Description

The components of this flash system were bigger and more powerful than anything Harold Edgerton had yet designed. The flash tube is a tough monster; its 30 inches of strong, quartz glass, coiled into a xenon-filled spiral, withstood the 4,000 volts discharged through it. The tube fit into a reflector mounted in the plane's belly or tail. Banks of capacitors, weighing up to 500 pounds each, were slung on the plane's bomb racks and supplied power to the flash tube. A direct contact synchronized the flash to the large camera.

Metal label on camera body reads: "Property, Air Forces, U.S. Army, Magazine, Camera (Aifcraft), Type A-5A, Serial No. 43-15949, Order No. A535AC-33922, Spec. No. 75-126-B, Mfrs. Assembly Part No. F211-J1".

Metal label on lens body reads: "Property, Air Forces, U.S. Army, 42 V Night Photo Camera, Type K-19B, Serial No. AF42-46118, Order No. W535AC26965, Spec. No. 75-77-C".