its contents?

E.L.

 

[Vadimson]

http://domodedovod.ru/domodedovo/nikto-ne-zabyt-ryadom-s-domodedovo-nashli-ostanki-pilota/
The pilot was identified: Lipovtsev Sergey Alexandrovich junior lieutenant, born in 1922. Called Gorky city military commissariat. Killed during training firings during the plane crash on March 8, 1945, two months before the Victory.

 

[Elmar Lang]

Thank you very much for the interesting info re. the pilot, his voenkomat, etc.

R.I.P. to the fallen Soldier.

Enzo (E.L.)

 

[Vadimson]

FED camera lain for several decades at the bottom of the river. Found by tourists during rafting.