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

Roger Hicks said:
When I find his address, and get his permission, I'll send you (privately) the address of the author of the Lens Collector's Vademecum. You have a copy, I take it?

Cheers,

R.
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Hello Roger,

No, I don't have a copy of the book.
Thank you in advance.

Cheers,
 
willie_901 said:
Raid,

Sell this camera.

All you have to do is find the best international auction house that deals in rare historical items related to WW-II.

Put the $$$ in a college fund for your lovely daughters.

willie
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My wife tells me to sell my camera... even if they weren't of any historical value.
 
jmkelly said:
Raid that is an amazing camera. What a beast! Have you used it? If so, What for? Post some pics, man!

RE: The historical value - it seems to me that a museum would want to curate first the photos, and then at least two of the cameras. Do any others survive? Have you contacted the museum at Los Alamos?
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Or perhaps the National Atomic Museum, in Albuquerque, would be interested.

~Joe
 
Fred,

I am uncomfortable seeing accusations that the camera was not used in the war and the inventor's imagination had gone wild.

I do not know what the whole truth is here, but I am confident that Douglas Winnek was a well established inventor in the field of optical design. I don't see any signs that his daughter is dreaming up things, as she refers to her father's diary.

Instead of providing evidence of the contrary, I am seeing claims being made that we are being given untruths.

This makes me feel uncomfortable. If you have true evidence of any sort, please share it with us here. Nobody here will be hurt if the truth comes out.
 
raid said:
Fred,

I am uncomfortable seeing accusations that the camera was not used in the war and the inventor's imagination had gone wild.

I do not know what the whole truth is here, but I am confident that Douglas Winnek was a well established inventor in the field of optical design. I don't see any signs that his daughter is dreaming up things, as she refers to her father's diary.

Instead of providing evidence of the contrary, I am seeing claims being made that we are being given untruths.

This makes me feel uncomfortable. If you have true evidence of any sort, please share it with us here. Nobody here will be hurt if the truth comes out.
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I would agree with you here, Raid.

A contemporaneous diary of the builder should be sufficient to establish provenance for most people, I would say. I am sure weaker evidence has been accepted.

Perhaps you could get a copy of pertinent pages of the diary and provide that along with the daughter's letter to the museum, it would be a nice adjunct to the camera for display.

Very nice work tracking this down...
 
gdi: I have just sent an email to the inventor's daughter, conveying to her some of the suspicions posted here. I will ask her for a few related pages of her dad's diary if she responds to my email.
 
Raid,

Great Historical Camera that was involved in one of the MOST IMPORTANT bombing missions of WW2

I think to find out more details contact some people at these websites

http://www.enolagay509th.com/default.htm

http://home.att.net/~sallyann4/509.html

http://afhra.maxwell.af.mil/photo_g...tory/History_Of_The_509th_Composite_Group.htm

Perhaps someone there can shed more light on the subject of what was, loaded/used and shot with in which planes etc.

I have a personal friend (model) who`s uncle Captain George Marquardt was the commander of "Necessary Evil" which was the photo chase and scientific observer aircraft for the Hiroshima mission - sadly he`s since past on quite a few years now

Tom

PS: Here`s a page with infomation on the "Bocks Car"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bocks_Car

and the photo chase plane for the second mission was "Big Stink"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Stink
 
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Great item, Raid. THANK YOU for sharing.

Really, you should work with the daughter in any donation/sale to a museum. Original, contemporary, 1st person documentation is HIGHLY desirable with such historical items.
 
Once I hear back from Kelly, I will let you know what she has to say about it.
I hope that I have not made her upset with my questions.
Thanks for all the tips.
 
Absolutely incredible camera, of unquestionable historic significance if all of your sources are correct (and I have no reason to assume otherwise). A few ides for you:
Firstly, if you are interested in giving it to a museum, perhaps you could contact a few you think may be interested ( I was also going to suggest the Smithsonian), present them with all of your findings so far (you have kept detailed records, of course) and let them know that you may be interested in giving it to them. I would imagine that, if they had any interest in an object such as this, they would attempt to verify the origins and use of this camera for themselves. That would certainly help to determine exactly what you have.

My second suggestion is also regarding a PBS show, but a little more in depth than Antiques Roadshow. There is a show entitled History Detectives, where people who have what they believe to be rare, historical objects contact the show. The people from the show then do whatever research is necessary to validate this - they will travel to various museums, contact authorities in the suject, etc. in order to determine the tru nature of the given object. It seems to me that what you have here would make an absolutely fascinating epsiode, at the very least, and it is one way that you may be able to learn more about the camera than you could on your own.

Here is a link to the shows website: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

And here is a link directly to their submission form: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/about/submit.html

Please let us know if you make it on the show!
 
Hi Raid

Hi Raid

What would be very interesting historically would be the cameras that were used to provide the photographs to Truman and Oppenheimers teams between the 1st and 2nd bombs. (I highly recommend you read "Hiroshima in America" if you haven't already).

A lot of info. has just come out in the last 20-25 years, and movie footage that was taken by US and Japanese officials in the mid to late '40s has just been made widely available, much of it 35mm and not available for a min. of 3 decades.

Whatever your camera was used for, it sounds very interesting, and I hope it brings you the happiness you are looking for with it.

Is the camera radioactive?
 
Here is my receipt:

Thank You!
History Detectives has received your message

Your mystery will be reviewed by experts, and considered as a possible investigation for future episodes of History Detectives.

Our stories all begin with suggestions from people like you, so we put a high value on your contribution. But please understand that the volume of e-mail sent to History Detectives makes it impossible to send individual replies.
 
ampguy said:
What would be very interesting historically would be the cameras that were used to provide the photographs to Truman and Oppenheimers teams between the 1st and 2nd bombs. (I highly recommend you read "Hiroshima in America" if you haven't already).

A lot of info. has just come out in the last 20-25 years, and movie footage that was taken by US and Japanese officials in the mid to late '40s has just been made widely available, much of it 35mm and not available for a min. of 3 decades.

Whatever your camera was used for, it sounds very interesting, and I hope it brings you the happiness you are looking for with it.

Is the camera radioactive?
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Thanks.

Old lenses sometimes had Thorium in them. I used a Geiger counter to measure low levels of radioactive material. The levels did not look dangerous. I consulted experts in the field.
 
My request has been taken and accepted by PBS!

My request has been taken and accepted by PBS!

iamzip said:
Absolutely incredible camera, of unquestionable historic significance if all of your sources are correct (and I have no reason to assume otherwise). A few ides for you:
Firstly, if you are interested in giving it to a museum, perhaps you could contact a few you think may be interested ( I was also going to suggest the Smithsonian), present them with all of your findings so far (you have kept detailed records, of course) and let them know that you may be interested in giving it to them. I would imagine that, if they had any interest in an object such as this, they would attempt to verify the origins and use of this camera for themselves. That would certainly help to determine exactly what you have.

My second suggestion is also regarding a PBS show, but a little more in depth than Antiques Roadshow. There is a show entitled History Detectives, where people who have what they believe to be rare, historical objects contact the show. The people from the show then do whatever research is necessary to validate this - they will travel to various museums, contact authorities in the suject, etc. in order to determine the tru nature of the given object. It seems to me that what you have here would make an absolutely fascinating epsiode, at the very least, and it is one way that you may be able to learn more about the camera than you could on your own.

Here is a link to the shows website: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

And here is a link directly to their submission form: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/about/submit.html

Please let us know if you make it on the show!
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The Associate Producer already contacted me more than once this morning, and she will start the investigation about this camera. I emailed her photos of the camera, and I even gave her this link here to give RFF additional exposure. Maybe we will learn more about the whole issue. They will contact Winnek's daughter too.
 
raid said:
The Associate Producer already contacted me more than once this morning, and she will start the investigation about this camera. I emailed her photos of the camera, and I even gave her this link here to give RFF additional exposure. Maybe we will learn more about the whole issue. They will contact Winnek's daughter too.
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Well that is awesome! I have seen the show and they do an impressive job.
 
raid said:
The Associate Producer already contacted me more than once this morning, and she will start the investigation about this camera. I emailed her photos of the camera, and I even gave her this link here to give RFF additional exposure. Maybe we will learn more about the whole issue. They will contact Winnek's daughter too.
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WOW!

That rocks Raid, really great news, I wish one of my Leica`s was famous enough to do a TV show on :)

Good Luck with Everything

Tom
 
LeicaTom said:
WOW!

That rocks Raid, really great news, I wish one of my Leica`s was famous enough to do a TV show on :)

Good Luck with Everything

Tom
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Tom,
the whole bubble may bust if they find out that the lens is not what it is supposed to be. I hope that Winnek's daughter cooperates with them.
 
memphis said:
cool --- wear a leica around your neck when they are filming to make everybody here wet their pants when you're on tv
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If ... and only if, the "show" materializes, then I will make sure to mention RFF. I may wear a Leica M3 with a Zeiss Sonnar 5cm around my neck.:D
 
ferider said:
I would agree with her and Willie, Raid. Museums have access to auctions, too ...

Roland.

PS: thanks for the great story of course.
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Roland,

I believe in a free trade system, so if there is a possibility to allow museums to bid on this camera, then I certainly prefer to get some money towards my daughters' ecucation. Each will end up being a winner.
 
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