Found a Leitz/Leica Aerial Camera, KE-28B, would love info on it.

[4_5cience]

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Hey Everyone!

 

I recently found and purchased a KE-28B Aerial Camera from a thrift store. A quick search on it revealed that it has Leitz/Leica Canada glass. Does anyone else have any more information on these?

Here is an album of the camera:

https://imgur.com/a/6sFVftg

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[willeica]

http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/J.A.Maurer/KE-28B-Aerial-Camera.html .The details around the lens rim would be of interest.

 

William

[alan mcfall]

Use the search feature of this forum to find many posts, drawings, lenses, history.

[4_5cience]

12 hours ago, willeica said:

http://collectiblend.com/Cameras/J.A.Maurer/KE-28B-Aerial-Camera.html .The details around the lens rim would be of interest.

 

William

The details are as follows:

 

Made by Leitz Canada

6in f/2.8

Ser No. 138-0106

J.A. Maurer inc LLC NY

Part No. (none of the images I took have this legible, will add it when off of work)

[Pecole]

I had a Maurer KS-28B in my Fontenelle collection. The images I fond back show an Elcan 6inches/2.8 lens.

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[wlaidlaw]

John Maurer was a military camera designer. I believe his first studio was in New York City but at some later point he either moved to or had additional premises in New Jersey. In addition to the KE28 camera, he had at some earlier point, designed a rangefinder, which also used the dual 70mm Kodak cassettes like the KE-28. This design was picked up by the US military, who got Hubert Nerwin (ex-Contax and one of the Contax RF design team) to productionise the camera as the KE-4 Combat Graflex and, as its name would suggest, it was made by the Graflex Corporation of Pittsford, NY, which in 1956 had become a division of the General Instrument Precision Company.

I have tried to find out who actually made this KE-28B camera, as I very much doubt it was Maurer themselves, since I don't think they had the extensive alloy casting and metalworking machinery needed. Could Graflex have made the camera parts, which were then assembled by Maurer, together with the lens supplied by Leitz Canada? Graflex certainly had the facilities and were looking for work, as their 4"x5" press camera business wound down, with the press increasingly going either 6x6 or 35mm. I believe the main use of the cameras during the Vietnam war era was to take photographs from the open back bay of helicopters. Most of the examples I have seen don't appear to have had a lot of use, unlike the Combat Graflexes, which are often very worn. 

I looked at buying one of these a couple of years ago but came to my senses as I already have a KE-4/KS-6 Combat Graflex three lens and camera kit, now all in perfect working order and my collection is increasingly Leica orientated. If anyone is interested Igor's Cameras have a couple of these for sale. 

Wilson