what is this

[james s.]

hi just picked this up , don't know to much about Japanese items but it looked cool..

[james s.]

p1

[james s.]

p2

[james s.]

p3 missing a side plate

[GHP]

八九式
Type 89

活動寫眞銃 改二
Moving Picture Gun Modification 2

Japanese aerial Camera. More info at link.

Navy Type 89 Machine-gun Camera

The Type 89 Moving-image Machine-gun Camera (八九式活動写真銃) was an all new model by Rokuoh-sha. It is said that four experimental cameras were made in 1929. (In the name, "Type 89" stands for year 2589 in the Japanese mythological calendar, i.e. 1929.) That early version perhaps had imported lenses. The improved Type 89 Moving-image Machine-gun Camera Kai (八九式活動写真銃改) or "Kai 1" (改一) followed in 1931 with Hexar lenses. The final version was the Kai 2 (改二), serial produced from 1933 to about 1944. The camera was used by the Navy, as indicated by the anchor usually stamped on the nameplate.

The production figures for the 1941–1945 period were as follows:[5]
Year 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
Ordered 1320 1500 600 — — 3420
Delivered 941 1506 — — — 2447

Another:


more images here


--Guy