U.S. Navy photo gear over the years...

[Roger Hicks]

Not US but I know that the Royal Navy used Pentaxes extensively. I still have an 85/1.9 with the MoD (Ministry of Defence) broad arrow engraved on it.

Still further off topic, a friend in UK Military Intelligence in Germany just after WW2 was issued with a Rollei. The argument was that if you were caught with a camera where you shouldn't have been, it was easier to bluff that you were just an enthusiastic amateur and not a spy. He and some chums got in trouble for breaking into a US military establishment; cracking a safe; stamping all the papers in the safe "Seen and Approved"; photographing them (with the Rollei); and sending the Americans the prints.

Cheers,

R.

 

[hepcat]

Not US but I know that the Royal Navy used Pentaxes extensively. I still have an 85/1.9 with the MoD (Ministry of Defence) broad arrow engraved on it.

Still further off topic, a friend in UK Military Intelligence in Germany just after WW2 was issued with a Rollei. The argument was that if you were caught with a camera where you shouldn't have been, it was easier to bluff that you were just an enthusiastic amateur and not a spy. He and some chums got in trouble for breaking into a US military establishment; cracking a safe; stamping all the papers in the safe "Seen and Approved"; photographing them (with the Rollei); and sending the Americans the prints.

Cheers,

R.

That's BRILLIANT!!! Damn, I wish I'd done something like that while I was in!

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

Fascinating stuff. This is a great thread.

 

[Tiger 68]

Oh, I think that'll do QUITE nicely.... so what were the belly cams in the RA 3B? Five inch or eight inch? The P3-Cs Orions I flew on (and a few Bravos and Charlie updates) had five inch belly cams with a really ineffective gunsight viewfinder system. A couple of the photo training team guys at FAPL Moffett Field came up with a 4"x6" acetate template that could be taped to the pilot's side window. It had a horizon line and two vertical trigger lines. All the pilot had to do was put the horizon on the horizon line, and when the ship's bow entered the frame, trigger the camera, and let off when it left the frame. That $1.00 acetate frame made the P3 Orion one of the most effective light photo aerial platforms for shipping surveillance out there at the time.

Cool stuff. Geez, I wish I could remember the designations of some of that aerial gear. I hated working with it at the time, but it was some interesting stuff.

Here's an A3 in camo, with a selection of cameras. I had little direct contact with the cameras or film magazines, that was handled by the PHs and PTs. I was an AE, working on the flight line and later the electric shop.

The viewfinders were large periscopes, one for the pilot, one for the photo/navigator. They had switchable frame lines which corresponded with the various camera fan arrays. I found them handy for checking the landing light while doing a day time pre-flight, saved you from climbing out to see if the light was really on. We were often told not to fool around with them as they were supposedly the most expensive part of the plane.

 

[hepcat]

Now, THOSE are cameras!

 

[Roger Hicks]

That's BRILLIANT!!! Damn, I wish I'd done something like that while I was in!

I'm sure it was a two-way street. If the Americans didn't start it (and they may have) they must surely have retaliated.

Cheers,

R.

 

[hepcat]

I'm sure it was a two-way street. If the Americans didn't start it (and they may have) they must surely have retaliated.

Cheers,

R.

Yeah... knowing some of the guys I worked with... it would definitely have become a huge challenge. Great stuff.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I was stationed at FAPL Agana from '76 to '79, although I was TAD to NAS for most of that time. There was a fairly large SeaBee detachment there then. Where were you Phil? I really want to go back and vacation on Guam one day just to see the place again. I loved it there. I actually extended for a year because it was such a good gig.

This is Seabee Camp Covington on the Navy base, just up the hill from Apra Harbor, where I would go to get some sanity hanging with the blue water Navy.

I really liked Guam, aside from being locked in the barracks for three days during a typhoon and having to pull a food delivery watch once in a while, tethered to a HMMWV during that storm. Other than that crappy week, I loved the island; and the food and the snorkeling in the lagoon and the scenery and the ambulatory scenery.

Phil Forrest

 

[farlymac]

Besseler Topcon was the official camera for the sub I was on. Looked really cool hooked up to the scope.

PF

I need to expound on this. I'm pretty sure it was a Super D. And it was black.

For my own gear, I came to the boat with a Sears TLS outfit that I eventually got rid of, and replaced with a Voigtlander Vitessa L. Should have kept that one, as it was great with slide film (and would have come in handy when on liberty). But being an E-3, it was more economical to use it for a trade-in on a Nikkormat FTn with 1.4/50 Nikkor.

Being on a sub, one was sort of limited as to being able to take photos on board, though I did manage to shoot a few. Then due to circumstances beyond my control (well, an E-3 has no control over anything, unless he's standing a helm watch), I was transferred to a DE. The camera came along, and proved much more useful in that environment.

We made a six month deployment to the Indian Ocean in Jan '75, and I made friends with the PH2 that was assigned for the cruise. He had Nikons too, specifically an F. May have also had an S2, but I didn't pay attention. However, I wish I'd had a decent compact to carry around while on liberty, as the Nikkormat was too much of a target to carry around in the places we stopped.

While on our way home, our ship was picked to be the first US Navy vessel to completely transit the newly reopened Suez Canal. So between helm watches, I was chosen to assist the PH2 on the weather bridge in taking photos of the sights along the canal. I also used my own camera, sharing lenses with the PH2. Earlier in the trip, we both photographed a small fleet of Soviet ships (including a heavy cruiser) that was anchored off Socotra Island. Gotta get all that stuff scanned someday.

PF

 

[CameraQuest]

Besseler Topcon was the official camera for the sub I was on. Looked really cool hooked up to the scope.

PF

Yep, the story amongst the dealers is that the Navy buying agents thought the Beseler Topcon was a US made camera. Not sure if that was true, but it was a very oft repeated story in the US at the time.

Stephen

 

[Michael Markey]

Not sure if this is a valid contribution to the thread but some years ago I bought a Pentax 150/4 lens with an engraving around the barrel :

6760-99/220/8950.

Google that number and it leads you to what appears to be a military surplus store in Florida.

 

[hepcat]

This is Seabee Camp Covington on the Navy base, just up the hill from Apra Harbor, where I would go to get some sanity hanging with the blue water Navy.

I really liked Guam, aside from being locked in the barracks for three days during a typhoon and having to pull a food delivery watch once in a while, tethered to a HMMWV during that storm. Other than that crappy week, I loved the island; and the food and the snorkeling in the lagoon and the scenery and the ambulatory scenery.

Phil Forrest

I remember Camp Covington down on "Big Navy." I ddn't have much reason to go there, but I remember it. I was in seven typhoons great and small while I was there. I got there three days AFTER Supertyphoon Pamela devastated the island. I got all of the inconvenience and none of the excitement from that one. I got married (the first time) at sunset on Ipao Beach in Tamuning. One of my PH buddies shot the wedding with his RB67 and the photos absolutely look fake. I'll have to see if I can dig one of them up.

Here's a link to some bad scans of some Kodacolor negs from my time on Guam... mostly on the north end of the island.

I need to expound on this. I'm pretty sure it was a Super D. And it was black.

While on our way home, our ship was picked to be the first US Navy vessel to completely transit the newly reopened Suez Canal. So between helm watches, I was chosen to assist the PH2 on the weather bridge in taking photos of the sights along the canal. I also used my own camera, sharing lenses with the PH2. Earlier in the trip, we both photographed a small fleet of Soviet ships (including a heavy cruiser) that was anchored off Socotra Island. Gotta get all that stuff scanned someday.

PF

Yep, that Topcon likely would have been the Super-D. They were plentiful in the fleet in those days. That is a GREAT story, and I'd LOVE to see those scans!

Yep, the story amongst the dealers is that the Navy buying agents thought the Beseler Topcon was a US made camera. Not sure if that was true, but it was a very oft repeated story in the US at the time.

Stephen

I always thought that someone must have had their hand in someone else's pocket in the supply chain for the Navy to have bought those... but the truth is that when they were procured, the Topcon Super-D was the only camera on the market at the time with the system features they offered; in-body metering, removable pentaprisms, bayonet lens mounting, and a full array of lenses and accessories. Nikon was close on their heels with the F system, but Topcon beat them by a year or so. And it took Nikon several iterations to figure out their metering system in the F bodies. The Topcons really were a rugged pro system camera. They were just quirky with a bizarre bayonet lens mount, and were LOUD and heavy.

Not sure if this is a valid contribution to the thread but some years ago I bought a Pentax 150/4 lens with an engraving around the barrel :

6760-99/220/8950.

Google that number and it leads you to what appears to be a surplus military store in Florida.

That is probably a military stock number... for the Navy when I first was in it would have been a Navy Stock Number or NSN that was changed in '75 or '76 to a Federal Stock Number or FSN and standardized across the government.

 

[CameraQuest]

Just search ebay for NAVY in cameras and photo.

The result shows a lot of interesting cameras. The US Navy Topcon and Canon FD setups were quite extensive. The specially made EPOI Nikon F motor setups for Vietnam era jet pilots may be the most interesting.

Stephen

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I remember Camp Covington down on "Big Navy." I ddn't have much reason to go there, but I remember it. I was in seven typhoons great and small while I was there. I got there three days AFTER Supertyphoon Pamela devastated the island. I got all of the inconvenience and none of the excitement from that one. I got married (the first time) at sunset on Ipao Beach in Tamuning. One of my PH buddies shot the wedding with his RB67 and the photos absolutely look fake. I'll have to see if I can dig one of them up.

Here's a link to some bad scans of some Kodacolor negs from my time on Guam... mostly on the north end of the island.

...

That is probably a military stock number... for the Navy when I first was in it would have been a Navy Stock Number or NSN that was changed in '75 or '76 to a Federal Stock Number or FSN and standardized across the government.

You were on Guam right after Japanese Sgt. Yokoi was discovered then. Interesting!
I recognized a bunch of those beaches and a few of the views out over the water. I think I took pretty much the exact same photo on one of the beaches, looking out towards the rock outcropping with the overhang.

As for the NSN, one of my buddies at NAS Whidbey Island was looking for a stock number and found an NSN for a complete Spruance Class Destroyer. His catchphrase and answer to ANY question back then was "it's on order." I wanted so badly to had a "SpruCan" show up in Bremerton and for the XO to get that call that it had arrived...

Phil Forrest

 

[hepcat]

You were on Guam right after Japanese Sgt. Yokoi was discovered then. Interesting!
I recognized a bunch of those beaches and a few of the views out over the water. I think I took pretty much the exact same photo on one of the beaches, looking out towards the rock outcropping with the overhang.

As for the NSN, one of my buddies at NAS Whidbey Island was looking for a stock number and found an NSN for a complete Spruance Class Destroyer. His catchphrase and answer to ANY question back then was "it's on order." I wanted so badly to had a "SpruCan" show up in Bremerton and for the XO to get that call that it had arrived...

Phil Forrest

Yeah, Phil, I expect that those were some of the obligatory tourist shots on the island in my album. Some of them are of an abandoned theme park that was on the road from NAS to Anderson AFB. It was pretty cool... but kinda creepy. The Charlie Corn monument photos were taken not long after I got there and before the jungle grew up again after Pamela. Those are from negatives that were probably poorly processed, and definitely poorly stored. Those were all shot with my M2 and 35, 50, 85 & 135 Canon Serenar lens kit.

Sgt. Yokoi was found in '72 IIRC and I got there in '75. Interestingly, my roommate when I was at Moffett Field was a PH2. One of his friends worked for DPS and was on duty when Yokoi was discovered. My roommate was living off-base, and his buddy came to his place and rolled him out of the rack and told him to bring his camera. He was one of the first to photograph Sgt. Yokoi's cave and belongings and took some of the first photos of him in DPS custody.

"SpruCan" aye. You KNOW that your buddy would have blamed the whole thing on some poor innocent sand crab in supply.😀

 

[hepcat]

Just search ebay for NAVY in cameras and photo.

The result shows a lot of interesting cameras. The US Navy Topcon and Canon FD setups were quite extensive. The specially made EPOI Nikon F motor setups for Vietnam era jet pilots may be the most interesting.

Stephen

Stephen, the amount of photo gear that the Navy alone has surplussed over the past 40 years must be staggering.

EPOI and Ponder & Best... the good ol' days...

Roger

 

[Phil_F_NM]

Stephen, the amount of photo gear that the Navy alone has surplussed over the past 40 years must be staggering.

EPOI and Ponder & Best... the good ol' days...

Roger

Remember, the photography school was a Navy school that we "allowed" members of the other services to attend. 😀 For most of the 20th century, all of the visual media in the military was connected to the Navy, probably due to the ability to have labs on most ships larger than a tugboat, anywhere in the world that had a draft deep enough to float a boat.

Phil Forrest

 

[hepcat]

Remember, the photography school was a Navy school that we "allowed" members of the other services to attend. 😀 For most of the 20th century, all of the visual media in the military was connected to the Navy, probably due to the ability to have labs on most ships larger than a tugboat, anywhere in the world that had a draft deep enough to float a boat.

Phil Forrest

PICT0073 by chief1120, on Flickr

PICT0072 by chief1120, on Flickr

PICT0064 by chief1120, on Flickr

PICT0063 by chief1120, on Flickr

 

[hepcat]

PH "A" School, NATTU, NAS Pensacola, FL summer 1974

The gang at PH "A" School by chief1120, on Flickr

Mr. George's Class by chief1120, on Flickr

Grip & Grin by chief1120, on Flickr

 

[colyn]

PICT0073 by chief1120, on Flickr

PICT0072 by chief1120, on Flickr

PICT0064 by chief1120, on Flickr

PICT0063 by chief1120, on Flickr

I remember this place.. I've heard it is now closed though..