The Boston Camera, also known as Pie Face and officially classified as the K-42 Camera Model, was a prototype airborne photo reconnaissance camera. It was manufactured for the United States Air Force by Boston University in 1951 and is recognized as the largest aerial camera ever built.
Design and Specifications
The camera's lens was designed in 1947 by Dr. James Baker of Harvard University for installation in a camera designed by the Boston University Optical Research Laboratory. It featured a 6,096-millimeter (240.0 in) focal length, achieved through a series of lenses and mirrors. The lens had an f/8 stop and used a 1/400 second shutter speed. The camera produced 18-by-36-inch (46 cm × 91 cm) negatives with a maximum resolution of 28 lines per millimeter. The entire camera and aircraft mount weighed approximately 6,500 pounds (2,900 kg), and 800 pounds of lead shot were required to balance it.
Capabilities
The Boston Camera was so powerful that it could photograph a golf ball from an altitude of 45,000 feet (14,000 m). According to CIA historian Dino Brugioni, the first photograph observed from this project was of New York City, taken from an aircraft 72 miles away, with sufficient detail to see people in Central Park.
Operational History
The camera was first installed and test-flown in an RB-36D (serial number 44-92088) in 1954 for approximately one year. It was later installed as a left-looking oblique camera in a Boeing C-97A (serial number 49-2592), which was used operationally by the 7405th Support Squadron based in Wiesbaden, West Germany, between 1952 and 1962. The aircraft flew along the air corridor through communist East Germany to Berlin, though a 10,000-foot altitude restriction imposed by communist authorities limited the camera's effectiveness. It was also used on reconnaissance missions along the borders of Eastern European nations.
Technical Challenges
The camera was plagued with vibration problems that caused image smearing on the newspaper-sized negatives. Photo interpreters would observe several smeared frames alongside several clear ones during each mission.
Current Status
The Boston Camera was given to the Air Force Museum in 1964, along with a contact print of a golf ball on a course. It is currently displayed at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.
