Fairchild Aviaton Machine Gun Camera

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  We are pleased to offer a very rare Fairchild machine gun camera from WW2.  These were developed and built by Fairchild Aviation Corporation for the U.S. Military.  The camera machine gun was built as a training aid to improve shooting for air gunners.  This camera gun enabled gunners to practice without the use of live ammunition. The gun was built to resemble the 50 caliber Browning.  The casing housed a 16mm movie camera which was activated by the pressing of the trigger.  The housing also housed a film cartridge.  The actual operation of the device is outlined on the internet.  Search Fairchild machine gun camera and follow the various links.  This is a very difficult item to find for sale.  We noted one in the James Julia Auction Spring sale 2014,estimated at $2,000 t0 $3,000.  As with our example, the actual camera unit was not included.  Other camera machine guns appear for sale including the Japanese type 89.  With so few Fairchild camera guns on the market; it tends to lead to the conclusion that these items may have been mostly destroyed following WW2.  This example remains in excellent condition with the trigger device fully functional.  The exterior shows its original finish and its original manufacturers tag and marking.  This piece came to the prior owner mounted on a 30 caliber US M2 tripod SN 31782 .  In some of the literature we noted that these camera guns could also be used for ground training . This item is a truly unique piece of WW2 militaria that was used by most branches of the U.S. Military and some Allied Nations .  A very scarce piece for the militaria, machine gun or the camera collection.