Description
You are bidding on a VERY RARE example of an 100% ORIGINAL WW2 German Luftwaffe Rb 20/30 Reihenbildner Aerial Reconnaissance Camera! This is the famous 30x30cm Luftwaffe Reconnaissance Camera type used most notably inside the Messerschmitt Me262 A-1a/U3 Turbo Jet Aircraft! Also used in the Me109, Ju88, Ju188, and Fw189!
The Reihenbildner series was designed for automatic sequential aerial photography, producing overlapping photographs that could later be studied for reconnaissance, mapping, target assessment and intelligence purposes. The designation Rb 20/30 denotes a 20cm focal length combined with a 30×30 cm photographic format. The Rb 20/30 was installed in several specialized Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft; among the best documented applications was the Me109 F-4/R2, which carried a single Rb 20/30; while the Ju88 D-1 long-range reconnaissance aircraft carried a heated camera installation incorporating an Rb 20/30 together with an Rb 50/30 or Rb 75/30. Most significantly, the late-war Messerschmitt Me262 A-1a/U3 reconnaissance jet was equipped with Rb 20/30 cameras mounted in the nose, with some aircraft carrying a pair of Rb 20/30 cameras and others using combinations of different Rb cameras. These reconnaissance Me 262s represented one of the most advanced photographic-reconnaissance platforms fielded by Germany during the war, combining the extraordinary speed of the jet-powered Me 262 with high-quality large-format Luftwaffe photographic equipment.
Made of aluminum, steel, and optical glass by Carl Zeiss and Emil Busch, this Rb. 20/30 Aerial Reconnaissance Camera is in EXCELLENT used condition! The camera retains MUCH of its original wartime paint and finishannish, with the normal scratches, chips, scuffs and operational wear expected from an approximately 80-year-old piece of aircraft equipment. It has not been restored or re-painted in any way, and all data information is present! The main camera Data Plate is marked:
Rb.20/30
Reihenbildner 20/30 Gerät-Nr. 135-201.01
Bauart: blc Werk-Nr. 5751
Hersteller: cxn Anforderz. Fl 38 653
K.F.
It comes complete with the ORIGINAL Topogon 1:6.3 f=20 cm lens, which is marked “Bauart blc,” together with Carl Zeiss/cxn-related markings visible on the lens assembly. The optical glass is intact, perfectly clear and free of cracks, chips, fungus or separation. The fitted Fk.30 cassette is the correct removable 30×30 cm film cassette and carries its own original data plate marked,
Fk. 30
Filmkassette 30 x 30
Bauart: Carl Zeiss, Jena
Gerät-Nr 135-204.01
Werk-Nr. 95102
Anforderz. Fl 38805
Hersteller: cxn
K.F.
The combination of Carl Zeiss-designed equipment and cxn/Emil Busch wartime manufacture is correct for surviving Fk.30 equipment; period catalog information specifically records the Fk.30 under Fl.38805 as cxn manufacture to the blc/Carl Zeiss design. The cassette removes correctly and locks securely in place, while the mechanical controls and moving components function correctly. The camera has not been electrically or photographically tested and is therefore being sold as an original historical display piece rather than as a functioning photographic camera. The original electrical connectors remain present, although no external plugs, cables, storage case or additional accessories are included. A few of the original Bakelite knobs show minor age cracking, but there is no major damage and nothing obvious appears to be missing from the camera itself. Extensive original red and white German operational stenciling remains throughout, including:
Nicht werfen!
Ohne Film mit Schieber
geöffnet transportieren!
(Do not throw!
Transport without film with
the slide open!)
The camera weighs approximately 18″ x 18″ x 18″, and weighs approx. 70 lbs., complete with its cassette. This is an EXTREMELY RARE, highly complete and visually impressive example of one of the Luftwaffe’s principal large-format aerial reconnaissance cameras, and is PERFECT for any advanced Luftwaffe, Me262, aircraft equipment, reconnaissance, photographic equipment, aviation collection…or simply for display!
*** NOTE ***
Due to the large size and weight, I have only ESTIMATED the shipping costs in this listing. The final shipping costs will be determined based on the winning bidders location, and will be invoiced accordingly.
