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Fed 1e

Created by AidasCams on 1/21/2008 4:23:59 AM
Last Edited by Jacques M. on 2/12/2023 10:55:58 AM  
Located in
Still Cameras > FED 1

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Zoom
596 Posts
Posted - Jun 15 2008 :  1:36:19 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Jacques M.

Zoom was referring to the title of the seller: "Fed NKVD".


Yes. (I have a problems with an eBay pages).
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Jun 15 2008 :  1:44:22 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Yes Jim.
No problem with JLP about 1e, with numbers from c. 173600 to 184000.
But in this very topic, we had too discussed about the town where they were made.
Can they all be named "Berdsk" if it appears that some of them were made in Kharkov, perhaps up to # c. 180000?

That is THE question! Not by Shakespeare!

Amitiés. Jacques.

Edited by - Jacques M. on Jun 15 2008 3:34:38 PM
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James McGee
James McGee
Azerbaijan
192 Posts
Posted - Jun 15 2008 :  10:19:07 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi Jacques,
Once again I agree with what you say. I don't think anyone really knows how many Fed-1e were assembled in Berdsk, even if any were!!!
I think the term "Berdsk" has now just become a familiar name for the 1-e, pretty much in the same way that "Fedka" has become a familiar name for the early Fed-1.
These mysteries will keep us guessing for years come!
Best wishes, Jim.
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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Jul 31 2013 :  8:53:49 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
My three FED-1e, two of which are FED-S, all have 5 screws in the baseplate.

There is currently a late FED1-e camera #182948 on ebay which also has 5 screws.
http://www.ebay.at/itm/FED-NKVD-Type-1e-BERDSK-Rare-Russian-35mm-Rangefinder-Camera-182948-/360706589152?pt=US_Vintage_Cameras&hash=item53fbc9c1e0

Another one, #176596 seems to have only 3 screws but it's a little hard to see.
http://www.ebay.at/itm/USSR-Soviet-Collectible-FED-1-Berdsk-35mm-RF-camera-with-FED-3-5-50-lens-EXC-/390554007760?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item5aeed538d0


I found something else - we have two consecutive FED1-e serials, one of which is a FED-S.:

#174290, sold on eBay
#174291 (1/1000 speed - Fed-1S), sold on eBay

Regards,
Christian
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Aug 01 2013 :  08:48:15 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

My 1e-s have five screws too.
So, we are not far from s/n 184000 now. Interesting...

The two consecutive serial numbers are interesting too. So it would be confirmed that the S-s were made in the normal production, "in the middle of" the other cameras. To be sure, we should have the s/n 174289 or 174292!... I personally have two cameras with consecutive numbers, an S and a NKVD c series.

Jacques.
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vittorio gabaglio
ricale
Italy
28 Posts
Posted - Aug 01 2013 :  11:00:32 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I have 2 Fed 1e, all with 5 screws.
1e n. 174389
1eS n. 174836
Vittorio
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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Aug 10 2013 :  6:08:52 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
It would be interesting to know if the absence of the 2 screws is limited to a certain serial range. Please check your cameras.

Also, could you submit your lens numbers to the wiki?
I don't know if it may help but any further information on these cameras is helpful.

Check the engravings on the baseplate of this FED1e #179708:
http://www.fotoua.com/4colcam.php?seek2=34&seek1=28&usl=&usl1=&rd=4&st=7&collector=1&stat=

Could anyone translate what it says?
I read something about 41-45 which would suggest a post-war date, at least for the engraving.

Regards,
Christian
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Bill Parkinson
nightphoto
USA
1027 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 10 2013 :  9:42:24 PM  Show Profile  Visit nightphoto's Homepage  Reply with Quote
I have a FED-1e which also has the five screws. The lens that this camera came with is a FED 'STEMAR'No. 47, one of the original series or first version of the fake stereo lens. I have added it to the WIKI and I'm afraid I have messed up the nice columns by doing so. Of course this lens is not the original lens and so is meaningless to the lens numbers.

Regards, Bill

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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Aug 11 2013 :  3:30:23 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Thanks, Bill!

Please continue to submit more data, the wiki can easily be repaired, that's no problem.

Could anyone please transcribe the base-plate engravings I mentioned in the link above?

Regards,
Christian

Edited by - Niko80 on Aug 11 2013 3:39:02 PM
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Christopher Sabine
ChrisS
Spain
29 Posts
Posted - Aug 15 2013 :  10:38:54 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I have 2 Fed-1e, both with 5 screws in the base plate.

s/n 175475 lens 174208/14
s/n 183885 lens 180983/2 12

I find this Berdsk question very interesting - to me it gives real character to the cameras. In my opinion the question of what was made where is almost insoluble (I say almost - we may yet!) for a number of reasons.

1 - I would expect that any unused Kharkov passports would be used up in Berdsk before printing new Berdsk ones, assuming they took the passports to Berdsk - they may have destroyed them before the evacuation, or left them behind.
2 - We do not know that the date of the 'S' s/n 180024 is the real date - the evacuation was a big upheaval and they may have just completed a whole bunch of passports for all completed or near completed cameras at any time prior to or after the evacuation - I am very suspicious of passport dates at the best of times, my guess is they were probably done in batches pretty much as and when.
3 - The Red Flag cameras were a new build (completely different vulcanite amongst other things) and may have been produced at Berdsk - but the Berdsk passport for one of them I would discount for the same reasons as 1 above, ie they would use up the Berdsk ones before printing more Kharkov ones after the return. Could the Red Flags have been produced at the KMZ factory? It seems rather unlikely they would set up a complete production line with new parts just to make the Red Flags when they would soon be returning to Kharkov.

My two Fed-1e are absolutely identical, and I also have a very late 1d s/n 173012 which is also identical apart from the engraving. I would say that both my 1e are made from the same parts as the 1d, which would probably mean that all 3 used parts made at Kharkov before the evacuation. It is interesting that no 183885 still seems to use Kharkov parts and it is the second highest s/n recorded for a 1e.

I did a bit of passport research a while ago (I can't find my records at the moment) but I remember being highly sceptical about that date for 180024. I do not think that we will ever be able to say which cameras were assembled in Berdsk without further documentary evidence. We need many more passports from this period - not very likely, although they must have produced something at Berdsk otherwise there would be no need for a Berdsk passport. Too many imponderables to be sure of anything, but it's fun trying.

ATB ChrisS.
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 16 2013 :  10:08:12 AM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Hello Christopher,

I'm sorry I have to warn everyone it's just my subjective opinion, this topic of Berdsk cameras bothers me a lot and I've been doing a lot of thinking regarding these cameras and reading about the WWII period in Soviet Union. The more I read about how things were during the war the more I am beginning to think that this camera was manufactured in Kharkov either before and or after the move to Berdsk or both, since it doesn't seem likely during those hard times in extreme shortages of military equipment and ammunition when all the factories retooled to manufacture production for war, the Berdsk factory went through all the trouble to keep making civilian cameras that the war could easily do without... it's just not very probable, almost unrealistic when you have all women and children working 24/7 making tank parts, shells, bomb, grenades, bullets everywhere in USSR, you have all of the sudden FED cameras made..

Your opinions are welcome.

Cheers,
Vlad
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Bill Parkinson
nightphoto
USA
1027 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 16 2013 :  12:11:55 PM  Show Profile  Visit nightphoto's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Hi Vlad,

I agree with you 100%. There is really no indication anywhere that any parts were made at Berdsk, and in my opinion, there was probably the assembly of parts that already existed, brought along from the evacuation at Kharkov.

The mysteries behind undocumented or lost histories concerning the Soviet cameras are intriguing, but collectors do have a tendency not to always understand and put themselves in the place and time and imagine (or learn through reading, etc. as you are doing, Vlad) what was really going on. This was a very hard and tragic time for the Russian people in general.

Very well said, Vlad.

Regards, Bill

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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 16 2013 :  1:51:12 PM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Thank you Bill for supporting my line of thought, and that's exactly what we can do is recreate the situation to the best of our knowledge but I know that I can't probably even imagine the harsh reality. One other thing I was thinking too that it was probably a very different factory also once it moved to Berdsk since most likely most of the boys (I'm sure girls too) working in the commune were called up to serve in the war, so production of FED was probably mostly taken over by local Berdsk population, losing the camera works expertise in the process.. once again just speculation for discussion's sake..

Also I found an article where one collector claims that BRZ (Berdsk Mechanical Factory) was the factory that accepted FED in Berdsk during evacuation and that 500-1000 FED Berdsk were made there as well as FED-B - a Leica III copy, but the journalist writing the article didn't find any examples of the Berdsk war-time made cameras in the local museum. Here's an auto-translated fragment of the article:

Publisher of the "Wedge" Vadim Komarov collects cameras. An online auction "Molotok" he bought the camera "FED-B", made in the walls of Berdsk radio factory during World War II. Until 1941, the production of cameras has been established at the Kharkov plant, which at the beginning of the war were evacuated to Berdsk. It was believed that the production of cameras stopped. However, Vadim Komarov says that in 1941-1942 the plant produced 800-1000 cameras. According to some reports, beginning in Berdsk produced model "B" - a copy of the camera «Leica III», which adds long-term exposure.

Abbreviation FED means Felix Dzerzhinsky. The first models were produced in 1934. At the end of the 30s produced the so-called second model, it "FED-C" or "commander FED", which was supplied with the lens "FED" 2/50, the shutter speed range has been increased - added shutter speed 1/1000 sec. C 1938 to 1941 produced a modification "FED-B" or "the general's FED", with extended excerpts from 1 sec to 1/1000 sec.

In Berdsk Historical Museum of Art no models were found made in Berdsk during the war. Chief curator of funds Tatiana Ovchinnikov stressed that the special value of the fund collection are "FED" and "press photographer" pre-war years. One of the exhibits found in the garage, took out one berdchaninu inherited. He was there collecting dust forgotten by all. The most surprising is that the camera is a mechanism that allows you to stretch, like a concertina mechanism. Thus conducted focus is activated. "Fotokor-1" was produced from 1930 to 1941. These cameras have become the primary means of shooting by courtesy of the Great Patriotic War.

http://www.kurer-sreda.ru/2012/04/11/64256
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 16 2013 :  1:58:59 PM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Another fragment from a different article:

С началом Великой Отечественной войны, летом 1941 года в город Бердск было эвакуировано два завода из Бердянска и Харькова выпускавшие до этого знаменитые фотоаппараты ''ФЭД'' (завод им. Дзержинского) и комплектующие. В Бердске, на базе этих заводов было организовано производство топливных агрегатов для двигателей истребителей
ИЛ-2 и оптических прицелов для танков Т-34 и военных самолетов. В 1946 году завод имени Дзержинского был реэвакуирован, а на базе оставшегося завода, на освободивших-
ся площадях, решением правительством СССР от 10 октября 1946 года был организован радиозавод.

Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, in the summer of 1941 in the city Berdsk two factories were evacuated from Berdyansk and Kharkov produced before the famous'' cameras FED'' (Plant. Dzerzhinsky), and accessories. In Berdsk and on the basis of these plants was organized by the production of fuel assemblies for engine fighter
IL-2 and optical sights for T-34 tanks and military aircraft. In 1946, the plant was named after Dzerzhinsky unevacuated, and on the basis of the remaining plant, freed-up areas, the decision by the Government of the USSR on October 10, 1946 was organized into Radio Works.

http://www.proza.ru/2011/01/28/162
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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Aug 16 2013 :  3:57:03 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
The way I see it we have absolutely no proof that even a single camera was produced in Berdsk.
This is why I have renamed the corresponding wiki entry to "FED 1e"

I have to agree with Vlad, I am sure there were other priorities than producing cameras back then.

However, as the factory in Berdsk never suffered from war-time damage, the probability that some documents survived should be much higher than in the case of the Kharkov factory. If we could establish a contact to someone from the Berdsk Museum maybe they could have a look at the city archives to see if some documents have survived.

By the way - has anyone ever tried to contact someone from the modern FED-Factory? I don't know how much interest the company has in their own history but it wouldn't be surprising if they do know a lot more than we do.

Chris, I have added the lens numbers of your cameras to the wiki, I hope you don't mind.

Regards,
Christian


Edited by - Niko80 on Aug 16 2013 3:59:25 PM
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Geoff O.
geoffox23
Australia
54 Posts
Posted - Aug 16 2013 :  5:04:33 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hello all

Pages 379 and 380 in the 1200 Cameras book refer to this topic, with some specific time frames and numbers quoted, so I assume that the authors should be able to provide some references.

I cannot trust my google-translated pages to be correct, so would be interested to hear others' thoughts on this data.

Cheers
Geoff
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 17 2013 :  10:23:21 AM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Thanks Geoff for the reference, I looked up those paragraphs and here's that Suglob/Kochergin/Shaternik say on this topic (summarizing): From February to October 1942 the assembly of cameras continues in Berdsk. Supposedly Berdsk cameras started somewhere after No. 165xxx until 173xxx in quantities of 8000 units. In 1943 the kombinat moved under NKAP-SSSP (People's Commissariat of Aviation Manufacture) umbrella raher than NKVD-SSSR and was renamed into "Zavod"(factory), and cameras made from 1946 in Berdsk had engraving "...Zavod of F.E.Dzerzhinsky".

Cheers,
Vlad
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 17 2013 :  10:33:33 AM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Also an interesting classification extract from 1200 Cameras book - FED NKAP (Red Flag) is technically FED-1f and not the encircled FED logo one, because it's the next one in the line that was released after the "Berdsk" when factory returned to Kharkov and made 1800 red flags..

Cheers,
Vlad
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David Tomlinson
RCCCUK
United Kingdom
208 Posts
Posted - Aug 17 2013 :  11:20:31 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I thought you might be interested in this photograph from the book, 'On the Wings of History - 75 Years of the FED Factory 1927-2002'.


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/1782013_fed photo.jpg
I believe that the caption reads, ' Assembling the first postwar FED cameras. Berdsk, February 1946'.


David.
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 17 2013 :  11:29:23 AM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Now THAT is the first more or less concrete document we see. Thank you David!

Best regards,
Vlad
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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Aug 17 2013 :  6:04:09 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Nice!
Too bad we can't see what type of FED1 is shown in the photo.

As for the comments in the "1200 Cameras" book, this would mean that the cameras produced at Berdsk would actually have been late FED"d" CCCP-NKVD and all FED 1 "e" were produced after the war.
I am confused...
Are there any references cited?

Also I'd like to point out that I am now the owner of the FED"e" #180024 with the corresponding documents. If there is any information I can provide just let me know.

Regards,
Christian
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Bill Parkinson
nightphoto
USA
1027 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 17 2013 :  6:20:41 PM  Show Profile  Visit nightphoto's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Nice photo David. I think it may read "Assembly of the first postwar cameras, FED" and so not exactly meaning that it is a photo of the 'assembling' of the cameras, but that it is a photo of the first group of postwar cameras. But, no doubt at Berdsk, if the caption is correct. These guys don't look like the people who do the assembly work, but more like the bosses or executives at the factory who are showing a group of their first post-war production. I suspect that Vlad is correct and that although the manufactured parts were evacuated from Kharkov to Berdsk early in the war, they probably sat around through most of the war, and then camera production (from the Kharkov-made parts) was started again after the war, and the first cameras made were at Berdsk where the parts were located. so, they had the pre-war FED-1e logo on them since that is how the rangefinder housings were engraved while still in Kharkov in the early 1940's.

They look quite pleased to have FED cameras being produced again, no doubt a difficult task as many of the skilled assemblers before the war, had been killed or otherwise not able to work for FED from the results of the war.

Regards, Bill

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Lenny
496 Posts
Posted - Aug 18 2013 :  05:30:25 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Niko80

There is currently a late FED1-e camera #182948 on ebay which also has 5 screws.
http://www.ebay.at/itm/FED-NKVD-Type-1e-BERDSK-Rare-Russian-35mm-Rangefinder-Camera-182948-/360706589152?pt=US_Vintage_Cameras&hash=item53fbc9c1e0

Another one, #176596 seems to have only 3 screws but it's a little hard to see.
http://www.ebay.at/itm/USSR-Soviet-Collectible-FED-1-Berdsk-35mm-RF-camera-with-FED-3-5-50-lens-EXC-/390554007760?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item5aeed538d0



Unbelievable, it seems that both cams got the vulcanite fresh painted and both are still on ebay. Nothing to wonder about, no collector wants those painted ones.

Then you have to think about how they paint them. Some old paint might not tolerate new paint. Even the old vulcanite might not tolerate some new paint. They are simply different chemicals and will react by time.
Destroying those wonderful cams.
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Aug 18 2013 :  08:20:22 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I have not opened the forum since some days, and all is running away!

So, just some "technical" ideas: it really seems to me that the separation due to the war passes between 1e-s and NKAP.

There is no distinction between the second series of 1d-s and 1e-s: all is the same, including the quality of construction.

NKAP-s show some differences, for what we know: generally poor quality of chrome, stretched vulcanite, 1a or 1b buttons, yellow pale/yellow rangefinder, 1d belt and 1c/1d brass shutter box... As if Fed had been obliged to make a series whereas it had not the convenient parts. It makes me think of remaining parts in boards which are assembled in urgency...

The metallurgy of the cover is not always the same. Some have neat angles (like on the 1d or 1e), others are blunt. And many have traces of a vice (probably to hold it when engraving). So, a variability which does not help to know the genuineness... Mine looks genuine, but two letters are not engraved on the cover...

The first 1f are in the continuity of these NKAP-s concerning the general poor quality and the special vulcanite, for example. And as they are very rare, one can wonder if all the series was really made... As for the brass shutter box, we find it up to the s/n around 225000(the aluminium ones were the rule between c. 115000/183000: no shortage of aluminium before the war).

I don't know Soviet history enough to go farther. The logic would be that all the 1e were made before the war, and NKAP after. Or the last part of 1e mounted at KMZ's as training before the official production: surely impossible, even if the comparison between a 1948 Fed-Zorki and a 1e is astonishing: they look like twins...

Anyway, happy of the new turn for this topic!

Amitiés. Jacques.







Edited by - Jacques M. on Aug 18 2013 08:22:31 AM
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Lenny
496 Posts
Posted - Aug 18 2013 :  08:38:20 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by James McGee

As far as I can gather some Berdsk's have only three visible screws in the baseplate, and other Fed Berdsk's have five visible screws. The three visible screws applies only to the Fed Berdsk, and no other Fed-1, so if only three screws are visible, and other parameters are correct then I believe that the camera is without doubt a Berdsk.



The bottom plate is the easiest thing to change on a camera.
Fotoua.com has the Zorki-1 with simplified bottom plate (plate with 3 screws) listed around s/n #51000, but there are many many other Zorkis far behind #51000 with 5 instead 3 screws.
If you call a Fed with 3 screws "Berdsk", I call them "Zorki".
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Aug 18 2013 :  11:14:07 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

In the JLP, it is said that the NKAP s/n 201280 was delivered with a passport printed at Berdsk, signed the 19 of august 1946...
Would it be impossible that the NKAP were in fact the real Berdsk? It's only an idea, probably crazy...

Jacques.
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David Tomlinson
RCCCUK
United Kingdom
208 Posts
Posted - Aug 19 2013 :  10:47:06 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Having found the photograph above, I thought it might be a good idea to try and translate the accompanying pages. It is taking quite some time, using Google translate, but here is the first part:

'Back in May 1945 the administration decided to restore the production of cameras. The case seemed extremely difficult and almost hopeless. There were many reasons. 'Debugged' production was transferred to Krasnogorsk in late 1942. Special equipment, technology, materials, work in progress and most importantly, most of the optical experts and highly skilled workers were sent to the new location. By 1945, in Krasnogorsk, they had already organised work and started production of cameras. The design of the cameras was as the FED. The anecdotal version of the fist KMZ camera was called FED-Zorki. It was only in 1949, after a number of design changes and modernisation that the small format camera, FED, got its own name, Zorki. A large contribution of the creation of the camera came from the engineers and technicians of the Kharkov plant, M V Strelitsov, A R Trirog, M W Ulanovski and others. Government decision on restoring camera production at plant No. 296 FED was issued in June 1945. However, to organise production in a short time was not possible. We had to start from scratch. Firstly, we needed technical documentation. In July and August drawings were ready. We had to spend a lot of work on pre-production: restore the technical processes to produce tooling and special cutting and measuring instruments. All this, as well as being in the war years was required in a short time. Changes were made in the production structure. In January 1946 workshops 18 and 49 fabricated parts and assemblies of the first post-war camera. For the production of optical lenses there was a special section in workshop 17. At the same time, workshop 23 started to work as an assembly plant. In the fist ten days of February they completed ten cameras. Tests showed good results. We had every reason to believe that the design and fabrication of parts and components met our technical requirements. From the prototypes we went on to serial production. This required additional production capacity and there was not enough. Output as always I such situations required more hard work. The task of making the camera parts got under way. In the production plan of the second quarter of 1946 a small quantity was scheduled, but the task was not easy. To increase quality requirements special equipment, not standard machines, were needed and also skilled workers were required.'


Maybe this poses rather more questions than it answers. When I get the time, I will translate a little more.

David.

Edited by - RCCCUK on Aug 19 2013 10:49:02 AM
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Aug 19 2013 :  11:44:00 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Many thanks, David, for the photo and for the translation!

If I understand well, Fed equipment and technology were transferred to Krasnogorsk in 1942. Till now, that fact had not been said clearly. Or I did not know... Anyway, to find identical shutter boxes on Fed 1d/e and 1948 Fed-Zorki is not a hazard...

Really interested too by what is said to resume the production (at Fed-Kharkov, I suppose?) and by the dates. They did not say which cameras were made first, alas... Do we have a way to find that?

Jacques.

Edited by - Jacques M. on Aug 19 2013 1:36:09 PM
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 19 2013 :  1:57:41 PM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
David, thank you for the translation, if you don't mind please post the original Russian text as well, very often Google translates different language nuances differently which can mean something opposite. Thanks again,

Vlad.
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David Tomlinson
RCCCUK
United Kingdom
208 Posts
Posted - Aug 20 2013 :  06:36:27 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Hi Vlad,

As requested, here is the complete original text.


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2082013_page 1a.jpg


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2082013_page 2a.jpg

I look forward to seeing any corrections or improvements to the Google translation.


David.
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Aug 20 2013 :  09:38:24 AM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Thank you very much, David, your translation is pretty much spot-on. Here are the main points we get from this:

  • No camera producing equipment was moved to Berdsk

  • All equipment and most of the specialist staff was moved to KMZ resulting in FED-Zorkis

  • No cameras were produced during the War

  • Camera production in Berdsk only started in Jan 1946

  • Camera produciton equipment had to be reconstructed from scratch in Berdsk plant

  • Berdsk plant supposedly made cameras full throttle (at 79.1% capacity due to substandard equipment) up until unevacuation in October 1946(?).



Questions that still loom:
  • Which exact cameras were these? FED-1e's or NKAP?

  • I'm personally still unclear regarding timeline of the renaming of FED into "Zavod of F.E.Dzerzhinsky", according to Suglob/Shaternik this happened in 1943 which does put FED-1e under the 1946 production timeline rather than NKAP.. lots of conflicting information

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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Aug 20 2013 :  6:58:17 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Thank you for summarizing the interesting facts, Vlad!


If it's true that camera producing equipment at Berdsk was different from the one used in Kharkov, it seems unlikely to me that some 1e were produced in Kharkov and some in Berdsk, as all 1e cameras look pretty much the same.

If we trust the passports we have which show 1e were made in Kharkov before the war and NKAP in Berdsk after the war I'll vote for the NKAP as these cameras look significantly different.

Is it likely that about 2000 cameras could be produced in Berdsk in the timeframe of 8-10 months?

Also I am a little confused - if neither machinery nor personnel were evacuated to Berdsk, then what else?

Regards,
Christian
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Aug 21 2013 :  03:04:45 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

Vlad,

Fed was given the Red Flag award the 6th of september 1945, by the JLP. It would be logical that a limited series of NKAP-s were made immediately. No problem if it is with spare parts, Christian. So, a passport of august 1946 seems correct.

On the other hand, the same JLP says that NKAP-s were made in 1948...

A specialist of this period should be of great use to compare History and what we know... Perhaps Zoom could help ?

Amitiés. Jacques.



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David Tomlinson
RCCCUK
United Kingdom
208 Posts
Posted - Aug 22 2013 :  02:47:42 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I am of the opinion that FED NKAP cameras were produced at Berdsk. After all, the Berdsk factory was definitely designated as an NKAP facility.
Does anyone have a passport for a 1e FED that definitely shows that it was manufactured in Berdsk? If equipment, personnel and parts were evacuated to Krasnogork, could it be that in the run up to the FED-Zorki production in 1948 that the FED 1e was assembled there? After all, the FED book states the Krasnogork had started production in 1945.

David.
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Aug 22 2013 :  5:09:57 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

Thanks, David. I completely agree with you.

Jacques.
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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Sep 16 2013 :  7:25:12 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I've updated and extended the FED1'e' wiki article, please tell me what you think!

Also have a look on the commemorative engraving on the base-plate of #179708



I read - or rather guess:

In commemoration of the war
41-45
from B/r 16501
Temniky
B. i.


The first 2 lines are self-explaining and mean the engraving must have been done after 1945.
But what about the rest? Can anyone make sense of the abbreviations B/r and number 16501?
I guess last 2 lines mean the camera was presented to someone named B. I. Temnik.

Regards,
Christian
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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Oct 08 2013 :  2:58:06 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
No one?
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Yuri Boguslavsky
fedka
USA
235 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Oct 12 2013 :  10:46:35 PM  Show Profile  Visit fedka's Homepage  Reply with Quote
<<B/r and number 16501?>>

That is for Russian V/Ch, Voinskaya Chast', or Military Base, 16501 is the base's number.

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Niko80
Austria
174 Posts
Posted - Oct 13 2013 :  3:31:00 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Awesome, thank you Yuri!

The US Defense Technical Information Center states:
Voinskaya chast' [military unit] — is an organizationally self-sufficient tactical and administrative entity, in all services of the Armed Forces, maintained in accordance with an established shtat [Table of Organization and Equipment]. Voinskaya chast' applies to all regiments, ships of 1st, 2nd, 3rd rank, separate battalions (artillery battalions and air squadrons) not part of a regiment, and even separate companies not part of a battalion and regiment. The term "voinskaya chast'" is used when the actual name of a unit, which consists of its given number, shtat designation (if one is given), and names of its state awards (if the unit has been awarded state decorations), is implied.
Voyskovaya chast' [military unit] — is a conditional, numerical designation of military units (ships), formations and establishments of the Soviet Army, Navy, USSR MVD forces, and border guards of the USSR Committee of State Security.
It is its official designation and has legal force attached to the registering of official documentation. The term "voyskovaya chast'" is used in mutual relations of units and establishments between themselves, with civil departments, organizations, enterprises and private citizens, and even for addressing and sending of all sorts of correspondence and military goods. Units and establishments of the Soviet Army and Navy stationed in the territory of the USSR have a conditional designation "voyskovaya chast'", and those stationed out- side the USSR, "voyskovaya chast'—polevaya pochta [field post office]".


So this would mean that voinskaya chast can be any sort of military unit. I wonder if it would be possible to link the number to a certain unit.

Regards,
Christian


Edited by - Niko80 on Oct 13 2013 4:23:00 PM
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Yuri Boguslavsky
fedka
USA
235 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Oct 13 2013 :  9:24:08 PM  Show Profile  Visit fedka's Homepage  Reply with Quote
In theory it would be possible to find out the V/Ch location by number. Locations and numbers were classified in the Soviet times, but with so much time passed, this info should be open. 'Should be' is my opinion.
This organization most likely has your answer, and they do have an English web site

http://eng.mil.ru/en/archival_service/central.htm


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Lenny
496 Posts
Posted - Apr 12 2016 :  07:28:36 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
We know the passport of #180024, dated 31/July/1941, long time after the war started on 22/June/1941. The battle of Kiev was from 23/August/1941 till 26/September/1941. It's amazing that they were still producing cameras at the end of July. To write a passport and sign it just takes a minute. It doesn't make sense to write a passport in advance because once you want to package the camera you need to search for the passport. I think it's safe to assume that #180024 was packaged on 31/July/1941, a Thursday.

It is mentioned that A.Braslavskiy has another passport of #175116 from summer 1941. It would be interesting to know the real date because we could calculate how long it took to produce nearly 5000 cameras, and we could calculate how many days it would take to produce the rest of the known Fed-1e. Is #183892 the highest known serial for a Fed-1e?

After the war the last samples of Fed-1e might be assembled and the Red Flag too. Photohistory.ru mentioned that 1316 cameras were produced in 1948. Since the passport of #201280 is from 19/August/1946, those 1316 cameras can't be all Red Flags. The first Fed-1f might have been produced in 1948.
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levonsa
levonsa
Russia
248 Posts
Posted - Apr 17 2016 :  4:24:04 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
FED #210033 was made 10 july 1948. Coll. D.Bessonov
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Lenny
496 Posts
Posted - Apr 17 2016 :  5:48:59 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
quote:
Originally posted by levonsa

FED #210033 was made 10 july 1948. Coll. D.Bessonov



That's interesting.
So Fed produced Fed-Zorkis with 1/1000 speed together with KMZ in Krasnogorsk
and at the same time produced Fed-1f with 1/500 speed in Kharkov.
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Apr 18 2016 :  05:17:00 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

Thanks, Alexey.
Could you give too the address of the passport?
I suppose that this very early Fed 1f has a special vulcanite?

Amitiés. Jacques.
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levonsa
levonsa
Russia
248 Posts
Posted - Apr 20 2016 :  3:30:31 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
I will ask permission from the owner to publish his picture.
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levonsa
levonsa
Russia
248 Posts
Posted - Apr 22 2016 :  5:25:02 PM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2242016_1.jpg


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2242016_2.jpg


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2242016_3.jpg


http://www.ussrphoto.com/UserContent/2242016_4.jpg

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Lenny
496 Posts
Posted - Apr 23 2016 :  12:58:59 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote
Thank you very much Alexey,

FED made some ugly cases at that time.
Very sad that the vulcanite got painted.
I can't read the address, but it seems to be the new location.
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Apr 23 2016 :  03:44:35 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

Thanks a lot, Alexey!
A beautiful 1f, probably one of the first. I wonder if the official numbers don't begin with 210000, even if we find some 1f between 201800 and 210000, perhaps to fool the Plan!

This one has that ultra rare vulcanite. Some of the others have a Red Flag's one, with stretched stripes... My s/n 210921 is already completely regular.

Could somebody translate the location of the factory, so that we can make comparisons with the pre war ones?

Thanks again. Amitiés. Jacques.
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Vladislav Kern
Vlad
USA
4212 Posts
My Collection

Posted - Apr 23 2016 :  10:22:54 AM  Show Profile  Visit Vlad's Homepage  Reply with Quote
Alexey, very interesting example, thanks for posting! Jacques, the address on this passport on the bottom now is simply - City of Kharkov, FED, Marketing Department.
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Jacques M.
France
2521 Posts
Posted - Apr 26 2016 :  07:38:12 AM  Show Profile  Reply with Quote

Thanks, Vlad. So, we don't know more about that question of location.
The passport of this very camera is coherent with the JLP which mentions that "the first 20 new Kharkov Feds were made in june 1948".
But the series begun with the s/n 210000...

Amitiés. Jacques.
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