Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/05/28

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Subject: [Leica] Leica manufacture during WW2
From: feli2 at earthlink.net (Feli)
Date: Sat May 28 14:41:57 2005
References: <4298D8E1.6010807@aol.com>

On May 28, 2005, at 1:47 PM, Lawrence Zeitlin wrote:

> By mid 1945, only a few months after the occupation, Leitz was working 
> at about 10% of prewar capacity. It received instrument repair 
> contracts from the US Army to keep it afloat. About 150 Leica IIIc 
> cameras a week were being made, mostly assembled from spare parts.

According to the serial number of my IIIc it may be one from this 
batch. Fit and finish is very tight and the chrome isn't peeling. 
Therefore I believe it was assembled from parts out of their stockpile.


feli


 >Although Leitz tried to adhere to prewar standards, the quality of 
Leicas made between 1945 and 1947 was suspect. They >were made 
primarily to generate cash, not to take pictures. That's not to say 
that all Leicas produced during this era were >dogs. I have a 1946 
Leica IIIc that functions superbly although an internal inspection 
shows significant differences in the fit >and finish of some parts. It 
was obviously assembled of a mix of newly manufactured and older 
components.



________________________________________________________
feli2@earthlink.net                     2 + 2 = 4                      
www.elanphotos.com


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In reply to: Message from lrzeitlin at aol.com (Lawrence Zeitlin) ([Leica] Leica manufacture during WW2)