Japanese WW2 Katsura Seisakusho Machine gun training camera

Description

this was numbered  736  of 900  made in 1938  by Tokyo Kogaku
this is an extremely rare machine gun training camera
The
Katsura Seisakusho Machine Gun Training Camera
was used for military training exercises. Before the age of tiny digital cameras broadcasting live feeds, air forces around the world mounted large film cameras onto fighter planes for both actual battles and training. The
battle cameras
were used to confirm kills for pilots, while
training gun cameras
were used to evaluate how accurate fighter pilots were without having to use live
rounds. A multi-purpose training device, this ‘gun’ is effectively a camera mounted in an oversized housing, suitable for installation in a wing mount or waist-gun emplacement,”
writes International Military Antiques
. “When the trigger is pulled, the camera runs, with footage being taken of what the gun is aimed at, as well as an optional stopwatch; after landing, the film can be analyzed by the trainers for proper lead and burst timing.”