Perhaps one of the least known aspects of heavy bombardment for the general public is the role of photography. For all of the war’s combatants, photography played a far greater role than mere record-keeping and reconnaissance – in fact, for the Allied bombing offensive, it was downright crucial. Photographs taken by heavy bombers offered vital clues as to the accuracy of their strikes, answering questions like whether the correct target was struct and if it would have to be hit again.
Despite the large and awkward size of the equipment, the Boeing B-17 was uniquely equipped for this role, unobtrusively stowing its strike camera in a bay underneath the radio compartment floor. When over the target, the radio operator simply folded the floor open, sat down in the pit, and took the necessary photos. In all but one of her seven combat missions, Lucky Thirteen carried a strike camera: three times a Kodak K-24, twice a Fairchild K-17, and once a Graflex K-21. Since she carried a K-17 on her final mission, this is the setup we would like to attempt restoration.
And much to our surprise, our research discovered that the B-17F was also equipped with a fighter-type gun camera in the tail compartment. This too is part of that story. It will not be easy, but nothing that is worth doing ever is. We hope to do justice to this little remembered aspect of the war.
It is only right. After all, it was a waist gunner on Lucky Thirteen that took one of the most iconic images of the war: the photo on our homepage, taken over Schweinfurt on 17 August 1943.
SSGTs Bill M. Lyon and John A. Feairheller install a strike camera aboard Our Gang (42-5069, 91BG). Our Gang was lost over Schweinfurt on 17 August 1943.
Blueprint 3-7012: Support Camera Pit Floor
Blueprint 3-7022: Bracket Assembly, Camera Support x2
STRIKE CAMERA
Type K-17 Strike Camera DONATED BY MAX PEARSALL (JBER, ALASKA)
Fairchild Aviation
8400-035100
*6 Inch (Focal Length 6.3) Bausch & Lomb Lens (75-146) with B-1 Heater (75-146A) Standard
Type A-2 Vertical View Finder COMPLETED
Fairchild Aviation
1.28 Inch Glass
Type A-5/A-5A Camera Magazine DONATED BY MAX PEARSALL (JBER, ALASKA)
9 x 9
190 Exposures
*For use with 6 inch lens
Type A-8 Camera Mount Example
Bruening-Winans
31-1310
or
Type A-11 Camera Mount Example
Robinson Aviation
H42G19487
Type B-2 Intervalometer COMPLETED
6 – 75 Sec.
3 Sec. Steps
SSGT Joe F. Kotlarz cleans the tail guns on Kipling’s Error III (42-5885, 96BG). Kipling’s Error II was lost over Rostock on 11 April 1944.
Blueprint 15-7999-B: Gun Camera Installation
TAIL GUN CAMERA
Type N-2 Camera Example
Fairchild Aviation/Bell & Howell
2900-105855
3 Inch 90° Head
*Overrun Control 75-163 (2900-179220) Standard
Type A-6 Camera Magazine
Fairchild Aviation/Bell & Howell
16mm