LEICA AIR MINISTRY PROPERTY

[dubois pierre]

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Hello everyone, I'd like to present this 1935 Leica IIIa with an unusual "A  M" (Air Ministry Property) engraving. As many know, the British government, lacking specific equipment, including cameras, at the beginning of World War II, launched an appeal to the public in the name of the war effort. Camera owners could hand in their cameras in exchange for a receipt guaranteeing their return at the end of the war. These cameras were then distributed to various branches of the armed forces and services.

If you have any information or comments on this subject, thank you for your feedback.

Pierre

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[willeica]

41 minutes ago, dubois pierre said:

Hello everyone, I'd like to present this 1935 Leica IIIa with an unusual "A  M" (Air Ministry Property) engraving. As many know, the British government, lacking specific equipment, including cameras, at the beginning of World War II, launched an appeal to the public in the name of the war effort. Camera owners could hand in their cameras in exchange for a receipt guaranteeing their return at the end of the war. These cameras were then distributed to various branches of the armed forces and services.

If you have any information or comments on this subject, thank you for your feedback.

Pierre

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The engraving/stamping is in a different place because of the move of the D.R.P. I suggest that you check with info@leica-camera.com for the destination of the first delivery of the IIIa in 1935. If the camera was sent to the UK, it is unlikely that the lens ( from 1936) is the original one because this one has a distance scale in metres.

If it is genuine it is likely to have entered 'service' with the authorities under this notice.

William 

[dubois pierre]

Thanks William. As far as I know, this engraving can be in several positions on the top plate, sometimes above the serial number, basically wherever there was enough space to affix it. Regarding the origin and first use of this Leica, and since there's no record of it in any official British registry, a Leica from that year (1935) could very well have passed from Germany to England before the war. As for the lens, since it was found in France, it's also possible that an owner fitted a lens in meters instead of one in feet. Of course, these are just suppositions. I'm waiting for more information about the first use of this Leica.

[dubois pierre]

An other exemple.

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