WWII CCCP KMZ FS-2 Camera gun
The FS-2 was the forerunner of the modern KMZ Fotosnaiper FS-12-FS122 range used by the NKVD (Naródnyi komissariát vnútrennikh dél) forerunner of the KGB. Some high ranking party officials were known to have received them as gifts. The Red Army (Recon Units) used it for observation and deep recon behind enemy lines. Originally developed in 1936 as The FS 1 by GOI (Government Optical Institute) in Leningrad, the FS-1 used the VOOMP Pioner 2 model camera with a different mirror box with a 45º angle of view. This camera type went into production using standard production but specially prepared FED cameras by adding a quick coupling plate. These cameras were requested by the РККА СССР (Red Army’s Civil Worker-Force of the USSR) and were first produced in Leningrad at the time of the German siege As a result, production of these cameras were transferred to the Moscow KMZ (Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works) factory in 1942. KMZ was founded as Krasnogorsk Optical Works in 1942 in Sverdlovsk in the Urals in anticipation of a German invasion of the Soviet Union. It produced optical equipment for the Soviet army, but after the battle of Leningrad, the factory moved to Krasnogorsk, a western suburb of Moscow. In 1945 KMZ began manufacturing photographic lenses based on specifications obtained from the Carl Zeiss factory in Jena when it was captured by the Red Army. In 1946 the factory began making cameras, starting with the Moskva folding camera. In 1948 it began assembling FED cameras and produced cameras termed "FED–Zorki" by later collectors: cameras engraved both with the name FED and with the KMZ emblem. By 1949 it made some design changes, and the solo lineup of Zorki's began. In 1952, KMZ created an SLR based on the Zorki, resulting in the well known modern day Zenit brand.
This gun camera was primary developed and intended to be used for observation of military movements on battlefields from the photographer used to using a firearm as the camera is sighted and held just like a firearm. The gunstock with the 300mm telephoto and reflex cage is assembled with a single operation and the FED body is removed by the single press of a lever, for changing film without any need to dismantle all the set, or simply through changing bodies. The mirror box is operated by the trigger in the gun stock as any shooting rifle. This simple operation lifts the mirror and fires camera shutter. (Schematics below) Everything about the FS-2 was easier, lighter, quicker and more accurate than its Leica cousin. It is said that Mr Kruchev had one to take birds’ pictures during his vacations.
An interesting quote from "The Authentic Guide to Russian And Soviet Cameras" by Jean Loup Princelle; "The story goes that Nikita Khrushchev, an avid amateur photographer and proud owner of a FS-2, went one morning to the neighbouring Krasnogorsk to have it serviced and was surprised that the factory no longer made them. The fist secretary's wish was granted in 1965 with the arrival of the Zenit-E. That year, 350 Zenit-E and 15 PhotoSniper outfits were to be marketed." Various models • The original VOOMP-GOI units came in Olive green or black.
• KMZ units designed for the Red Army had the "Star, Hammer and Sickel" (main pic)
• Units produced after WWII still had the "Star, Hammer and Sickel" on the side. In the decades that followed WWII, KMZ continued to manufacture optics for military, aviation, space and remote sensing applications. In 1993 it was privatised and became the Krasnogorsky Zavod, SA Zverev. In 2005, KMZ closed its camera division but continued production of the Horizon panoramic cameras, which were based on military artillery optics. A digital model, the Horizon D-L3, developed jointly with Silvestri, was shown at Photokina in 2010, but does not appear to have been sold. Since 2008, the KMZ plant (as much of the former-Soviet optical industry) is part of the Shvabe holding company, itself owned by Rostec, a state-owned multi-industry corporation. They currently produce Zenit lenses and a collaboration with Germany's Leica is rumoured to be in the works. My own Camera Gun armoury: http://pravin73.wixsite.com/camera-sly/the-armoury Zenit Fotosnaiper writeup: http://pravin73.wixsite.com/camera-sly/single-post/2016/07/11/KGB-Fotosnaiper-FS12-Gun-Camera
