Air speed indicator camera
W. Vinten Ltd
Category
Photographic technology
Date
1940 - 1945
Materials
Bakelite, Metal, Glass, Brass
Measurements
105 x 125 x 110 mm
Order this imageCollection
Fox Talbot Museum, Wiltshire
NT 1524943.1
Summary
Air speed indicator (A.S.I.) camera Admiralty Pattern No 2410. Manufactured by W. Vinten Ltd specifically for photographing the Air Speed Indicator dial of the plane at the exact moment that a torpedo was launched. It is fitted with a solenoid operated shutter which can operate at 12v or 24v. The camera has a plastic body in two pieces which lock together to contain the film (Kodak Super XX or Ilford HP 3), there is a winding knob and a film pressure plate. The camera body is that of a Coronet Cub produced from 1939-1946. Inside the film compartment is embossed "This camera takes Kodak F868 Film" and "Made in England by Coronet Camera Co Birmingham Design Registered". The camera takes 8 frames with picture size 40mmx 28mm. The camera has a permanently attached frame which is designed to clamp around the bezel of the A.S.I. Dial, the frame also contains a reflector disc to prevent reflections onto the glass of the dial. The lens is of 0.8" focal length and F/5.6 and so is permanently focused on the A.S.I.dial. The back of the camera has a red glass aperture to see the film frame number and a knob to open and close the cover behind. On the top of the camera body is a brass plate that reads "MFD by W. Vinten Ltd ADM PATT 2410" On the bottom of the camera body is a paper sticker which reads "1942 C/249". Looking from the front of the camera around the lens is embossed "A.S.I. Camera o.208" and on the reflector disc "HQ4" has been painted in red.
Provenance
Part of the Fenton Collection. A gift from British Film Institute in 2017. From 1986-1999, part of BFI collection for the Museum of the Moving Image. BFI purchased collection in 1986 from James Fenton's Museum of Photography, Port Erin, Isle of Man 1976-1986
Makers and roles
W. Vinten Ltd , manufacturer