General Information

Serial #

AC-44-190835

Part Number

1

Total Parts

2

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Cast steel body/ Glass lens element/ Synthetic/ Leather box? with plush lining.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

50.0 cm

Width

44.0 cm

Height

31.5 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Aviation

Category

Miscellaneous

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Graflex

Country

United States of America

State/Province

New York

City

Rochester

Context

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

Period

Unknown

Canada

Unknown. This camera has only USAAF numbers and markings. The K-series camera appears to have been the model of aerial camera favoured by the USAAF during the interwar period 1920-1942 Aerial photography has been used "for mapping, charting of the sea coasts, building of highways, town planning and any ground activity where a measure of size or change must be made. Aerial photography provided the first true measure of the size and physical makeup of the surface of Canada. It has played a vital role in major engineering developments such as the Trans-Canada Highway and the St. Lawrence Seaway. Aerial photography proved invaluable in the opening of the North and in the evaluation of Canada's forest resources."

Function

Aerial photography.

Technical

When the US entered WW2, the K-3 (Graflex/Fairchild) was replaced by the improved K-17 model. The K-17 has a shorter focal length than later cameras and was used for lower altitude reconnaissance in faster fighter aircraft (e.g. P-38). It appears that most of the patents found on the camera were assigned to the Fairchild Aviation Corp.; however, both Graflex and Fairchild built these cameras.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Markings on camera: U.S. Army Air Force plates on the camera. Lens cone, motor & shutter with Mfr.'s names, model & serial nos. etc./ Incised lettering on lens housing. Maintenance sticker reads: "NOTE-AFTER 10,000 CYCLES OF/ OPERATION CAMERA SHOULD/ BE COMPLETELY OVERHAULED."; Mfr. plate for camera reads: "PROPERTY, U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES/ CAMERA, AIRCRAFT/ TYPE/ K17C/ SERIAL NO./ AC-44- 190835/ A.C. ORDER NO./ W-30-053-ac-1411/ SPECIFICATION NO./ 75-94-c/ THE FOLMER GRAFLEX CORPORATION/ ROCHESTER, 8, N.Y., U.S.A." Plate reads: "INTERVALOMETER [Arrow pointing down]"; Mfr. plate for camera lens reads: "PROPERTY. AIR FORCES, U.S. ARMY/ LENS CONE - AIRCRAFT. CAMERA/ NAME OF ARTICLE/ 6 K-17B/ TYPE/ 42 - 2830/ SERIAL NO./ W535AC-27017/ ORDER NO./ 75-144-C/ SPEC. NO./ M'F'RS. ASSEMBLY PART NO. E335-D1/ M'F'R'D BY/ FAIRCHILD AVIATION CORPORATION/ NEW YORK, N.Y."; Patent plate reads: "MANUF'D. UNDER ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING PATENTS - U.S. NOS./ 1,517,550 1,723,926 1,817,182 2,032,380/ 1,612,860 1,735,109 1,821,492 2,048,439/ 1,619,108 1,775,731 1,835,457 2,055,089/ 1,622,125 1,778,027 1,863,573 2,061,192/ 1,626,032 1,779,424 1,890,074, 1,568,969/ 1,661,364 1,782,864 1,942,161 2,131,926/ 1,707,849 1,804,680 1,974,842 2,133,011; Mfr. plate for motor reads: "650/R.P.M/ 4.25/ WEIGHT-LBS/ 24V.-4.5A/ VOLTS/AMPS/ 60 W./ OUTPUT WATTS/ C121-AC1/ MODEL/ 43-4549/ SERIAL NO./ FAIRCHILD AVIATION CORP./ NEW YORK, N.Y., U.S.A."; Plate on inside of camera lens: "INITIAL TENSION/ ¼ TURN/ FOR COMPLETE TIMING INSTRUCTIONS/ SEE HANDBOOK"; Mfr. plate for shutter: "FAIRCHILD/ AVIATION CORPORATION/ NEW YORK, N.Y., U.S.A./ SHUTTER K-17 B/ NO. 42-2757/ 6 IN. E.F.L./ W.T. [Fairchild logo]"; Shutter speed table reads: "SHUTTER SPEEDS/ DIAL MARK/ 12" STANDARD/ 6" HIGH SPEED/ 6" STANDARD/A/ [Blank space]/ 400/ 300/ B/ 225/200/200/ C/[Blank space]/100/ 100/ D/ [Blank space]/ 50/ 50/ E/ 150 /[Blank space]/ [Blank space]/ F/ [Blank space]" Markings on leather case: "#305"

Missing

Roll film holder.

Finish

Silver-grey base/ Semi-crackle black lens cone & motor/ Plated parts/ Black box with blue lining.

Decoration

N/A