A one-off Leica rifle camera built for use by the German Luftwaffe in World War II is one of the items on sale at the latest Leitz Photographica Auction in Germany in June.
The outfit was built as an extremely stable support for a 300mm lens for reconnaissance use.
The Astro Berlin rifle camera was designed around a Leica IIIc rangefinder camera, and the example being sold – believed to be the only one ever produced – includes a rare olive-green Leica IIIc finished in green paint.
Leitz Photographica Auction said: “The only known example of the Astro Berlin camera stock developed for the German Luftwaffe. This unique outfit was designed for handheld and tripod operation, the construction is lightweight and includes two wood handles, a left-hand shutter release and a padded rest for the face for maximal stability.
“The lens (Astro Fernbildlinse 5/300mm no.38912) and the viewfinder are painted in olive green, the cradle and tripod mount in grey. The rifle is paired with an unusual Luftwaffen Leica IIIc no.390415, finished in green paint, in a similar shade to the lens, it is also one of the latest Luftwaffen-Eigentum cameras listed in the Leica Archives.”
The camera has a starting bid of €60,000 (£51,800/$69,600)and is expected to sell for between €120,000 and €140,000 (£103,600-£120,900/$139,300-162,500).
The Astro Berlin rifle camera is one of a number of military cameras on offer at this summer’s sale, alongside prototypes, space cameras, and rare Soviet photographica. Kosmo will feature more of these lots in forthcoming posts.
The sale takes place in Wetzlar, Germany on Saturday 13 June.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
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