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pjkkoz
28-Jan-2015, 20:48
Hello, am new to this forum. Am trying to id / get info on a large camera made by Eastman Kodak, No id on camera body. Lense says Eastman Kodak Co, Rochester, NY Hawkeye Aerial F4.5 254 mm 4x5 serial number 054. Camera is large, weighs about 25 lbs. Came with a crate like wooden case also weighs about 25 lbs. All is painted olive. Lid of case has stencil "L-654" . I looked and could only find a Kodak K-24 military aerial camera, I do not think this is the same but am not knowlegable with this stuff. Any help appreciated, thank you.

John Kasaian
28-Jan-2015, 21:38
Got a picture?

pjkkoz
29-Jan-2015, 06:27
pic attached

John Kasaian
29-Jan-2015, 07:30
Sorry, I don't see any attachment to open:confused:

bobwysiwyg
29-Jan-2015, 08:02
Sorry, I don't see any attachment to open:confused:

Ditto

Jac@stafford.net
29-Jan-2015, 08:26
The picture is there but we cannot see it because it was a top-secret recon camera used in the Sixties.
Just kidding! (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4098/5416269096_4d1be563d6_z.jpg)

I will be silent, but I hope Dan From chimes in with a precious comment about these aerial camera lenses.

DrTang
29-Jan-2015, 08:39
isn't a K-24 one of those aerial cameras with that lens all the thin DOF people are crazy about?? the aero ektar?


this: http://www.nwmangum.com/Kodak/K24-1.html

Bob Salomon
29-Jan-2015, 08:40
The picture is there but we cannot see it because it was a top-secret recon camera used in the Sixties.
Just kidding! (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4098/5416269096_4d1be563d6_z.jpg)

I will be silent, but I hope Dan From chimes in with a precious comment about these aerial camera lenses.

I was in the USAF in the 60's as an aerial photographer in Rec Tec and we primarlily shot 5x5" in RF 101 Voodoos and RF 4C Phantom II and 9x9" from RB 66 Widow Makers. The only 45 we shot were on Graflexs on the ground. We also, of course, shot some aerial horizon to horizon pans.

I don't remember that lens as being used on our stuff.

Jac@stafford.net
29-Jan-2015, 09:12
I was in the USAF in the 60's as an aerial photographer in Rec Tec and we primarlily shot 5x5" in RF 101 Voodoos and RF 4C Phantom II and 9x9" from RB 66 Widow Makers. The only 45 we shot were on Graflexs on the ground. We also, of course, shot some aerial horizon to horizon pans.

I don't remember that lens as being used on our stuff.

Either do I, but I never got closer than a half the flightline to a U2.

(Bob and I were on Recon bases during the same years, separated by half a world and nationalities.) I worked with the RAF where we had RF 101 Voodoos. Earlier I worked on an American base in France until de Gaulle kicked out the Americans and the RB66 aircraft went to Southeast Asia. At that time they were used for electronic recon, and countermeasures, and rarely for photography.)

The Widowmaker was the F104. America sold them to a few countries. I was familiar with those in Germany where some flew high-speed, crappy weather missions. The German versions fell out of the air at the rate of three a month for a while.


DrTang, "isn't a K-24 one of those aerial cameras with that lens all the thin DOF people are crazy about?? the aero ektar?"

It's nutz, but I had one still new in the unopened box. It was horribly expensive at $125 at the time. Never used one because of no need at all. Sold the lens and threw away the rest. Really, the lens is nothing special when considered against modern lenses. Lens speed was more important in aerial recon back in the day.

Dan Fromm
29-Jan-2015, 10:00
The picture is there but we cannot see it because it was a top-secret recon camera used in the Sixties.
Just kidding! (https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4098/5416269096_4d1be563d6_z.jpg)

I will be silent, but I hope Dan From chimes in with a precious comment about these aerial camera lenses.

Sorry, Jac, I have nothing that bears on this lens. It might be a tessar type, but that's a poorly-informed guess.

Bob Salomon
29-Jan-2015, 10:13
Either do I, but I never got closer than a half the flightline to a U2.

(Bob and I were on Recon bases during the same years, separated by half a world and nationalities.) I worked with the RAF where we had RF 101 Voodoos. Earlier I worked on an American base in France until de Gaulle kicked out the Americans and the RB66 aircraft went to Southeast Asia. At that time they were used for electronic recon, and countermeasures, and rarely for photography.)

The Widowmaker was the F104. America sold them to a few countries. I was familiar with those in Germany where some flew high-speed, crappy weather missions. The German versions fell out of the air at the rate of three a month for a while.



It's nutz, but I had one still new in the unopened box. It was horribly expensive at $125 at the time. Never used one because of no need at all. Sold the lens and threw away the rest. Really, the lens is nothing special when considered against modern lenses. Lens speed was more important in aerial recon back in the day.

Actually when we referred to the Widow Maker it was an RB 66 twin engine bomber, nothing as exotic as the 104. We used it to do a lot of aerial night photography dropping flash bombs in a trail for vertical work.

Were you at Nancy? I had orders transferring me there but my wife was too pregnant at the time for them to assign me to a foreign base. So I got sent to Hurlburt Field instead.

Jac@stafford.net
29-Jan-2015, 11:04
[...]Were you at Nancy? I had orders transferring me there but my wife was too pregnant at the time for them to assign me to a foreign base. So I got sent to Hurlburt Field instead.

In France I was at Toul-Rosieres Air Base (Drab TRAB), worked a bit with Chambley Air Base, and hung around Metz most of the time. Hurlburt? Although very much of the Cuban Crisis photo recon film processing and rendering was out of an obscure Rochester, NY site, you were closer. Can we talk about what we know from then? I won't unless it shows up on Google. :)

Bob Salomon
29-Jan-2015, 11:38
In France I was at Toul-Rosieres Air Base (Drab TRAB), worked a bit with Chambley Air Base, and hung around Metz most of the time. Hurlburt? Although very much of the Cuban Crisis photo recon film processing and rendering was out of an obscure Rochester, NY site, you were closer. Can we talk about what we know from then? I won't unless it shows up on Google. :)
I was sent to FL after the second round of Cuba missle flights that Senator Keating started after the missles had been removed. We flew those flights out of Shaw in SC. When our unit flew the original Cuba flights they were TDY to Homestead and were flown out of there. But in those days, while I was assigned to the squadron at Shaw I was actually at Lowry going through photo school and actually joined them at Shaw after they were sent back from Homestead.

But we were involved after the missles were taken out and before we started flying it again in printing all those original shots that we took. Many are on display at the Smithsonian under a RF 101 hanging from the ceiling. At least they were. With the current conditions the display may have been taken down.

At Hurlburt and Eglin we became a test squadron. During Cuba each squadron had their own photo lab at the flight line. When Cuba was finshed someone thought that taking all of the line squadrons and consolidating them into one big building near the flight line would be better so that was the 363rd RecTec. It had the photo guys and the PIs all in the same building.

Then someone thought that it would be better if we were at the flight line so they started a test squadron at Eglin assigned to Hurlburt and we worked there until Tonkin Gulf. Then the unit went to SE Asia but I had put in for discharge that morning and did not go.

We processed that film from the original Cuban missions and the later one in our labs in FL originally, and then in SC. I think the Navy had stuff processed other places during those original flights, especially the U2 stuff.

Leonard Robertson
29-Jan-2015, 14:47
It might be worth contacting this gentleman:

http://graflex.coffsbiz.com/military.html

While his interest is mainly Graflex, it looks like he may be knowledgeable on other military cameras.

Len

goamules
29-Jan-2015, 15:29
...or googling it a little. WWI lens. Is this your camera?

https://books.google.com/books?id=1Bc6AQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA7-PA11&ots=wdJtQNSxOn&dq=eastman%20Hawkeye%20Aerial%20lens&pg=RA7-PA9#v=onepage&q=eastman%20Hawkeye%20Aerial%20lens&f=false
http://www.geh.org/ar/strip59/htmlsrc/m198700260037_ful.html#topofimage

128662

John Kasaian
29-Jan-2015, 16:50
...or googling it a little. WWI lens. Is this your camera?

https://books.google.com/books?id=1Bc6AQAAMAAJ&lpg=RA7-PA11&ots=wdJtQNSxOn&dq=eastman%20Hawkeye%20Aerial%20lens&pg=RA7-PA9#v=onepage&q=eastman%20Hawkeye%20Aerial%20lens&f=false
http://www.geh.org/ar/strip59/htmlsrc/m198700260037_ful.html#topofimage

128662
The 10" Hawkeye lens would seem to jive.

pjkkoz
29-Jan-2015, 19:03
128672128671128673128674


Here are pics, really.

pjkkoz
29-Jan-2015, 19:05
figured it out, had to decrease resolution / picture size, just posted, thanks

pjkkoz
29-Jan-2015, 19:09
description sounds pretty close, just posted pics of camera [ and case], thanks for your reply

Dan Fromm
29-Jan-2015, 19:53
Seeing the camera from the sides and the rear would be helpful.

pjkkoz
30-Jan-2015, 05:33
128694128695128696128697


Both sides, tag from film cannister?, and rear of camera pictured. Thank you.

goamules
30-Jan-2015, 06:14
Did you look at the links I gave you? One is the history of Kodak Aerial cameras. I just found the sources and skimmed them, I didn't research closely and identify your camera. That's your job now.

pjkkoz
30-Jan-2015, 09:24
sent an email at the link you gave, thanks for taking the time to send me the info.