Original Item. Only One Available. Camera guns like these were used by Photographer's Mates and the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit during World War II to capture images of the US Navy at work. As the cameras were mounted to airplanes and could only be operated when the plane's gun trigger was pressed, they were especially valuable at taking images from the air and for scout work.

This is a tremendous display piece consisting of a USAAF Type N-6 Gun Camera with the U.S. Navy BU. of ORD. Camera Mount Mark 6, fully connected with the trigger on top. The base measures 7⅛ x 12” and the piece is roughly 11¼” tall. The camera’s dataplate is on the bottom of the camera, so it is near impossible to photograph. The plate reads:

PROPERTY, U.S. ARMY AIR FORCES
CAMERA GUN
TYPE AN-N6
SPEC NO. 75-366 MFRS. ASS’Y. NO. E334-BF4
SERIAL NO. AF 44-32258 ORDER NO. W33-038ac-2422
FAIRCHILD CAMERA & INSTRUMENT CORP.
NEW YORK, N.Y.

We have no way of telling if the camera is functional. The included mount is fully hooked up to the camera, and the data plate on the side reads:

U.S. NAVY-BU. OF ORD.
CAMERA MOUNT
MARK 6 MODEL G.S.A.P.
INSPECTOR R.R.A.
MADE BY
SOUTHERN AVIATION MFG. CORP.
ATLANTA, GA. 19__

Unfortunately the only part of the data plate which is obstructed is the date of manufacture, but we are confident that it is WWII dated.

This is a really phenomenal display piece that will look great in any WWII Navy collection. Comes ready for further research and display.

The Gun Sight Aiming Point (GSAP) 16mm motion picture camera AN-N6 was designed by Bell & Howell for use in U.S. World War II fighter planes. It was based on their commercial 16mm design.

The GSAP saw service in the USAAF (later USAF) and the USN from 1940 through the Korean War. It was installed in a wide array of fighter and bomber aircraft including the P-38, P-40, P-51, B-17, B-25, B-29, etc. This camera is responsible for a vast amount, if not the majority of, the gun camera footage we now see in WWII and Korean War documentaries. By 1944 camera production had exceeded demand and a number of AN-N6 units were converted into hand-held cine cameras. After World War II many of these were sold off as surplus and frequently converted to civilian use.

The GSAP camera measures 7 x 3.5 x 2.25 inches. It was commonly fitted with the Wollensak Type- V 1 3/8 in. (35mm) f/3.5 variable aperture lens. Also known is the use of the Bell & Howell Ansix type-V 35mm f/3.5 and the Kodak Anastigmat 35mm f/3.5 lenses. A Kodak Anastigmat 76mm f/4.5 or a Bell & Howell Tele-Type-V 76.2mm f/4.5 was installed in the later, handheld units. The lenses were held in a lens mount that could be readily unscrewed from the cine camera itself. The cage-like mount also provided protection for the aperture ring preventing accidental movement.

The 16mm film was loaded in 5 x 3 inch metal cassettes containing 50 ft. of standard 16mm motion picture film. The cassettes were pre-loaded with B&W or color negative film, supplied by Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, NY.

The film pressure plate is a sheet of glass with an etched cross-hair, ensuring that the resulting image shows the target accurately. The film transport was a variable speed electric motor drive, 16 (normal speed) to 64 (slow motion) frames per second, powered via connecting cable from the aircraft’s DC power grid. The camera was activated with a solenoid switch connected to gun trigger mechanism, routed through an intervalometer, usually set to activate the camera for 5 seconds each time the gun was fired.

The units were installed with erector assemblies to ensure overall alignment and then regularly boresight calibrated with special equipment.