Multimetal
Airman
- 13
- Jul 2, 2010
Hi all, I was reading the Luftwaffe weapons thread today and a question popped into my mind about gun camera installations. Specifically who carried them, in what planes, and when. Please will someone more knowledgeable help fill in the blanks -
GB/UK commonwealth-I've seen some guncam footage from the BOB era, don't know how common and widespread installations were though. Seems like RAF guncamera footage is comparatively rare, at least here in the US. I know the Spitfire for instance had a camera button on either the stick or instrument panel, can't remember right now.
Soviet VVS- Not much footage around it seems, at least not here in the West. Don't know how many VVS fighters, or what types, carried guncams. I have read in a pilot interview that by the last year of the war almost all IL2's were equipped with guncameras and the footage was used for intelligence purposes, although I've never seen this any of this personally.
Luftwaffe- A fair bit of footage around, especially from the Western European theater. Lots of footage of bomber attacks, etc., but seemingly it's much more rare (again here in the US) to come across footage from the Eastern front. (Excepting footage from Stukas.) Don't really know when guncam installations became common or how widespread they were. Pretty sure late war era 190's carried cameras as standard, not sure about 109's.
Japan- Almost nothing from the early war era, and not a whole lot after that. Have seen some footage from B-29 attacks but not a whole lot else.
USAAF/USN/USMC- The motherlode, lots of footage and by the last year or so of the war most of it in color. Most fighters seemed to carry cameras as standard from early war period.
Thanks for any input anyone has!
GB/UK commonwealth-I've seen some guncam footage from the BOB era, don't know how common and widespread installations were though. Seems like RAF guncamera footage is comparatively rare, at least here in the US. I know the Spitfire for instance had a camera button on either the stick or instrument panel, can't remember right now.
Soviet VVS- Not much footage around it seems, at least not here in the West. Don't know how many VVS fighters, or what types, carried guncams. I have read in a pilot interview that by the last year of the war almost all IL2's were equipped with guncameras and the footage was used for intelligence purposes, although I've never seen this any of this personally.
Luftwaffe- A fair bit of footage around, especially from the Western European theater. Lots of footage of bomber attacks, etc., but seemingly it's much more rare (again here in the US) to come across footage from the Eastern front. (Excepting footage from Stukas.) Don't really know when guncam installations became common or how widespread they were. Pretty sure late war era 190's carried cameras as standard, not sure about 109's.
Japan- Almost nothing from the early war era, and not a whole lot after that. Have seen some footage from B-29 attacks but not a whole lot else.
USAAF/USN/USMC- The motherlode, lots of footage and by the last year or so of the war most of it in color. Most fighters seemed to carry cameras as standard from early war period.
Thanks for any input anyone has!
